March 27: Public Health Emergency Leave Update

Dear Colleagues,

The Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) has granted an increase in total hours of Public Health Emergency Leave (PHEL), increasing the total hours that can be used from 80 hours to up to 160 hours.*

This additional leave is intended to serve as a stop-gap measure until the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) goes into effect.  Additional information is available in our PHEL Guidelines.

The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) will take effect on April 1, 2020, which will provide up to 80 hours of paid emergency leave at full salary and provides additional reduced paid leave.

This will result in a new category of Family & Medical Leave (FML) for employees who must care for their children as a result of the closure of schools/daycare.  We will be providing additional information on FFCRA and its impact on employees in the next week.

Lester L. Arnold, Sr.

CHRO | Vice President for Human Resources and Payroll

George Mason University

Alan and Sally Merten Hall, Office 4100

(703) 993-2600 | hr@gmu.edu

*Pro-rated for <100% salaried employees and wage employees.