Discover Resources to Support Your Absence Programs
DMEC publishes a series of white papers and case studies each year to assist you in making important business decisions on topics such as leave management practices, intermittent FMLA, vendor selection, and much more.
DMEC white papers are available exclusively to DMEC members.
Log in to your DMEC account to access the archives below.
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In addition to white papers authored by DMEC, we provide links to third-party resources that pertain to absence and disability management.
2022 DMEC Absence Plan Design and Practices Benchmarking Report
March 30, 2023The 2022 benchmarking report — which features plan design data for workers’ compensation, short-term disability, long-term disability, the Family and Medical Leave Act, paid leave, time off, and other company ... Read More
Long COVID: Assessing and Managing Workforce Impact
January 18, 2023Long COVID: Assessing and Managing Workforce Impact shares effective solutions and strategies for employers as they help employees with long COVID remain on the job, return to work in an effective and productive capacity, or access leave if they are unable to work.
2022 DMEC Long COVID Pulse Survey Results
January 18, 2023In October 2022, DMEC surveyed 242 organizations across a variety of industries about current long COVID caseloads, accommodation practices, and strategic planning for long COVID management. This report highlights the survey results.
2022 DMEC Long COVID Think Tank Summary
August 8, 2022As employers grapple with understanding and managing long COVID in the workplace, DMEC and Sedgwick have convened a think tank of industry experts to weigh in and provide solutions for ... Read More
2021 DMEC Benchmarking Reports
July 28, 2022These benchmarking reports are a subset of the 2021 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey, which was completed by 703 employers, and focus on plan design for workers’ compensation, short-term disability, ... Read More
2022 DMEC Workplace Accommodations Pulse Survey Results
June 13, 2022The definition of a workplace has expanded greatly in the past several years, impacting both when and how organizations conduct business. As a result, we’ve seen shifts in accommodation management ... Read More
2021 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey White Paper
April 15, 2022DMEC and Spring Consulting Group, an Alera Group Company have partnered for the eleventh year to conduct annual research about employer leave management practices. Our national survey tracks employer methods ... Read More
2021 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey Executive Summary
April 15, 2022DMEC and Spring Consulting Group, an Alera Group Company have partnered for the eleventh year to conduct annual research about employer leave management practices. Our national survey tracks employer methods ... Read More
2020 DMEC Benchmarking Reports
October 5, 2021These benchmarking reports are a subset of the 2020 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey, which was completed by 793 employers, and focus on plan design for workers’ compensation, short-term disability, ... Read More
2021 DMEC Paid Family & Medical Leave Pulse Survey Results
September 14, 2021Paid family and medical leave (PFML) laws have swept the nation in recent years. With no two state plans alike, managing this patchwork of new laws can prove challenging. Employers ... Read More
2021 DMEC State of Absence Management Pulse Survey Results
August 16, 2021Organizations have experienced extraordinary business shifts during the pandemic, with absence management practices being significantly impacted. As we evaluate the new terrain of leave management, it’s pertinent to consider all ... Read More
2021 DMEC ADA Accommodations Pulse Survey Results (May)
July 2, 2021As COVID-19 continues to impact organizations, ADA accommodations have also been affected. In this pulse survey, we looked at the volume and types of accommodation requests organizations have seen since ... Read More
2020 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey White Paper
March 22, 2021The Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) and Spring Consulting Group (Spring) have partnered for the tenth year to conduct annual research on employer leave management. Our national survey tracks employer ... Read More
2020 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey Executive Summary
March 22, 2021The Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) and Spring Consulting Group (Spring) have partnered for the tenth year to conduct annual research on employer leave management. Our national survey tracks employer ... Read More
2021 DMEC Covid-Related Leave Accommodation and Considerations Pulse Survey Results
March 1, 2021The COVID-19 pandemic has been an exercise in agility, empathy, and innovation for employers across the globe. As we examine the changes of the past year — including economic uncertainty, ... Read More
2020 DMEC Return to the Workplace Pulse Survey Results
September 14, 2020From July 28 through Aug. 5, 2020, DMEC gathered feedback through an online survey on how organizations are approaching efforts to return employees to the workplace amid the COVID-19 pandemic. ... Read More
