The Family and Medical Leave Act
(FMLA), enacted in 1993, has been a
welcome benefit to eligible employees because it offers job protection and
the ability to address certain personal or
family health issues. However, it can present some challenges to employers who are
required to track the consecutive and
intermittent time an employee uses for
FMLA.
Smart Business spoke with Bill Berenson, vice president of sales and service
for Aetna’s Small & Middle Market Business for the North Central Region, about
employee rights under FMLA as well as
how companies can maintain compliance
with the law.
What rights do employers and employees
have under FMLA?
Covered employers are required to grant
up to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period to eligible employees, and
employees may elect to take their 12
weeks in consecutive or intermittent intervals. Some companies track intermittent to
as low as 15-minute intervals. An eligible
employee is entitled to the leave for any of
the following reasons:
- Birth of a child and the care for the
newborn child, within the first 12 months
of life - Placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, within the
first 12 months of placement - Care for spouse, child or parent who
has a serious health condition - A serious health condition of the
employee
The law also requires the employer to
maintain an employee’s current health benefit plan.
What should employers do to make sure they
comply with FMLA laws? How can they stay
informed of any changes, amendments or
enhancements to FMLA?
Companies may want to consider having
a member or members of their staff oversee FMLA compliance. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Web site (www.dol.gov)
contains valuable information, including
an outline of FMLA regulations and tools
for FMLA compliance at the federal and
state levels (www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/).
Another option for employers is engaging
local counsel to whom the company can
bring challenging FMLA issues as they
arise.
Insurers, as part of their offerings, also
maintain FMLA compliance for their customers.
What programs or services do insurers offer
to help companies navigate FMLA?
Some insurers like Aetna provide a range
of services, including:
- Information on how FMLA works, employee education about their rights under
FMLA and lists of whom to contact for
more information - Compliance with state and federal regulations governing family and medical
leave - Statistical analysis of FMLA usage and
trends - Utilization of information from short-term disability (STD) claims to help determine eligibility for FMLA
Why is it difficult for employers to comply
with these laws?
The difficulty lies in tracking the time an
employee uses for FMLA leave. An eligible
employee can choose to take 12 weeks in
one lump sum or on an intermittent basis,
such as three days a month or four hours
one day a week. When the time is used
intermittently, it becomes increasingly difficult to track.
For example, an eligible employee who
suffers from migraines may be approved
for up to 16 hours of leave per month; thus
this employee may find it necessary to
leave work one hour early because of the
severity of the condition. An employer
must track that one hour as FMLA leave.
The individual could choose to leave 15
minutes early, but the employer must still
track that for FMLA purposes to count
against the approved time of the employee.
What are the risks of not complying with
FMLA laws? Are there fines?
Companies have been penalized for failing to comply with the FMLA. During the
period 2001 through 2005, employees filed
nearly 16,000 FMLA complaints with the
Department of Labor. As a result, the DOL
says it collected approximately $13.2 million in back pay for FMLA violations during
fiscal years 2001 through 2005.
BILL BERENSON is vice president of sales and service for
Aetna’s Small & Middle Market Business in the North Central
Region. Reach him at (312) 928-3323 or [email protected].
