Virus Leave Turns Voluntary in 2021 as Tax Credit Extended (1)

The mandatory paid leave provision that ensured workers would continue drawing paychecks while they absented themselves to care for children or ill family members becomes a voluntary one on Jan. 1, as it wasn’t carried forward in the $900 billion coronavirus economic relief bill passed by Congress.

A previous pandemic relief stimulus package included that first-ever federal paid leave provision, giving that protection to an estimated 61 million workers. Under the deal reached by Congress Monday, the measure has been reduced to the tax credit for businesses that voluntarily provide the leave.

The U.S. is the only wealthy country ...