Labor Unions

This page will be updated continuously to reflect the most recent information. This page was last updated on March 30, 2020.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“Families First”) provides specific protections for union members and their collective bargaining agreements due to the events of the COVID-19 outbreak and associated economic disruption.

Families First requires employers to provide two types of emergency paid leave to their employees who are directly affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.  The first type, emergency paid sick leave, allows an individual to take time off if they are sick or due to changed familial circumstances.  The second type, emergency family and medical leave, may be used to care for a child whose school or childcare provider has closed due to the outbreak.

Please be aware that the paid sick leave does not diminish existing rights to paid leave under a collective bargaining agreement or existing employer policy.

For more information on paid leave, please visit https://www.schatz.senate.gov/coronavirus/paid-leave-employees.

A company with between 500 and 10,000 employees and that also accepts a direct loan under the emergency relief and taxpayer protections portion of the CARES Act must meet certain labor requirements:

If you have reason to believe an employer has accepted a qualifying loan and is violating the associated labor requirements, please consult your National Labor Relations Board regional office by calling (808) 541-2814.

For more information on the paid leave portions of the legislation, please visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employee-paid-leave, or call the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-4US-WAGE.