2020 DMEC Family Caregiving Pulse Survey Results
July 16, 2020More than ever before, U.S. employees find themselves balancing both work and caregiving responsibilities. In fact, researchers at Harvard Business School published findings in 2019 suggesting that as many as ... Read More
2020 DMEC COVID-19 Pulse Survey Results
May 14, 2020From Apr. 6 through Apr. 10, 2020, DMEC gathered feedback through an online survey on how organizations are responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. The survey had 608 participants, with the ... Read More
2019 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey White Paper
March 5, 2020For nine years the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) and Spring Consulting Group have partnered to conduct annual research on employer leave management. Our national survey tracks employer methods for ... Read More
2019 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey Executive Summary
March 5, 2020For nine years, DMEC and Spring Consulting Group have partnered to conduct annual research on employer leave management. With information from over 873 employers, the national survey tracks employer methods ... Read More
2019 Hospital System Best Practices White Paper
January 28, 2020Full content is available to DMEC members only. to view the complete resource. If you are not a DMEC member, we encourage you to join. DMEC members have access to ... Read More
2019 DMEC ADA Administration Pulse Survey Results
September 18, 2019DMEC routinely hears from employers struggling with the complexities of managing Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation activities. With little regulatory guidance on the administrative aspects of managing requests and ... Read More
Why Disability Income Protection Should Be Part of Your Financial Wellness Toolkit: A Study from Prudential
June 21, 2019Americans across the socioeconomic spectrum face numerous barriers to financial wellness, affecting everything from the quality of their child care to planning for retirement. Prepared or not, most Americans are ... Read More
Absence and Disability Readiness Index: A Study from The Standard
June 11, 2019In a recent study, The Standard asked HR business decision makers to rate their organizations’ absence and disability practices, and their confidence in managing absence and disability programs. Scores were ... Read More
2019 DMEC Mental Health Pulse Survey Results
May 30, 2019Mental health issues in the workforce continue to challenge many employers. Companies are reviewing offerings to support employees in need, but often still struggle to understand and effectively address this ... Read More
2018 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey White Paper
March 12, 2019For eight years the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) and Spring Consulting Group (Spring) have partnered to conduct annual research on employer leave management. Our national survey tracks employer methods ... Read More
2018 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey Executive Summary
March 12, 2019For eight years, DMEC and Spring Consulting Group have partnered to conduct annual research on employer leave management. With information from over 820 employers, the national survey tracks employer methods ... Read More
Achieve Savings by Maximizing Your SSDI Offset Provisions: A White Paper from Genex
February 5, 2019Many employers utilize self-insured programs to offer long-term disability (LTD) coverage to employees. With the potential financial risk of taking on self-insured programs, it’s important that employers are aware of ... Read More
2018 Hospital System Best Practices White Paper
January 30, 2019Full content is available to DMEC members only. to view the complete resource. If you are not a DMEC member, we encourage you to join. DMEC members have access to ... Read More
2018 DMEC Business Impact of Paid Leave Pulse Survey Results
December 18, 2018In the last few years, our country has seen a constantly shifting landscape of paid family and paid parental leave laws cropping up across many states and municipalities. Additionally, employers ... Read MoreThe Importance of Medical Evaluations & Clinical Reviews in Disability Insurance: A White Paper from Genex
November 12, 2018Today, a primary concern of executives at disability insurance carriers is compliance with updates to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which went into effect April 1, 2018. The ... Read More
Managing Optimal Work Performance Through Behavioral Health Conditions White Paper
October 23, 2018Millions of Americans struggle with mental health and substance use (alcohol or drug) conditions. The umbrella term for all these issues is behavioral health conditions. When an employee begins struggling ... Read More
2018 DMEC Benchmarking Pulse Survey Results
July 26, 2018DMEC is regularly asked by our members to provide benchmarking information. In our continued efforts to serve our membership with meaningful industry information, we conducted this pulse survey, in partnership ... Read More
Emerging Business Trends in Paid Family Medical Leave: A Report from Panorama
March 6, 2018Competitive pressure, millennial workforce expectations, and the outsized influence of the technology industry are among factors impacting voluntary adoption of paid family and medical leave programs by large employers in ... Read More
