Employers today face continuing challenges when it comes
to managing Family and Medical Leave Act and Americans with Disabilities Act
regulations. These laws seek to protect employees who may need to be absent
from work for a period of time due to a disability or health condition. Because
the complex laws approach employee leave from different perspectives, however,
their implementation and compliance can place a tremendous administrative
burden on the time and resources of a company’s human resources department.
In addition, almost all states have enacted their own
leave laws, creating more than 140 state leave laws that employers must also
manage. Clearly, managing employee absences is not for the faint-hearted, and
many employers will be quick to admit that they need help in administering the
complex laws.
1. Ensure
compliance with FMLA and ADA requirements. Employers have a legal duty to
comply with both FMLA and ADA regulations, which can often be confusing,
particularly for companies who have limited – or no – in-house legal expertise.
A third-party company with strong legal resources can help ensure that all
federal, state and company-specific leave policies are applied consistently,
helping employers avoid costly penalties.
For example, an outside company can help an employer
verify employee eligibility and approve or deny FMLA and state leaves, as well
as track and record all reported federal, state and company-specific protected
absences.
In addition, a third-party company can help guide an
employer’s benefits staff through the process of interacting with a disabled
employee, which is a chief requirement of the ADA, including offering
suggestions for potential worksite or job modifications, providing short- and
long term disability updates and more. Such a resource can also help an employer
manage all the transactions, conversations and documentation that is required
when employees are out on disability or need help to stay at work.
2. Ensure
standardization and consistency in applying the laws. The FMLA has
clear-cut regulations that employers must follow when administering leaves by
using a consistent process. This can be a challenge for companies that are
diversified or decentralized with multiple worksites, since managers in
different locations may make different leave decisions. Also, managers at
different sites can be confused about how to interpret medical information
required under the ADA.
Outsourcing the implementation of such leaves can help
prevent inconsistencies throughout an organization, and ensure that all
employees and employee classes are treated the same when it comes to
FMLA/job-protected leave eligibility and timing, and related ADA regulatory
considerations.
3. Alleviate the
administrative burden on HR departments. Benefits managers are now spending
much of their time helping employees understand their health care benefits
under the Affordable Care Act. As a result, there’s often not much time left to
effectively administer the requirements of both the FMLA and ADA, especially if
the application of the laws overlaps.
Outsourcing this responsibility can help relieve the
burden on companies whose benefits managers may be deployed on other
initiatives, such as the ACA, or those with smaller HR staffs.
4. Realize better
coordination of employee leaves. The FMLA provides 12 weeks of leave in a
calendar year for employees, but it doesn’t have to be taken consecutively and
many employees use the FMLA for intermittent leaves. In addition, there may be
a short-term disability leave running concurrently, or in some cases, a leave
under the ADA may take effect when FMLA leave is exhausted.
Outsourcing absence management can make it more
convenient for employers to track these various leaves, along with any new
leaves and changes in leave dates and expected return-to-work dates. Many
third-party companies will provide reports that include case status and an
update on employees’ leave status. An outside company can also help identify patterns and trends in
employee absence and help employers understand how these absences impact costs
and productivity – enabling them to more effectively control their benefit
costs.
5. Enhance return
on investment. With employers continuing to be concerned about employee
productivity, using an outside company can help ensure that productivity is not
affected more than it has to be. Relieving HR professionals of the
time-consuming duties of dealing with leave tracking and absence management
results in better use of their time. In addition, a third party may be able to
suggest ways for a disabled employee to stay at work or return to work,
allowing them to remain productive during this time, as well.
Outsourcing can also help meet an employer’s need for a
simple, more cost-effective absence management option by providing access to a
cadre of expert resources, including medical and legal experts, virtually
eliminating the need to have these employees on staff.
The bottom line is that by outsourcing FMLA and ADA
management, employers can gain valuable time for their more strategic
initiatives, while leaving the details to a third party.
Source: Employee
Benefits News
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