While leave management audits help diagnose issues, they are detailed and therefore require additional time, budget, and external support. In some instances, the best place to begin — even before an audit is considered — is to go undercover and evaluate each component of your absence program and its administration through a secret shopper operation.
The diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy is a critical extension of Sedgwick’s commitment to environmental, social, and governance initiatives. Creating and supporting employee resource groups or colleague resource groups — as they’re known at Sedgwick — is also a way to achieve the organization’s caring counts philosophy that everyone deserves to be welcomed, valued, respected, and heard
Pacific Gas and Electric Company has a rich history of supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion that dates back to the 1970s. One secret to success has been 14 employee resource groups (ERGs) and engineering networking groups with more than 10,000 co-worker members.
So much in the world of absence management has changed, including an employer’s right to test employees for marijuana. Ten years ago, we could all rely on zero tolerance and drug testing policies when it came to what we tested for and when, particularly with regard to pre-employment testing. That is no longer the case as most states allow some type of marijuana use.
In addition to monitoring and communicating statutory PFL and PFML leaves (as well as differences between programs for employers that operate in multiple states), absence professionals must also consider equity and fairness (perceived and real) across employee populations. The relatively new patchwork of laws creates unintentional disparities in the amount of pay, eligibility, definition of family members, and length of leave. Taking a holistic view is important.
The 11th annual DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey white paper, published April 15, provides context for an increasingly complex industry that affects all aspects of an organization’s success. The survey has grown in size and scope since 2011 and illustrates a growing recognition that integrated absence management programs mitigate costly compliance risks.
Determining a “reasonable accommodation” is more complicated than ever, due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19, long COVID, and a dizzying number of state-specific requirements for COVID-19 vaccine accommodations and supplemental paid sick leave. We must brace for ongoing COVID conversations — considering millions of people are affected by long COVID which may be keeping more than one million employees out of work.
Some employers are required to enact a mandatory vaccination policy for COVID-19, and others are choosing to do so. In this environment, employers question whether they can be held liable for vaccine side effects if they mandate the vaccine, while lawsuits have also been filed against employers for failing to protect employees and their family members from the virus.
It is fair to assume that the employment disruption we have experienced during the last couple of years will continue in 2022. But with two years of experience under our belts, we should be able to anticipate some of the twists and turns ahead. One common thread amid the uncertainty we have faced is that the role of absence management professionals continues to expand in scope and influence.
It behooves organizations to proactively draw from documented best practices on workplace mental health to support all employees, as well as their families. For all organizations, the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) provides the “4 A’s of a Mental Health-Friendly Workplace” framework as a vital roadmap.
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Organization
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Organization
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Organization
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Organization
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Organization
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Organization Position
Organization
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VP, Disability & Leave Operations
BROADSPIRE
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VP, Government Segment Business Solutions
AFLAC
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Chief Strategy Officer
ABSENCESOFT
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