Kansas State University

New leave form available for COVID-19 related absences

Submitted by Human Capital Services

On March 18, President Trump signed into law H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. This piece of legislation requires K-State to provide all active employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19.

Employees may be currently utilizing administrative leave provided by the university during the time of limited operations within the university. This leave may still be used as appropriate.

With the new legislation, an employee is entitled to take leave related to COVID-19 if the employee is unable to work, including unable to telework, because the employee:

1. Is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
2. Has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19.
3. Is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis.
4. Is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or self-quarantine as described in (2).
5. Is caring for his or her child whose school or place of care is closed — or child care provider is unavailable due to CVID-19 related reasons.
6. Is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Human Capital Services has created a new leave request form to be used for leave related to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. This form will allow the university to track leave usage specific to COVID-19 and utilize any monetary governmental relief that is available to the university. This leave does not replace the administrative leave that is being offered by the university. It does allow for more robust tracking of leave needs and is aligned with the new legislation. 

Employees should complete the leave request form and return to their department HCS liaison as the need for this leave arises.

The Department of Labor has issued a poster providing information regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The poster and a list of frequently asked questions are listed on the Human Capital Services website under Families First Coronavirus Response Leave.

Additional information will be forthcoming regarding this leave program as available.