While compliance questions continue to top the list for integrated absence management professionals, DMEC education experts discuss trends they’re seeing and what that says about an increasing knowledge gap that can put employers at risk.

An innovative, integrated approach to population health has improved employee engagement (four-fold), reduced short-term disability days, and saved close to $2,000 per episode at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center UPMC. Listen in for details from Kristen Hasley, Senior Director of Health and Productivity Integration and Maria Henderson, Vice President of Workforce Health Strategy and Innovation, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center UPMC.

Absence management professionals are faced with an increasingly challenging landscape of paid family and medical leave laws and paid sick and safe laws. Get tips and tools for ways you can support employees and stay compliant. Resources

More employers are questioning how they create time away programs that are meaningful to employee populations of all ages and backgrounds. Listen in as Ali Schaafsma, senior absence consultant with Brown and Brown Strategic Non-Medical Solutions, and Rachel Foster, lead specialist II with CHG Healthcare, talk about how bucketing leaves can empower employees to take the time they need to maintain a work-life balance in this episode of Absence Management Perspectives: A DMEC Podcast. Resources

Employers are in a tough position when it comes to whether they can (or should) test employees for marijuana use. A key question is what they learn from the tests, which are limited, and whether they’re better served with investments in supervisor training to ensure safe work environments. Listen in to this dynamic conversation between Terri L. Rhodes, DMEC CEO, and Kathryn Russo, an attorney with Jackson Lewis P.C., who helps employers avoid legal potholes. Resources

A story of rehabilitation and recovery from Long COVID: An employer representative, physical therapist, and employee share an inside look at what’s working in Minnesota. Resources Disability Management & Absence Management Professionals | DMEC