HR-6198 : Still Just a Bill

Emergency Paid Leave Act of 2020

This bill requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide emergency paid leave during each 30-day period that specified employees take leave due to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Specifically, an employee may apply to SSA for such leave payments if the employee

• has been diagnosed with COVID-19,
• is under self-quarantine at the direction of a governmental entity or health care provider,
• is caring for another individual who is under such self-quarantine, or
• is caring for that employee's child because the child's school or child-care provider is closed due to COVID-19.

For each 30-day period, the SSA must pay two-thirds of an eligible employee's average monthly pay to a maximum of $4,000. Emergency paid leave benefits are available for up to 90 days from the period during which an employee first files an application for such leave. Available benefits for emergency paid leave are reduced proportionally by any amount of paid leave an employee receives from a state or employer during each 30-day period.

Further, emergency paid leave benefits are available retroactively from January 19, 2020, until one year from the date of enactment of this bill. The bill also establishes penalties for fraudulent applications and provides for the review of the SSA’s application determinations.