COVID-19 Update: New Leave Opportunities to Support You

Published Thursday, April 2, 2020 at 6:17pm

Dear Employees,

During this unprecedented time with COVID-19, we hope that our MCCCD family and extended families are healthy and safe. On March 18, 2020, the Department of Labor enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which creates two new emergency paid leave requirements which went into effect April 1, and are effective through December 31, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

  1. The “Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act” (EPSLA), entitles full-time and all part-time employees who cannot work (or telework) to take up to two weeks of paid sick leave if they are diagnosed with COVID-19 or if they are placed under mandatory quarantine by public health authorities. Please see the District guidelines and procedures for additional guidance.

  2. The “Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act” (EFMLEA), permits certain employees to take up to twelve weeks of expanded family and medical leave. Under this provision, employees are provided with 12 weeks of leave (the first two unpaid, the remaining 10 paid) if they are unable to work (or telework) due to the need to care for a son or daughter under 18 years of age when the child’s school or place of care has been closed due to a public health emergency; or the child care provider is unavailable due to a public health emergency. Please see the District guidelines and procedures for additional guidance.

In addition, MCCCD has expanded policies to allow for additional leave, such as:

Advanced Sick Leave

Advanced Sick Leave will be available for employees who have exhausted all accrued leave. The District guidelines on Advanced Sick Leave is here. In brief, it permits employees who accrue leave to be advanced a maximum of 80 hours of sick leave.

Compassionate Leave

In addition, for the purposes of COVID-19, the District is broadening the availability of its Compassionate Leave. The District guidelines are available here. It increases the amount of leave that employees may donate to the Compassionate Leave bank. It is also making it possible for employees to use leave from the Compassionate Leave Bank for COVID 19-related reasons, including the employee’s own illness, the employee’s need to care for a household member who is ill, and the employee’s need to be quarantined. Employees must have exhausted all accrued leave including the advanced sick leave option before applying for Compassionate Leave. Due to changing guidelines for COVID-19 at the federal level, we will be evaluating Compassionate Leave on a case-by-case basis.

Leave Reference Chart

Leave Type

Use For

Applicable To

Length of Leave

Apply Through

Emergency Paid Sick Leave

Employee unable to work (or telework) due to the criteria listed in the Policy under section C.Policy, 2. Entitlement to Leave, a.-f.

All employees who have worked at least one day

Up to 80 hours.

  • Actual number of hours depends on type of employee, please see chart in procedures

*Can be combined with Public Health Emergency Leave

Notify Supervisor and College HR

Emergency Family and Medical Leave, Expansion Act’s

Public Health Emergency Leave

Care of a child due to child’s school, place of care, or provider is close or unavailable due to a public health emergency

All employees who have worked at least 30 days

12 weeks Total,

  • First 10 days are unpaid,

  • Up to 10 subsequent weeks of paid leave.

*Can be used with Emergency Paid Sick Leave, Regular Sick, or Regular Vacation

Notify HR Solutions Leaves department at fmla-leaves@domail.maricopa.edu

Advanced Sick Leave

An employee who has exhausted all leave may be granted Advanced Sick Leave (to be paid back at a later time) if the employee meets the criteria under policy section C.Policy, 1. Eligibility.

All employees who accrue sick leave

Up to 80 hours of advanced leave.

  • Actual number of hours depends on the type of employee, please see the policy for additional information.

Notify HR Solutions Center at dl-dssc-hr-solutions-center@domail.maricopa.edu

Compassionate Leave

Any employee that meets the criteria under policy section C.Policy,2.Eligibility, a.-i.

All employees who accrue sick leave

These will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis

Notify HR Solutions Center at dl-dssc-hr-solutions-center@domail.maricopa.edu

If you need assistance with time off due to illness or caring for a child, speak to your supervisor and contact your local HR to discuss the steps to take. You can find additional information including FAQs on the Human Resources Policies and Procedures website.