By Carla O’Sullivan/from our Partners at ReedGroup
In the ever-changing landscape of mandated paid leave, required minimum wage increases, what is federal leave versus what is state leave, comparing U.S. benefits with international offerings, and the moving target of managing a workforce during a national pandemic…. if you don’t have questions, you likely don’t work in HR. Absence management is a complex field, and paid leave is a particularly difficult leave type for employers to manage in a compliant manner.
With many new paid leave laws, job protection for reasons like vaccinations or school closings, the definition of new family members being added as qualified, etc., it all could make employers reconsider how they decide when to provide compensation for leaves that currently go unpaid. For example, some employers do not pay for jury duty leave, while others cover the difference between what the employee receives from the court system and what their regular salary would have been. Other employers pay for up to two weeks, 30 days, or even longer for qualified USERRA leaves. The point is not to advocate for or against pay for jury duty or USERRA absences, but to look at the bigger picture.
“Which leaves do we provide pay for? Which are unpaid? Why?”
If the only answers for these questions are, ‘we do it X way because that’s the way we’ve always done it,’ perhaps it’s time to assess paid and unpaid leave policies within your organization. You may be surprised at what you discover.
Reviewing paid vs. unpaid leaves: where to begin
To get the ball rolling, here is a list of typical leaves to consider:
- Bereavement
- Jury/Witness Duty
- Voting
- Bonding/Parental
- Military
- Civil Air Patrol
- Volunteer Civil Service
- Victim, Witness, and Advocate
- Domestic Violence
- Bone Marrow/Organ Donation
- Public Service
- School Activity
- Pregnancy Disability
- Family Medical
- Employee Medical
- Adoptive/Foster Activities
What employers should do now
- Identify how long it has been since your leave policies have been updated and if they are still in line with your company values.
- Review current policies to assess when and how employee absences are handled. Are similarly situated employees being treated equally? Are there areas of overlap covered by newly identified laws? Are there unintended gaps?
Information provided on this blog is intended for general educational use. It is not intended to provide legal advice. ReedGroup does not provide legal services. Consult an attorney for legal advice on this or any other topic.