2017 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey White Paper
February 26, 2018For seven years, DMEC and Spring Consulting Group have partnered to conduct annual research on employer leave management. Our national survey tracks employer methods for administering both regulatory and non-regulatory ... Read More
2017 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey Executive Summary
February 26, 2018For seven years, DMEC and Spring Consulting Group have partnered to conduct annual research on employer leave management. With information from over 1,203 employers, the national survey tracks employer methods ... Read More
Q&A with Bryon Bass: An Article from Sedgwick
January 3, 2018The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and return to work (RTW) continue to be hot topics in the industry. In this article from Sedgwick, Bryon Bass, SVP, Disability and Absence Practice ... Read More
2016 DMEC Behavioral Health Survey White Paper
March 27, 2017The DMEC Behavioral Health Survey, conducted biennially, tracks employer strategies, advancements, prevalence, and effectiveness in the area of behavioral risk management. The findings presented in the 2016 DMEC Behavioral Health ... Read More
2016 DMEC Behavioral Health Survey Executive Summary
March 27, 2017Mental health conditions continue to be among the leading causes of workplace absence and are associated with high cost for treatments and lost wages. Mental health issues are often not ... Read More
2016 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey White Paper
March 2, 2017This sixth annual white paper provides a summary and an analysis of the results of the 2016 Employer Leave Management Survey, jointly sponsored by DMEC and Spring Consulting Group. With ... Read More
2016 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey Executive Summary
March 2, 2017The landscape of employer leaves continues to undergo change and become increasingly complex. Fortunately, our 2016 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey findings signal that employers are up to the challenge ... Read More
Mental Health in the Workplace: Executive Summary
December 21, 2016The statistics and research findings are compelling: Approximately 1 in 5 people is dealing with a mental health situation on a daily basis, and studies show that people with depression ... Read More
2015 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey White Paper
March 7, 2016This fifth annual report provides a summary and an analysis of the results of the 2015 Employer Leave Management Survey. The survey tracks employer methods, challenges, and successes in the ... Read More
Insourcing, Co-Sourcing, and Outsourcing Leave and Absence Management: A White Paper from Pacific Resources
September 18, 2015When determining whether your company should insource or outsource any aspect of leave and absence management, you should first consider your specific goals. What does a successful leave program look ... Read More
2014 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey White Paper
February 24, 2015This fourth annual report provides a summary and an analysis of the 2014 Employer Leave Management Survey jointly sponsored by DMEC and Spring Consulting Group. The survey tracks employer methods, ... Read More
2014 DMEC Behavioral Risk Survey Results and White Paper
January 22, 2015This report provides a summary and an analysis of the 2014 Disability Management Employer Coalition’s biennial survey, which tracks employer strategies, advancements, prevalence, and effectiveness in the area of Behavioral ... Read More
2013 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey White Paper
January 23, 2014This third annual report provides a summary and an analysis of the 2013 Employer Leave Management Survey jointly sponsored by the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) and Spring Consulting Group. ... Read More
2012 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey White Paper
January 15, 2013DMEC partnered with Spring Consulting to understand employer challenges in managing all types of leaves; Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), State Family and Medical Leaves, Military Leave (USERRA), State ... Read More
2012 DMEC Behavioral Risk Survey Results and White Paper
May 11, 2012This report provides summary and analysis of the 2012 Disability Management Employer Coalition’s biennial survey which tracks employer strategies, advancements, prevalence and effectiveness in the area of Behavioral Risk Management. ... Read More
2011 DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey White Paper
July 2, 2011This report provides summary and analysis of the 2011 Employer Leave Management Survey jointly sponsored by the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) and Spring Consulting Group (Spring). The survey tracks ... Read More
2010 DMEC Behavioral Risk Survey Results and White Paper
September 14, 2010This report provides summary and analysis of the 2010 Disability Management Employer Coalition’s biannual survey which tracks employer strategies, advancements, prevalence and effectiveness in the area of Behavioral Risk Management. ... Read More