The second coronavirus relief bill has generated a whirlwind of controversy and criticism. The bill was signed by President Donald Trump on December 27 after being passed by Congress on December 21. Members of Congress had only hours to examine 5,593 pages before voting on the bill.
Americans condemned the $ 600 individual stimulus checks, while Democrats, Trump and even some Republicans ordered $ 2,000 checks. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell blocked voting on a stand-alone bill to increase payments on December 30, and it now appears that he, too, may have prevented the extension of mandatory paid sick leave.
The $ 100 billion coronavirus aid package approved in March included a mandatory paid license, according to CNBC.
According to the Department of Labor, the Family Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) made it mandatory for employers to provide employees with two weeks of paid sick leave at the person’s standard rate if they were to be quarantined, two weeks from sick leave paid at two – thirds of the employee’s normal pay rate if he needs to take care of a relative, and up to an additional 10 weeks of paid extended family and sick leave at two thirds of the normal pay rate for people who worked for at least 30 calendar days and need to take care of a child whose school or daycare was closed because of COVID-19.
The claim
Complaints are growing on Twitter about the removal of the mandatory paid sick leave from the new relief bill.
American author Don Winslow produced a video that he included in a post, which was retweeted more than 15,000 times by the morning of December 30.
It should be noted that twice on December 29, McConnell twice objected to individual $ 2,000 stimulus checks. First, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) requested that the chamber pass it by unanimous consent, but McConnell refused. Minutes later, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Requested unanimous consent for the Senate to vote on House legislation for direct payments. Once again, McConnell objected.
Cleavon Gilman, an emergency room physician and Iraq war veteran, shared Winslow’s video, claiming that without mandatory paid sick leave, “there is no incentive to protect employees.”
The facts
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) states that the FFCRA has provided “refundable tax credits to small and medium-sized employers who reimburse them, dollar for dollar, for the cost of providing wages paid for sick leave and family leave to their employees for COVID-19 related license. “The FFCRA provided companies with fewer than 500 employees funds for paid sick leave for coronavirus-related issues. For large companies with more than 500 employees, paid sick leave was not mandatory, as was the case for small companies with less than 50 employees.
Buzzfeed reported that it is now optional, not mandatory, for any employer, regardless of the size of the companies, to grant paid sick leave for coronavirus to employees. Employers can still provide paid sick leave until the end of March and will receive a refundable tax credit that “fully subsidizes the cost for companies to pay sick leave”.
Buzzfeed he also reported that McConnell tried to block mandatory paid coronavirus sick leave and that Mayor Nancy Pelosi originally opposed its removal, but granted it in exchange for extending the tax credit. CNBC echoed Buzzfeed’s findings, reporting that McConnell blocked the FFCRA from the most recent help package.
According Business Insider, two bills were passed by the House in May and October to expand mandatory paid sick leave, but did not reach the Senate floor. The aid package that McConnell introduced in July was also not approved because it left out the paid leave mandate. Now, if employers voluntarily decide to grant paid leave, they will be entitled to receive a portion of the $ 1.8 billion refundable tax credit.
Newsweek contacted McConnell and Pelosi, as well as several other members of Congress, for comment.
The Center for Economic and Political Research (CEPR) found that, among 22 rich countries, the United States is the only one that does not guarantee workers any form of paid sick leave. According to CEPR, the United States is also the only country that “does not offer paid sick leave for workers undergoing 50-day cancer treatment”.
The decision
True.
McConnell blocked the mandatory coronavirus-related paid sick leave extension, but Pelosi approved it in exchange for the extension of the tax credit.
Companies still have the option of granting paid sick leave and their tax credit incentive has been extended to the end of March, but millions of Americans who need quarantine, care for a relative or care for their children are not guaranteed a claim form. paid vacations.
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