The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed into law in 1993 and entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons.
What Your Clients Need To Know About FMLA
More than 30 years after its creation, this landmark federal law continues to provide important protections for employees out on leaves of absence, such as job restoration and health insurance continuation.
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Your clients should be aware that:
- FMLA covered employers include both private sector employers (with 50 or more employees) and public sector employers (regardless of the number of employees).
2 - Most leaves are modest in length. About 40% last two weeks or less and more than three-quarters last eight weeks or less.
3 - Many states have their own FML laws. Employees can benefit from, and employers must comply with, all the laws that apply to the leave reason.
2 - There are special FMLA rules for some workers, like teachers and flight crews.
2 - Workers who have used up FML can still have rights under the ADA if they meet the ADA’s definition of a person with a disability. Workplace accommodation is one such right. For example, additional leave time (beyond the worker’s FML) could be an accommodation that must be provided under the ADA.
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A Partner for Absence Management
The Hartford was among the first carriers to recognize and respond to employers’ growing need for absence management services. Our offerings include:
- Absence compliance consulting
- Core claim and leave management
- An employee advocacy service that provides clinical support to link employees with appropriate health and wellness programs
When discussing FMLA in the workplace with your clients, you should ask:
- Do they have a consistent process for operationalizing FMLA administration?
- Can they coordinate administration of FMLA, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), short-term disability (STD), workers’ compensation (WC), state leave and company leave policies?
- Can they coordinate the administration of leave with payroll and people management systems?
- Do they provide HR and managers with FMLA training and are they prepared to administer intermittent FMLA?
- Does the company understand the leaves their competitors are offering and best practices in a changing FMLA landscape?
To learn more about our Absence Management solutions for your clients, contact your representative at The Hartford.
