Wichita hotel pays back employees after denying sick leave for COVID-19 quarantine
Employees at a Best Western hotel in Wichita will receive nearly $5,700 in back wages from their employer because they were wrongly denied paid sick leave after they tested positive for the coronavirus, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.
The hotel already paid the back wages to 13 employees at the Best Western Plus Wichita Hotel at 3800 W. Kellogg near the airport, according to the agency.
The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act requires some employers to provide workers with paid sick leave if they are unable to work due to quarantine orders. Investigators with the DOL found Best Western Plus Wichita violated the act when it denied the workers paid time away from work after they contracted COVID-19 and isolated themselves at home, away from work.
“The Families First Coronavirus Response Act qualifies employees for paid sick time to care for themselves and their families due to coronavirus-related reasons,” said Wage and Hour District Director Reed Trone. “This provision aids in limiting the spread of the coronavirus and protects employees and the public.”
Generally, workers are eligible for the paid leave if a health care provider advised them to self quarantine. They might also be eligible if they are caring for someone who is self quarantining based on a health care provider’s advice, or if they are caring for a child whose child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act only applies to private employers with fewer than 500 workers, as well as some public employers.
“The law enables employers to provide paid leave reimbursed by tax credits, while at the same time ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus,” according to the federal DOL.
You can learn more about your eligibility for paid sick leave under the coronavirus response act using an online tool from the DOL at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/ffcra/benefits-eligibility-webtool. The web tool will ask you a series of questions about your work and your employer.
Health care providers and emergency responders are excluded from the paid leave options under the response act.
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 11:34 AM.
