Having enough staff to handle unpredictable workloads has always been
a management challenge, especially in customer-facing departments like call
centers or hospitals, where managers
must deal with a high volume of incoming
calls or constantly shifting patient censuses. In addition, employee absences
allowed under the Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA) make difficult scheduling tasks almost impossible. The result is
often increased overtime pay or expenditures for nursing registry temps as managers scramble to close unanticipated
staffing gaps. Changes in FMLA regulations effective Jan. 16 may allow employers a greater ability to manage FML
absences.
“One of the challenges has been that
employees can take FML absences without calling in advance of the absence and
are able to use the time in small increments,” says Janice Dragotta, senior consultant for Health and Productivity at
Watson Wyatt Worldwide. “Employers
have little control because their ability to
contact a treating health care provider is
quite limited and, in the past, such contact
could only be made by a health care professional that was either on staff or contracted by the employer.”
Smart Business spoke with Dragotta
about the new FMLA changes and how
employers can mitigate the business
impact from intermittent employee
absences.
How has intermittent FMLA impacted business and created administrative challenges?
FMLA allows employees who have completed one year of service and 1,250 hours
of employment to take up to 480 hours
(for full-time employees) for qualifying
conditions. Under FMLA’s intermittent
time off provision, employees have not
been required to call in before the start of
their shift, impacting customer service,
workflow and productivity. Employees
can also take partial days off or use small
increments of time for their absences,
which makes keeping track of time off difficult, especially for salaried workers.
What are some of the new FMLA provisions?
Now, in addition to a health care professional, a company HR representative, a
nonimmediate manager or the company’s
leave administrator can contact the
employee’s treating health care provider
to clarify the FMLA request. For example,
a treating provider may have suggested
four days off per month but if a supervisor
notices a pattern of absences (e.g., every
Monday), a company HR professional can
now clarify with the provider if such a pattern is to be expected based on the
employee’s health condition. If an employee is taking a full day of absence for a
medical appointment, the leave administrator or HR professional can contact the
treating provider to determine if the
appointment requires a full day of
absence. Also, employers are now able to
ask the treating provider for the frequency
and duration of expected absences, which
provides a greater ability to manage attendance. Also, unless there are unusual circumstances, employees must adhere to
their work group’s call out policy when they miss time from work, so managers
should expect earlier notification when
employees need to take an intermittent
absence.
How can employers better manage intermittent FML?
By following a few best practices,
employers can reduce the business and
administrative burden imposed by
employee absences.
- Educate supervisors about FMLA,
including how to track employee
absences and set appropriate expectations. FML is an entitlement but it can be
managed more effectively. - Coach outsourced FML providers or
in-house leave administrators to offer
resources to workers requesting time off.
For example, offering respite care or EAP
services to an employee who is caring for
a terminally ill family member might help
provide support and assistance but also
lessen the number of days an employee
may need to take off. - Manage FML consistently across the
enterprise, including a standard method
for reporting time off, so you can track
FMLA time off as well as determine the
business impact.
What else should employers do?
While every company’s policy is unique,
many employers craft their time-off policies so employees must use their allotted
sick time or PTO in conjunction with
FML, which avoids ‘stacking’ of unpaid
time off and PTO, for instance. FML can
help employees manage through a difficult period, but with some changes in the
regulations, employers have a greater ability to manage FML, particularly intermittent absences.
JANICE DRAGOTTA, L.C.S.W., is a senior consultant for Health and Productivity at Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Reach her at (415) 733-4404 or [email protected].
