May 13, 2016 - The number of employers sued for failing to comply with federal and state Family Medical Leave Acts (FMLA) grew almost four-fold between 2012 and 2015, underscoring the need for employers to carefully manage these complex regulations, according to Julie Johnson, an operations manager for leave services at Liberty Mutual.
“Legal action is only one of the painful consequences of failing to understand and comply with FMLA regulations,” notes Johnson. “And while defense and settlement costs can mount, employers who fail to follow these regulations face far greater damages to their brands and employee engagement. The good news, however, is that consistently applying FMLA regulations across an organization can help protect the company from such damages.”
Johnson spoke at the Disability Management Employer Coalition’s recent national Compliance Conference. Liberty Mutual provides a range of absence management services to large and national employers through benefit consultants.
Here are some of the other FMLA compliance tips Johnson provided to conference attendees:
- Any effective employer program is based on a complete understanding of federal and appropriate state regulations, including FMLA, workers compensation and ADAAA, and how employer benefits intersect
- Recognize that a company’s return-to-work and accommodation policies should be a part of any process for managing FMLA
- Understand if and how an employer’s short term disability plan and FMLA policy can interact
- Have a clear process in place for managing FMLA. That process must specify how employees request FMLA leave, and summarize how the company reviews that leave and notifies employees of the status and outcome of their requests
- Regularly communicate the company’s FMLA policy to employees
- Monitor and update the FMLA policy and management process as needed
For more information on how Liberty Mutual can assist your company with FMLA compliance, please visit: https://business.libertymutualgroup.com/business-insurance/coverages/employee-benefits/employee-leave.
About Liberty Mutual Insurance
Liberty Mutual Insurance helps people preserve and protect what they earn, build, own and cherish. Keeping this promise means we are there when our policyholders throughout the world need us most.
In business since 1912, and headquartered in Boston, Mass., today Liberty Mutual is a diversified insurer with operations in 30 countries and economies around the world. The company is the fifth largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2015 direct written premium data as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Liberty Mutual is ranked 78th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2014 revenue. As of December 31, 2015, the company had $121.7 billion in consolidated assets, $102.5 billion in consolidated liabilities, and $37.6 billion in annual consolidated revenue.
Liberty employs more than 50,000 people in approximately 900 offices throughout the world, and we offer a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, accident & health, commercial automobile, general liability, property, surety, workers compensation, group disability, group life, absence management, specialty lines, reinsurance, individual life and annuity products.
You can learn more by visiting www.libertymutualinsurance.com
