Managing Employee Leave: Why Compliance Matters
Keeping accurate track of employee leave is a challenging yet necessary task for employers. Relying on spreadsheets or even pen and paper for paid leave or absence management might seem like a cost-effective method compared to automated software solutions. However, manual leave management can put your organization at risk. Becoming familiar with these potential risks can help you understand how important it is to have a more reliable way to handle employee leave.
Leave laws seemingly get more difficult each year. The passing of new legislation at federal, state and local levels adds to the complexity. With each new law, employers are left carrying a bigger administrative burden. For a while, the burden centered on administering and tracking the employer’s own leave policies and the unpaid leave required by some state and certain federal laws. Examples of such laws are the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
However, that landscape is changing drastically. More states are passing legislation that requires employers to provide other forms of paid or unpaid leave. For example, some state and local jurisdictions require bereavement leave, paid sick leave, parental leave, sick child leave and leave for COVID-19 related reasons. Adding to that complexity, many states have implemented—or are in various stages of implementing—paid family and medical leave (PFML) programs. These programs are unlike anything employers have ever had to administer.
With these different layers of paid and unpaid leave comes increased difficulty in tracking. Employers must track when employees use leave and whether the leave qualifies under one or more different laws. Compliance and accuracy in tracking leave has always been important. However, with each added layer of leave it becomes both more difficult and more important to make sure you are getting it right.
This blog is up to date as of October 2023 and has not been updated for changes in the law, administration or current events.
