How to Create a Payroll Item for COVID Paid Sick Leave

The Families First Corona virus Response Act (FFCRA) allows covered employers to provide full compensation for up to two weeks of paid sick leave to qualified workers, to a defined cap. Employee is not able to work because of order which is subjected to Federal, state or local quarantine or isolation that is related to COVID-19. A healthcare professional has told them to self-quarantine because of COVID-19-related problems, or if they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and pursuing a medical diagnosis.

Paid Sick Leave Types and Limitations

There are three types of paid leave that are covered under the Families First Corona virus Response Act (FFCRA). The below-mentioned table describes the conditions, hour limits for each type of COVID-19 paid sick leave.

Leave Type	Condition	Fraction of pay rate	Hour limit
Self-care	Owing to being quarantined and/or suffering from COVID-19 symptoms, the employee not able to work.	Full pay	80 Hours
Care for other	The employee not able to work as they are: ● Taking care of another person (an adult or child) who is subject to COVID-19 quarantine. ● Caring for a child whose school/care provider is inaccessible because of COVID-19 related factors.	2/3rd pay	80 hours
Extended Child Care	The employee is unable to function because of the reasons linked to COVID-19 as they take care of a child whose school/care provider is unavailable.	2/3rd pay	400 hours

Steps for Employers have Extra Paid Sick Days for their Workers, or Cover Missed Wages that can Result from COVID-19?

Employers who are concerned about the effects of COVID-19 on public health have a range of tools available to support their workers ‘ safety and wellness.

• Employers may provide more generous paid sick leave than is required under the sick leave laws.
• Employers may permit workers to use paid sick leave for more purposes outside the statutory minimum permitted purposes.
• Employers can choose to temporarily waive the criteria for verification or loosen their current policy for workers using paid sick leave in accordance with COVID-19.
• Employers should create and enforce new plans for front loading paid sick leave to ensure that they have enough to cover COVID-19-related absences. L&I have front loading model policies that are available online.
• Employers can make wage advances available to workers, provided that the terms of repayment comply with applicable deduction rules.
• Employers can draw up shared leave policies unless they have them. It can also change existing policies to encourage workers with leave balances to provide leave to workers who do not have enough to cover absences due to illness.

Steps to Create a Pay Item for COVID Paid Sick Leave

Perform the below instructions to create pay items for three types of Paid sick leave

1. Initially, select setup and then Payroll items
2. Next, click on the Add button from the main tab and then enter a description for the pay item
3. Select Pay in the field type
4. Now, select either an hourly rate or salary hours sensitive in the Calculation type field

Note: The calculation will not work properly if you select any other type.

5. Choose a COVID-19 Special type in the Special type field (Details about each type are found within
   • COVID-19 Self care
   • COVID-19 other care
   • COVID-19 extended child care
6. Choose a GL account using the drop-down option, if you’re tracking general ledger values
7. Once all information is set up related to payroll item
8. Finally, enter in order to save the information.

Instruction to Activate the Pay Items for an Employee

1. The very first, select Setup and then choose Employees
2. Next, select the employee and then hit the Edit button
3. After that, hit the tab called Payroll Items
4. Check the checkbox in the pay grid that you can find next to COVID-19 related pay item
5. Now, enter the pay rate for the pay item or else link the pay item to the appropriate employee’s usual pay item

• If the form of estimate for the employee’s regular pay rate is NOT Hourly or Salaried-Responsive Hours: Enter an employee’s hourly rate or enter their annual compensation sum in the Tariff sector.
• If the form of calculation for the daily pay rate of the employee is hourly or salaried-responsive hours: Connect the new payroll element to the regular hourly rate of the employee.
• For workers tipped to: Enter the hourly rate that is more than of the following three amounts.
  • The employee’s regular hourly rate
  • The federal minimum wage amount
  • The state or local minimum wage amount

6. At last, hit the enter option in order to save the employee-related information.

Entering Payroll Checks that Include COVID-19 Sick Leave Hours

Enter payroll checks as usual, entering the correct COVID-19 payable sick leave pay products for hours. Accounting CS warns you if the number of COVID-19 sick leave hours charged to an employee has exceeded the number of hours that are available to them.

Tracking used and available leave hours with accruable benefit items

This procedure is optional but extremely useful. You can use this method to track an employee’s used and available COVID-19 hours and easily print the accruable benefit detail on reports and pay stubs. In order to avail of this, you need to set up two benefit items. One is to track 80 hours of self/other care hours and another is to track 400 hours of extended child care.

In conclusion

So, this is the information related to create a Payroll item for the COVID Paid Sick Leave, to get further information, you can connect with QuickBooks Paycheck Protection Program support toll-free number, drop an email at support@usingpos.com or do a QuickBooks live chat with dedicated experts.