From increasing pressure on employers to provide holistic benefits, to a greater adoption of statutory parental and family leave programs, the tides are turning in absence management. It is critical for employers and workers alike to play close atten…
Unplanned employee absences — whether due to on-the-job injuries, physical or mental health conditions, family care needs or personal circumstances — are on the rise. Hyper-targeted programs are emerging as an effective way to help employ…
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) offers leave with job and benefit protection to eligible employees for qualifying events. However, employers are not required to pay employees when they take leave under FMLA or similar leave laws. In response …
A recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlights the scope of unemployment insurance (UI) fraud during the COVID pandemic, when claims for supplemental government relief programs increased sharply. The total amount of C…
A recent article discussed how workers are increasingly being asked/required by employers to work overtime. Meanwhile, those same employers are facing challenges when it comes to FMLA. While organizations reap some benefits when employees work beyo…
More than three years after many transitioned to working from home on account of the pandemic, employers are still trying to pinpoint where employees are most productive and how to optimize organizational performance. The COVID era gave rise to a var…
A recent Supreme Court case will have wide-ranging implications for employers as it relates to religious accommodations. The ruling established a new standard for employers to meet if claiming that a requested religious accommodation would unduly bur…
The landscape of crisis and critical incident response within the claims industry is expanding. Where once teams managed cases almost exclusively involving the critically injured, new layers of care and response are emerging that address the “ripple …
Fall always leads to one of my favorite holidays — Halloween. Scary, spooky things abound in stores, kids (and adults) get ready for trick-or-treating, and we typically get unnecessary horror movie sequels that aren't quite as good as the origi…
Contributing experts: Jeff Byxbe, senior risk services consultant and Michael Dougherty, director, risk services As is expected for the tenure of a Democratic president, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration (…
Workplace culture has evolved beyond employees’ value lying solely in productivity; their whole selves and well-being matters, too. A sustainable work-life balance is critical to safeguarding well-being and improving the performance of workers. Now m…
Link to an entryThere is an underrated threat to employers today that no one is talking about: the game of pickleball. While I am joking about pickleball being a major peril, human resources professionals and organizations should pay attention to the…
People are the greatest asset to any organization. When it comes to supporting employees, companies must work toward creating and enhancing effective training programs. Employers are encouraged to rise to the challenge, but are often faced with obsta…
The past couple of years have given rise to some significant workplace trends — a war for talent, demands for flexible work options and an increased need for mental health support. Typically, we hear about these issues from the employee perspec…
Absence utilization in the U.S. is at an all-time high. In January 2022, approximately 4.2 million employees worked part time because of illness, injuries, and other medical problems — the second highest percentage since data collection began i…