UFT MEMBERS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT PAID LEAVE

Thanks to one of our readers who sent this information our way.

I don't know why the UFT isn't publicizing this but if your child is under 18 and their school is closed, you are eligible for 12 weeks of paid leave at 2/3 pay and at full pay if you are teleworking from home. I checked with a very knowledgeable UFT person who confirmed that UFT members are eligible for Federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act paid leave.
This is right from the Department of Labor website:

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act) requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. The Department of Labor’s (Department) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administers and enforces the new law’s paid leave requirements. These provisions will apply from the effective date through December 31, 2020.

Generally, the Act provides that employees of covered employers are eligible for:

Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay where the employee is unable to work because the employee is quarantined (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or

Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay because the employee is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), or to care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19, and/or the employee is experiencing a substantially similar condition as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor; and

Up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay where an employee, who has been employed for at least 30 calendar days, is unable to work due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

Further down:

Qualifying Reasons for Leave:

Under the FFCRA, an employee qualifies for paid sick time if the employee is unable to work (or unable to telework) due to a need for leave because the employee:

1. is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;

2. has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19;

3. is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis;

4. is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or self-quarantine as described in (2);

5. is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19; or

6. is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury.

Under the FFCRA, an employee qualifies for expanded family leave if the employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19.

Pay is capped at $12,000 but I don't think it is necessary for higher paid UFTers to be dissuaded from using the FFCRA provisions. If one looks at the Questions and Answers the DOL put out, I cannot see how UFTers are not eligible to telework from home at full pay.

17. When am I able to telework under the FFCRA?
You may telework when your employer permits or allows you to perform work while you are at home or at a location other than your normal workplace. Telework is work for which normal wages must be paid and is not compensated under the paid leave provisions of the FFCRA.

That would solve the childcare dilemma for UFTers who have kids that are at home while they are working. It looks to me, although I am not a lawyer, that if your child is home from school several days a week, you have a federal legal right to be at home with them and get paid too as long as you telework. There is some flexibility here for employers but by the DOE already allowing people who have certain medical conditions to work from home, it would be arbitrary and capricious for the DOE to discriminate against UFTers who are parents. Again, I am no lawyer.

In New Jersey this tactic was used to force schools to go all remote at the last minute.
From News 12 New Jersey:

The majority of parents say they wanted their kids back in school, and teachers wanted to teach in their classrooms.

But at the last minute, more than 250 teachers in the Freehold Regional District and more than 30 in Ocean Township district took leaves of absence.
The leaves of absence are allowed under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

Some parents and school leaders say this was a political move spurred on by the New Jersey Education Association Union. The group was among several organizations that issued a joint statement calling for schools to begin remotely. Shortly after, [Governor] Murphy gave the green light to begin schools remotely.

You can download the DOE form, Request for Emergency Family Leave - Excused Leave at Partial Pay, here.