According to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (E-PSL) provides two weeks of paid leave (up to 80 hours), pro-rated based on FTE and average hours worked, for personal illness or to care for loves ones who are ill.  Employees utilizing Emergency Paid Sick Leave will compensated at their regular rate of pay. 

E-PSL is leave that is in addition to an employee’s accrued sick or annual leave balances.  Employees utilizing E-PSL will be compensated at their regular rate of pay; and the Earn Code to use is #381.  The employee must apply for and be approved to use E-PSL by HR to gain these eligible hours.  NOTE:  HR should include the employees supervisor and me when reviewing the E-PSL requests (to stay informed of what was submitted/approved).  ALSO:  HR is approving requests retro-actively. So if an employee had a qualifying reason for which they previously used their sick/annual leave,  HR can approve retroactively and the Dept/Unit can submit a leave adjustment to reallocate the hours to E-PSL (and the employee will regain the sick/annual leave hours previously used).

Eligibility for UNM employees (faculty, staff and students) meeting one or more of the following criteria:

1. Are subject to a quarantine/isolation order related to COVID-19
2. Have been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19
3. Are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19
4. Are caring for an individual subject to quarantine or isolation
5. Are caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed
6. Are experiencing any other, substantially similar situation

The Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (E-FML) provides up to a grand total of 10 weeks combined annual leave and E-FML (total of 400 hours, pro-rated by FTE and averaged hours worked).  Employees approved for E-FML are required to take annual leave concurrently with E-FML; after available annual leave is exhausted, employees are entitled to pay at 2/3 their regular rate, up to a max of $25 per hour.

In order for an employee to use E-FML, they have to submit a request for the leave (copy Rob Armijo) and receive approved by HR,

• Employees approved for E-FML are required to take annual leave concurrently with E-FML.  Employees utilizing their own annual leave will be compensated at their regular rate of pay; and the Earn Code to use is #170.  IMPORTANT:  When an employee’s annual leave is exhausted, the timekeeper should enter the leave hours as they normally do, however they need to use the appropriate earn code (see detail below), and the earn code will pro-rate the employee’s pay by 2/3rds or implement the $25/hour CAP.  

*To determine the appropriate E-FML Earn Code, it will depend upon the employee's hourly rate (or effective hourly rate for exempt employees)*
Check whether the employee's hourly rate is less than ( < ) or greater than ( > ) $37.50/hr:

1. If $37.50/hr is < than OR = to employee's hourly rate--> then use Earn Code #383
2. If $37.50/hr is >  than employee's hourly rate--> then use Earn Code #384 (implementing the $25/hr CAP)

Eligibility: UNM (not UNM HSC) employees (staff, faculty, and students) who are unable to work or telecommute because they are caring for a child under the age of 18 whose school or place of care has closed due to COVID-19.

UNM employees working at the HSC and others performing critical campus operations – employees of UNMPD, SHAC, SRS, and all other emergency management, public works and utilities employees, regardless of their duty station – are excluded from coverage under E-FML due to their critical need.

Contact Rob Armijo with any questions.