Choose the Correct Mandatory NYS Quarantine PTO for Employees Returning from COVID-19-Restricted States

Thanks to push back from the NYS Business Council, Governor Cuomo closed a loophole which initially made employers responsible to pay the salaries of workers who are in mandatory 14-day quarantine if they left the state voluntarily for non-essential (non-business) purposes traveling to the restricted state list (now up to 22 states) with NYS COVID-19 Sick Leave. Removal of NYS COVID-19 Sick Leave coverage for this specific mandatory quarantine isn’t the only corrective action for these travelers to worry about – in New York, a person who violates the travel advisory could be subject to mandatory quarantine through a “judicial order” and/or fines of up to $10,000.

However, this loophole closure only applies to taking away the NYS employer requirement to pay NYS COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave. Employers continued to be required to pay mandated FFCRA Federal Sick Leave (up to an additional 80 hours incremental to the employee’s regular earned accrued Paid Time Off (PTO), if the employee has not already used the Federal COVID-19 Sick Leave – an employee can only use the 80 hours once) even if the employee returns from voluntary travel to a state or location on the NYS restricted travel list.  The reason: NYS doesn’t have control over the mandated Federal FFCRA Sick Leave. (The small consolation prize? FFCRA leave is paid by either the employer’s PPP loan or a full employer payroll tax deduction if the employer did not receive a PPP loan.)

Additionally: once the employee exhausts the FFCRA leave, then they can use their accrued unused PTO. And if they run out of PTO, they may need to complete their 14-day quarantine without pay.

Bottom line: each employee’s PTO situation can be different, especially during the pandemic.

How do you ensure that you use the right PTO for employees returning from voluntary travel to a COVID-19-restricted state requiring a 14-day NYS quarantine, in business and at work?