The Families First Corona Response Act (FFCRA) went into effect on April 1, 2020. Since then, thousands of people who work for small businesses (under 500 employees) have taken paid time off for Covid related reasons.
A new study out in Health Affairs found that FFCRA has been effective in flattening the curve, reducing Covid cases, and by extension, preventing deaths.
Because the federal government does not require businesses to provide any paid sick leave, while some states do, researchers could compare the two sets of states and figure out the impact of FFCRA on Covid.
They found that FFCRA reduces Covid cases by approximately 400 cases per day. That adds up to a lot of saved lives, as well as huge medical cost savings. While their study didn’t look at worker productivity, having sick or exposed people stay home and preventing illness spread undoubtedly means fewer people needed time off than otherwise would.
To keep reading, click here: According to This New Study: Small Businesses Following FFCRA Saves Lives
Our company has fully embraced following the FFCRA act. When an employee has reason to be tested, we give them testing site info, inform them of FFCRA coverage & send them off to get tested – no delay. And they don’t come back to work until a) their test is negative or b) they recover per CDC guidelines. FFCRA eases some of the worry our employees experience when under quarantine.
I agree that the FFCRA has saved lives. However, I was skeptical of the statement that it “has been effective in flattening the curve,” simply because the curve doesn’t appear to have been effectively flattened hardly anywhere in the United States. Therefore, I followed the link and read the underlying report. It noted that the curve had only been flattened “in the short run,” due to the relative short duration of the benefits. Hopefully, this study will lead to future, more long-lasting, COVID-19 relief.
The FFCRA gave needed guidelines for employers on how to deal with this pandemic virus in the place of employment since there was no labor laws in place for how to deal properly with employees who are sick with the virus that is a public health problem. Just like any other infectious disease have a guideline, this was needed. Bringing comments about “effect” on curve of infection has nothing to do with public health safety programs, as this falls under OSHA guidelines for conducting labor programs.