The landscape of employer leave management continues to undergo change and is increasingly complex. However, results of the fifth annual DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey show that employers of all sizes are mastering compliance and other challenges posed by new leave laws and reinterpretations of regulations.

Leave programs are expanding at the tactical and, more importantly, strategic level as more employers look to leave and related policies as a competitive advantage, says a press release by the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC).

Key trends identified by the over 950 responding employers in the 2015 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey, include:

• Employers are focusing more on the complicated aspects of intermittent leave, regulatory variations, enforcement, and abuse.
• Employers are continually expanding their programs.
• Policies are becoming more uniform and more centrally organized.
• Employers have dedicated more resources and staff to leave management.

The survey findings illustrate an increase in employer sophistication regarding leave and a consistency in the types of solutions and tools that are being put in place. This shows that employers are moving beyond the basics of leave administration to include new leave types, broader policies, return to work and other accommodations, automation through systems, and tighter management, according to the 2015 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey.

The steps employers are now taking include:

Maintaining a strategic focus

Because leave has increasing legal, reputational, and hiring and retention dimensions, programs now involve additional departments and are tied to business goals.

Centralizing policies and processes and making them consistent

Increased knowledge leads employers to develop well defined, consistent processes. A centralized program provides all departments, divisions, locations, managers, supervisors, and employees access to one central place for all tasks related to leave administration.

Also, centralization of information and resources enables employers to better prepare for U.S. Department of Labor and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission inquiries.

Outsourcing some processes, internalizing others

The survey finds over 90% of companies internally manage company-specific leaves (e.g. bereavement, administrative, personal leaves). For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation leave, the majority of companies (82%) are still administering internally, while only 4% are outsourcing it. The remaining 14% either do not manage, don’t know, or aren’t subject to the regulation.

Of those that say they are not currently managing leave, internally, 89% plan to start with Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave and 70% with non-FMLA qualifying medical leave within the next year. Also, 43% plan to manage jury duty internally within the next year, and 51% plan to manage paid sick leave internally within the next 2 years.

Adopting technology

Employers are increasingly using automated systems for FMLA management. This has led to additional investment in technology to upgrade and integrate time and attendance, payroll, and HR systems.

Using external legal support

When legal support is required for the administration of leave, more than half (57%) of respondents use external resources; 23% use a combination of both internal and external legal support (23%); and only 5% of respondents relied solely on external legal support (i.e., a law firm).

The trends mentioned may indicate not only that employers feel more comfortable with their skill sets and those they leverage from vendors, but they are becoming more sophisticated in their management methods.

“Leave is a social, legal, political, and strategic business issue,” said Terri L. Rhodes, chief executive officer of DMEC. “Employers increasingly view leave this way, and are hiring staff, investing in technology and partner relationships, to effectively manage it and all forms of absence. Compliance with laws and regulations is an opportunity to improve processes, performance, and even competitive advantage.”

Content of the annual DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey is available to DMEC members. For more information on the association and how it helps its members maintain legally compliant absence and disability programs, go to www.dmec.org.