The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published additional guidance to address the requirements and protections under several of the laws enforced by the agency as workplaces reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a DOL news release, the guidance, which provides information to workers and employers on the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, features newly added frequently asked questions addressing critical issues under all three laws.

As of July 20, the following questions and answers were added to the FLSA FAQs:

• I am an employer who allows my employees to telework during the COVID-19 emergency. Now that my employees are no longer at my worksite, how do I determine their hours of compensable work? Do I have to pay my employees for hours I did not authorize them to work? Do I have to pay them for hours worked even when they do not report those hours? 
• I am an employer who allows my employees to telework during the COVID-19 emergency. I would also like to give my employees flexibility in hours of work so they can take time out of the normal workday for personal and family obligations, such as caring for their children whose schools have closed. If I allow my employees to begin work, take several hours in the middle of the workday to care for their children, and then return to work, do I have to compensate them for all of the hours between starting work and finishing work?
• Can a salaried executive, administrative, or professional employee who is exempt from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime requirements under Section 13(a)(1) perform other nonexempt duties during the COVID-19 public health emergency and continue to be treated as exempt? 
• Is hazard pay required under the FLSA for employees working during the COVID-19 pandemic? 
• I am a salaried employee exempt from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements under Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA as a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional employee. Will I lose my exempt status if I take leave under the FFCRA? 
• I am a salaried employee exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements under Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA as a bona fide executive, administrative or professional employee. Can my employer reduce my salary during the COVID-19 pandemic or an economic slowdown? Would I lose my exempt status if my employer does?

As of July 20, the following questions and answers were added to the FMLA FAQs:

• Due to safety and health concerns related to COVID-19, many health care providers are treating patients for a variety of conditions, including those unrelated to COVID-19, via telemedicine. Telemedicine involves face-to-face examinations or treatment of patients by remote video conference via computers or mobile devices. Under these circumstances, will a telemedicine visit count as an in-person visit to establish a serious health condition under the FMLA? 
• I was out on FMLA leave unrelated to COVID-19. While I was out, my company implemented a new policy requiring everyone to take a COVID-19 test before they come to the office. Under the FMLA, can my employer require me to get a COVID-19 test under this policy? 

As of July 20, the following questions and answers were added to the FFCRA FAQs:

• My employee used two weeks of paid sick leave under the FFCRA to care for his parent who was advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine because of symptoms of COVID-19. I am concerned about his returning to work too soon and potentially exposing my other staff to COVID-19. May I require him to telework or take leave until he has tested negative for COVID-19?
• I was working full time for my employer and used two weeks (80 hours) of paid sick leave under the FFCRA before I was furloughed. My employer said I could go back to work next week. Can I use paid sick leave under the FFCRA again after I go back to work?
• I have an employee who used four weeks of expanded family and medical leave before she was furloughed. Now I am re-opening my business. When my employee comes back to work, if she still needs to care for her child because her child care provider is unavailable for COVID-related reasons, how much expanded family and medical leave does she have available?
• My business was closed due to my state’s COVID-19 quarantine order. I furloughed all my employees. The quarantine order was lifted and I am returning employees to work. Can I extend my former employee’s furlough because he would need to take FFCRA leave to care for his child if he is called back to work?

The guidance is the latest addition to WHD’s compliance assistance materials, which includes a Fact Sheet for Employees, a Fact Sheet for Employers and a Questions and Answers resource about paid sick and expanded family and medical leave under the FFCRA. All resources can be used to help America’s workers as they safely return back to work.

Additional resources on COVID-19 and returning to work can be found on the DOL website.

For more comprehensive coronavirus resources, visit abc.org/coronavirus.