UPDATE: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act: New Sick Leave and Child-Care Leave Laws
On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law. The overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation passed the Senate earlier that day on a vote of 90-8. The House of Representatives passed the legislation on a vote of 363-40 on March 14. On March 16, 2020, the House approved a technical corrections package which made a number of substantive changes to the sick and child-care leave provisions in the earlier legislation. The multi-billion dollar law aims to temper the financial impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) on states, territories, the uninsured, the unemployed, workers, and individuals who rely on food assistance, such as children and low-income seniors.