Last week, you likely saw the final ruling issued by the DOL implementing FMLA expansions to military families and airline crews.
Easy FMLA Compliance for Military and Airline Expansions
Don't Let FMLA Compliance Sneak Up on You
Here at Optis, we keep our ears to the ground on recent industry news and regulations.
You’ve probably read by now that the DOL has issued a final rule [implementing two expansions on the Family Medical Leave Act](http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/) related to military families and airline flight crews. Additionally, they've recently issued clarification on what qualifies as an adult son or daughter and how it relates to protections under FMLA leave. And in state news, Philadelphia and others are considering paid sick leave policy adjustments.
LOA Task Management Reigns!
If you read last week’s [blog post](http://optis.com/blog/sos-we%E2%80%99re-buried-under-too-many-leaves) you saw that task management tools are part of using a cloud-based leave management system to relieve the burden of mismanaged leave data. You might have wondered, “So just what kinds of tasks are typically offered?” In this blog post, we’ll answer this question as it relates to the FMLA and leave of absence (LOA) management. You’ll see how leave specialists can work freely and escape the clutches of leave management chaos.
SOS! We’re Buried Under Too Many Leaves!
[Last week](http://optis.com/blog/don%E2%80%99t-settle-less-all-your-people-data), we discussed the benefits and importance of integrating your people data. Collecting data from multiple sources, cleaning it, and combining it is a great start to understanding how your people data can affect your business.
But once you’ve started integrating all of your data, it can pile up quickly. Think about PTO, LTD, STD, workers’ comp, sick leave, military leave, and all the other leave events your company has to keep track of!
Intermittent FMLA: Tips to Stop Banging Your Head Against the Wall - Part 3
In the last installment of our Intermittent FMLA series, we’re going to share one final tip to help alleviate the pains that come with managing intermittent leaves.
By now, we’re hoping we’ve gotten you to stop the head vs.
Intermittent FMLA: Tips to Stop Banging Your Head Against The Wall - Part 2
A couple of weeks ago, we gave you a [few tips to ease the head pains](http://optis.com/blog/intermittent-fmla-tips-stop-banging-your-head-against-wall) so many HR managers get as a result of managing intermittent FMLA.
While we hope our dose of FMLA-aspirin helped, we know that many circumstances beyond what we identified in Part 1 of this series can lead to forehead vs. wall (or desk, or keyboard) combat.
One of the major ongoing headaches for HR managers is the potential fraud that may be committed and disguised as intermittent FMLA.
Survey Shows Absence Costs Still Unknown
Over half of HR professionals are unsure how much employee absence costs their organization. This unsettling statistic was revealed in our survey conducted in June at the 2012 SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition in Atlanta.
Let’s think about that. Half of these professionals aren’t sure of the costs, so therefore, executives don’t know when money is literally walking out the door. Plus, the price tag on this problem is $100 billion.
With ever-changing FMLA laws and rising temporary personnel costs, absence needs to be properly managed to control costs and ensure compliance.
Notes from Colorado DMEC: Leave as an Accommodation
This week, many members of the Optis team attended the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) Colorado Chapter’s quarterly meeting, “Absence Policies to Consider from Three Legal Perspectives.” The sessions clearly focused around absence – a topic near and dear to the hearts of many Optis employees.
What was particularly interesting about one of the sessions was that it focused on leave for an absence type not clearly defined: Leave as an ADA accommodation.
*“The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires reasonable accommodations when necessary so that people with disabilities
HR Resources for Dealing with Hurricane Sandy and the After-Effects
All eyes are on the East Coast today as Hurricane Sandy travels along the eastern seaboard. Google has created a [crisis map](http://google.org/crisismap/sandy-2012), you can use to track the storm. Here are some articles that provide resources for HR Managers during and after the wake of the storm we think are helpful. Stay safe everyone.
- OSHA and DOL Resources - Check out Eric B. Meyer’s [blog](http://www.theemployerhandbook.com/2012/10/the-essential-hr-guide-to-hurr.html), the Employer Handbook.
- Questions about Nonexempt vs.
Spring Conference Season
There’s only one month left until OCI kicks-off our busy spring and summer conference schedule! We have a busy next few months ahead of us. We’ll be attending and exhibiting at several conferences nationwide. Our upcoming event calendar is below. [Click here](mailto:solutions@oci.com) to schedule a meeting with an OCI Sales Representative during a conference and learn about ***LeaveXpert™***, the essential leave mangement solution for your organization.