Q: Fired During COVID?
I’m in TN, things are opening here but unfortunately for me, daycares are not. For the time being, we are working from home and I also have a 2 and 4 y/o here w/ me so it makes it hard for me to work, it’s actually brung my performance measures down because I have to deal w/ them so much. I don’t have a reliable babysitter and now my job is threatening to fire me because of this. What can I do about this?
A: You may be entitled to protection under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act. Under this provision - with some exceptions - employers with less than 500 employees are required to provide job-protected leave for employees who are unable to work or unable to do their work from home due to a need to care for the employee’s child if the child’s school or place of childcare has been closed, or the childcare provider is unavailable, due to a COVID-19-related situation. This applies to employees who have been employed for at least 30 calendar days. The employer can provide the first 10 days of leave unpaid, then future absences beyond the 10-days must be paid at 2/3 the employee’s regular rate of pay (up to 12 weeks). If you believe this applies to you, you should contact an employment law attorney in your area to discuss your options.
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