The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) both serve to protect employees who may need to be absent from work due to a disability or a health condition, but they are both handled differently from an HR perspective. They are often difficult to manage, implement, and comply with and many employers choose to outsource this to a company like Focus HR, or a third-party HR provider and here is why:
1. Compliance
Employers have a legal duty to follow FMLA and ADA, and often they lack the HR and legal expertise to do so. A third-part provider has the resources to ensure your company is adhering to federal, state, and local laws. Additionally, an outside provider will apply consistency to all processes to avoid claims and penalties.
Another major contribution a third-party provider can make, is offering advice on how to interact with a disabled employee and suggest any worksite or job modifications that may need to be made.
2. Alleviate Administrative Burden
These days, benefit managers are spread really thin as a result of all the changes in legislation, specifically the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). Health care reform requires a lot more reporting and paperwork, and employees have a lot more questions. So outsourcing benefits administration and the management of employee leave can alleviate the administrative burden, reduce your liability, and give you more time to focus on revenue-generating activities.
3. Coordinate Employee Leave More Effectively
FMLA gives 12 weeks of leave to employees in a calendar year, but it does not have to be taken consecutively. Additionally, FMLA leave can often overlap with ADA and/or short-term disability claims which can lead to a managerial nightmare. Outsourcing your leave can help take the confusion out of this process; reports can be provided to you to help you plan your work schedule. Leave can be coordinated in a way that helps increase productivity and limit costs.
