DOL FMLA (Department of Labor Family & Medical Leave Act) has become an integral part of a covered employers overall management strategy. Employees that feel well-treated by their employer, especially during a stressful or trying time, tend to be more loyal, more responsible, and more willing to go the extra mile for the company. President Clinton signed the federal Family & Medical Leave Act into law in February of 1993. Its intention was to “balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families.” Most employees would agree that it worked, but a number of employers would be slow to site any benefits of DOL FMLA.
DOL FMLA refers to the federal FMLA program. However, much of the employer consternation that’s becoming more apparent seems to stem from the convergence of federal FMLA and the growing reams of state legislation designed to increase its scope of coverage. And the Supreme Court decision to strike the Defense of Marriage Act’s central definitive theme of union of “one man and one woman” has placed the determination of marriage into the control of the individual states. This means that federal FMLA now needs to be handled differently in the thirteen states that have chosen to recognize same-sex marriage, under penalty from DOL FMLA regulations.
DOL FMLA has become much more of a business concern in light of the DOL announcement regarding their intention to increase the frequency and number of investigations, audits, and inquiries dealing with FMLA. Likewise, business news reports that the average legal cost for defense in a FMLA case has risen to nearly $100,000 has not gone unnoticed by the executives of covered employers. Qcera, Inc. saw these concerns back in the late 90’s and set out to create a web-based solution that any covered employer could utilize to accomplish legislative leave compliance with state and federal requirements, as well as the companies own internal leave policies. Go ahead yourself, choose to reduce the liability of DOL FMLA.
Compliance with DOL FMLA can easily be achieved for small companies utilizing LeaveSource™ Express web-based software. Companies that are medium to large, have multiple leave department administrators, or over a thousand employees will find the ultimate leave administration solution with LeaveSource™ Enterprise software. And LeaveSource™ Entrust was designed to help a company of any size to achieve compliance by having their HR handle an employee’s initial leave request and then allowing Qcera to provide all back office services including notifications, medical certification evaluations, and all ongoing communications clear through the employee’s return to work. Request a demo or select the product tab of your choice. But don’t let DOL FMLA be a negative for your company.