leave administration challenges under fmla

HR: Leading People, Leading Organizations © 2006 SHRMSHRM Weekly Online Survey: November 7, 2006

Leave Administration Challenges under FMLA

• Sample comprised of 437 randomly selected HR professionals.

• Analyzing 437 responses of 2868 emails sent, 2640 emails were received (response rate = 17%).

• Survey fielded November 7 – November 13, 2006; presentation generated on November 14, 2006.

• Margin of error is +/- 5%.

Note: The number of respondents to each question is indicated by “n” in figures.


In the past 12 months, has your organization experienced challenges in administering/granting leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for employees' serious health condition?

No, 49%Yes, 51%

n = 437


In the past 12 months, has your organization experienced challenges in administering/granting leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for employees' serious health condition?

Choice Count Percentage Answered

No 215 49%

Yes 222 51%


Which of the following serious health conditions did your organization experience challenges in administering/granting leave under FMLA?

5%

60%

36%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Catastrophic event Chronic condition Both

n = 222

Note: Percentage may not total 100% due to rounding.


Which of the following serious health conditions did your organization experience challenges in administering/granting leave under FMLA?

Choice Count Percentage Answered

Catastrophic event of the employee(s) (serious accident, serious injury, and/or life-threatening disease)

10 5%

Chronic condition of the employee (s) (on-going injury, on-going illness, and/or non-life threatening condition)

133 60%

Both 79 36%


What specific challenge(s) has your organization encountered due to employees taking FMLA leave as a result of a catastrophic event (serious accident, serious injury, and/or life-threatening disease)?

7%

24%

24%

26%

34%

36%

38%

56%

56%

60%

61%

63%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Other

Leave taken for illness or ailment that does not qualify as aserious health condition

DOL regulations, guidance, and opinion letters contradictoryand confusing

Scheduling of the leave request

Chronic abuse of intermittent leave by employee

Unsure about the legitimacy of leave requests

Cost associated with compliance and leave tracking

Vague documentation of medical leave certification byhealth care professional

Morale problems with employees asked to cover for absentemployee

Tracking of intermittent leave

Costs associated with a loss of productivity due to theabsence of employee

Labor costs associated with absence of employee(s)

Note: Percentage does not total 100% as multiple responses were allowed.

n = 89


What specific challenge has your organization encountered due to employees taking FMLA leave as a result of a catastrophic event (serious accident, serious injury, and/or life-threatening disease)?

Choice Percent of Cases

Labor costs associated with absence of employee(s) (e.g. hiring temporary workers or having other employees work)

63%

Costs associated with a loss of productivity due to the absence of employee(s)

61%

Tracking of intermittent leave (small segments of leave) 60%

Morale problems with employees asked to cover for absent employee(s) and/or other employees who are impacted

56%

Vague documentation of medical leave certification by health care professional

56%

Cost associated with compliance and leave tracking 38%

Unsure about the legitimacy of leave requests 34%

Chronic abuse of intermittent leave (small segments of leave) by employee(s)

34%

Scheduling of the leave request 26%

DOL regulations, guidance, and opinion letters contradictory and confusing

24%

Leave taken for illness or ailment that does not qualify as a serious health condition

24%

Other: 7%


Other challenges organizations encountered due to employees taking FMLA as a result of a catastrophic event.

• Unreturned requests• Multiple locations, not knowing employee is on

leave• FMLA not long enough for employee's needs• Employees' unwillingness to apply• Difficulty getting health care professionals to

return medical leave certification in a timely manner.

• As an organization we have not tracked this well.


What specific challenge has your organization encountered due to employees taking FMLA leave as a result of a chronic condition (on-going injury, on-going illness, and/or non-life threatening condition)?

5%

26%

34%

35%

42%

54%

57%

57%

60%

63%

66%

73%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Other

DOL regulations, guidance, and opinion letterscontradictory and confusing

Leave taken for illness or ailment that does not qualify as aserious health condition

Scheduling of the leave request

Cost associated with compliance and leave tracking

Labor costs associated with absence of employee(s)

Unsure about the legitimacy of leave requests

Vague documentation of medical leave certification byhealth care professional

Costs associated with a loss of productivity due to theabsence of employee

Morale problems with employees asked to cover for absentemployee(s)

Chronic abuse of intermittent leave by employee

Tracking of intermittent leave

Note: Percentage does not total 100% as multiple responses were allowed.

n = 212


What specific challenge has your organization encountered due to employees taking FMLA leave as a result of a chronic condition (on-going injury, on-going illness, and/or non-life threatening condition)?

Choice Percent of Cases

Tracking of intermittent leave (small segments of leave) 73%

Chronic abuse of intermittent leave (small segments of leave) by employee(s)

67%

Morale problems with employees asked to cover for absent employee(s) and/or other employees who are impacted

63%

Costs associated with a loss of productivity due to the absence of employee(s)

60%

Vague documentation of medical leave certification by health care professional

57%

Unsure about the legitimacy of leave requests 57%

Labor costs associated with absence of employee(s) (e.g. hiring temporary workers or having other employees work)

54%

Cost associated with compliance and leave tracking 42%

Scheduling of the leave request 35%

Leave taken for illness or ailment that does not qualify as a serious health condition

34%

DOL regulations, guidance, and opinion letters contradictory and confusing

26%

Other 5%


Other challenges organizations encountered due to employees taking FMLA as a result of a chronic condition.

• Having to reschedule patients due to the employee being off which impacts customer service.

• We currently outsource to MetLife which is a hassle in and of itself!• We are a leasing company therefore it has been challenging to know when

an employee has been out and in getting the documentation back from the employee

• To pay or not to pay salaried individuals while they are on leave of absence.• Multiple locations, not knowing employee is on leave• Health care professionals not understanding the law or implications of

vague or illegible documentation to the employee• Health care worker shortage.• Employees' unwillingness to apply• Difficulty getting health care provider to return the medical certification in a

timely manner• Determining if we should keep the employee if out more than the allowed 12

weeks. • Abuse by employee to get time off for hunting/ vacation etc and no way to

reign in

leave administration challenges under fmla

Documents