EntryPoint Global - Time and Attendance - Labor Scheduling - Kronos - Workbrain - Infor

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently released proposed changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).

I assume most people already know what the FMLA is, but for those that are new to this, the FMLA is a federal law that governs how employers must act in certain situations where their employees require long term leave.  The act requires employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in the year after the birth or adoption of a child; to care for a sick child, parent or spouse; or when an employee has a serious illness.

Its been 15 years since the law was enacted and its been an administrative burden to implement and manage, not to mention providing data to the DOL when being audited.  While I don't believe the proposed changes will really reduce the administrative burden, it will provide employers with some more equitable terms.

A recent survey conducted by World at Work entitled FMLA Practices and Perspectives uncovered some interesting points about the prosposed changes:

• 72 percent of respondents strongly agree with requiring workers to notify employers in advance of taking non-emergency, foreseeable leaves; (I'm surprised it wasn't 100% - which employer wouldn't want this?)
• 61 percent strongly agree with requiring annual medical certification from employees when conditions last more than one year; (is this really necessary or is it to provide comfort in the face of uncertainty about an employee's truthfulness? - what is the real value of doing s?)
• 60 percent strongly agree with requiring a fitness-for-duty certificate after return from intermittent leave to jobs that could endanger the employee or others, or that the worker may be unable to perform.(I can see this for light-industrial or heavy-lifting jobs but probably not applicable to things like office/knowledge workers.)

Anyway, some pretty good news for employers and not surprisingly, a majority of them seem to like the proposed changes.

I was surprised however to see that only 28 percent reported difficulties tracking intermittent leave... a number I'm sure must be much higher.  But this number could be misconstrued... there may be 72 percent who don't report difficulties because they either don't have many incidents or have a manual process in place that although innefficient, does the job.  Either that or most companies we've spoken to fall within that 28 percent :-)

Whether the proposed changes are good for business or not, the only way to properly manage them and remain compliant is to have an automated system, like a Workforce Management application that has a strong Leave Management component.  This will not only automate the manual processes, it ensures you apply the rules consistently across all employees, provides an easy to access audit trail and log of events, as well as makes life much easier for all aprties involved.

For few companies, this dream is a reality... for most, its just a dream. 

Where does your company sit?  When will you stop dreaming and start doing?  Do you know what it will take?  What it costs?  Where to start?

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