CDC Announces Shorter Quarantine Guidelines After a COVID-19 Exposure

During a recent media briefing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an update to quarantine guidelines, offering options for shorter quarantine periods. The CDC’s updated guidance allows for the following quarantine periods for those who may have been exposed to COVID-19 but are without symptoms: 

Ten-day quarantine period—An individual may end quarantine 10 days after exposure if the individual does not take a COVID-19 test. 

Seven-day quarantine period—An individual may end quarantine seven days after exposure if the individual tests negative for COVID-19.

While offering these shorter alternatives, the CDC still recommends a 14-day quarantine as the safest

DOL Launches Employee Tool for Assessing FFCRA Leave Eligibility

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has created an online tool to help workers determine whether they qualify for paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

The tool works by posing a series of questions that help employees assess whether the paid leave provisions of the FFCRA apply to their employer. Once employees learn the provisions do apply, the tool then assists them in determining whether they qualify for FFCRA paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave. The DOL is also developing a similar tool for employers.

Employee Leave Under the FFCRA The FFCRA, enacted on March 18, 2020, created two types of employee leave for coronavirus-related purposes: paid sick leave and expanded Family and Medical Leave Act leave. Paid sick leave provides eligible employees with 80 hours of compensated leave for specified COVID-19 reasons, including:

• A quarantine or isolation order for the employee or someone the employee is caring for, or medical advice to self-quarantine;

• When the employee has symptoms of COVID-19; or

• When the employee’s child’s school or child care facility is closed.

Compensation rates for paid sick leave under the FFCRA depend on the reason for the leave. The expanded family and medical leave provisions of the law allow 12 weeks of partially compensated leave to care for a child whose school or child care facility has been closed due to COVID-19.