Follow new DOL pandemic guidance on FLSA, FMLA and leave.

• Position: Nuts & Bolts

For employers and HR, each new federal law and regulation related to the coronavirus crisis has created more questions than answers.

That's why the U.S. Department of Labor has been cranking out guidance and FAQ documents that try to explain the interplay between the pandemic and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the FMLA and more.

Some recent highlights:

Families First Act provisions

Returning following furlough. When the pandemic hit in spring, many employers had to furlough employees. Now some have begun calling employees back to work.

But what happens if an employee being called back asks to take paid school-closing leave instead of returning? Do you have to pay that employee or can you extend the furlough instead?

According to the DOL, you must call him back and then pay for any leave he is entitled to under the FFCRA. You can't discriminate or retaliate against employees (or candidates) for exercising their right to take FFCRA leave.

The DOL wrote, "If your employee's need to care for his child qualifies for FFCRA leave, whether paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave, he has a right to take that leave until he has used all of it."

Paid emergency FMLA leave and furloughs. The DOL also told employers they must not count any furloughed time against the new paid emergency FMLA leave entitlement.

For example, if a worker took four weeks of paid emergency FMLA leave, was furloughed for 10 weeks and was then called back, she may be eligible for the remaining eight-week balance of her 12 weeks of emergency FMLA. You can, however, ask for information again on the reason for her need. It may have changed, for example, from camp closures to school closures.

Testing workers who return from FFCRA leave. The DOL says someone returning from paid leave to care for a relative who has COVID-19 may be tested. However, the requirement must be part of an overall testing requirement for those on leave, not just those who took paid FFCRA leave.

Fair Labor Standards Act

Tracking time for telework. DOL has clarified that employers who allow hourly employees to work remotely must pay for all hours worked and must use a reliable method to track that time. As long as the employer has no reason to believe that additional work has been performed, it can rely on the worker's reported hours.

Childcare and telework. The DOL explained that employers can grant childcare flexibility to hourly teleworkers. For...