Families First Act and Providers of Health and Human Services: Who Is a Health Care Provider? (UPDATE)
As we mentioned in our previous updates and articles about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, most of the helpful exclusions, exceptions, and definitions for employers would be expanded upon in later guidance provided by the Department of Labor. Some of that guidance concerning the definition of “health care provider” under the Paid Leave and Expanded Family and Medical Leave Act provisions has been released. This post updates our March 25, 2020 post, Families First Act and Providers of Health and Human Services: Who Is a Health Care Provider and How Do We Pay for This?
Under the Department of Labor guidance, a “health care provider” now includes:
- anyone employed at;
- any doctor’s office, hospital, health care center, clinic, post-secondary educational institution offering health care instruction, medical school, local health department or agency, nursing facility, retirement facility, nursing home, home health care provider, any facility that performs laboratory or medical testing, pharmacy, or any similar institution, employer, or entity;
- including any permanent or temporary institution, facility, location, or site where medical services are provided that are similar to such institutions above;
- any individual employed by an entity that contracts with any of the above institutions, employers, or entities institutions to provide services or to maintain the operation of the facility; and
- anyone employed by any entity that provides medical services, produces medical products, or is otherwise involved in the making of COVID-19 related medical equipment, tests, drugs, vaccines, diagnostic vehicles, or treatments.
To be clear, any employee that falls under the definition of “health care provider,” as listed above, may be exempted from paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave by their employer under the FFCRA. The only restriction is that the Department of Labor asks that the exemption be used in a manner that will not exasperate the spread of COVID-19.
If you have any questions about the FFCRA or the recently passed federal stimulus in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, please do not hesitate to contact a GKH attorney, all of whom are able to assist with your COVID-19 crisis response needs.
DISCLAIMER: The foregoing does not constitute legal advice and has been prepared for informational purposes only. Please contact us directly with questions about how this relates to your specific situation.
Prepared by GKH attorneys Jeff Worley and Ian R. Brinkman.