After an investigation by the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Bear Creek Electrical ― an electrical company based in Tucson, Arizona ― will pay one employee $1,600 for refusing to provide him sick leave under the newly passed Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act after healthcare providers ordered him to self-quarantine with potential coronavirus symptoms. WHD investigators found that Bear Creek Electrical failed to pay the employee for what qualified as paid sick leave covering the hours he spent at home after the company received documentation of his doctor’s instructions to self-quarantine. The employer will pay the employee’s full wages of $20 an hour for 80 hours of leave. The affected worker disclosed to WHD that he lives paycheck to paycheck and is depending on this payment to continue supporting his wife and children, to cover rent, and to pay other bills. Bear Creek Electrical also agreed to future compliance with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which went into effect on April 1, 2020. “This case should serve as a signal to others that the U.S. Department of Labor is working to protect employee rights during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Wage and Hour District Director Eric Murray in Phoenix, Arizona. “We encourage employers and employees to call us for assistance to improve their understanding of new labor standards under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and use our educational online tools to avoid violations like those found in this investigation.”
