School reopens: parents need leave

Congress provided in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that some employers must offer employees paid leave, when their childrens’ schools are closed because of the virus. But Trump administration rules implementing the Act are unclear on whether that leave is available when schools are using a hybrid model, like the Marianas Public School System, with a mix of online and in-person education. So, in my capacity as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, along with Rep. Alma Adams, who chairs the Subcommittee on Workforce Protection I wrote the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division requesting they amend their guidance to cover the hybrid model. Working parents need maximum flexibility in dealing with the impact of coronavirus on their children.