On April 1, 2020, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) promulgated its Final Rule implementing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The FFCRA requires covered employers to offer emergency paid sick leave (EPSLA) and emergency family and medical leave (EFMLEA) to employees under various circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, summarized in more detail here.

Since implementation, employers have scrambled to understand their obligations under the FFCRA and to provide the leave required under the new legislation. Shortly after the DOL issued its regulations, the State of New York filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York, State of New York v. United States Department of Labor, Case No. 20-CV-3020 (JPO), and simultaneously moved for summary judgment, attacking various requirements set forth in the regulations. On April 28, 2020, the DOL cross-moved for summary judgment and to dismiss for lack of standing.[1]