No Tax Credits for Paid FFCRA Leave After September 30

Echoing news announced by NADA earlier today, please be advised that tax credits presently available to offset the costs of sick leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) are likely to expire on September 30.

The FFCRA established a mandatory obligation to provide employees with paid emergency sick and family medical leave until December 31, 2020. Since then, dealerships have had access to tax credits to offset the cost of any such leave provided to their employees voluntarily. Unless extended by Congress (which appears unlikely) those tax credits will only be available for FFCRA leave provided on or before September 30, 2021. 

In anticipation of the end of these tax credits, dealerships should: 

  1. Determine if they will provide voluntary paid leave for any (or all) of the permissible FFCRA purposes through September 30, 2021;
  2. Take advantage of the tax credits available for any such paid leave; and
  3. Review existing leave policies and applicable family and medical leave mandates, for their potential application to leave requests for FFCRA-type purposes. Important: state and local law may impose leave mandates over and above those imposed by federal law. 

If you have any questions on these matters, please reach out to me at jod@wanada.org or to Joe Koch, Vice President of Operations, at jk@wanada.org. We can also be reached at the WANADA Office: 202-237-7200.