Changing LOA Policy - Advising Employees
Kymm
140 Posts
We have been fairly lax (sp?) in our leave of absence policy - I am not talking about the 12 weeks of FMLA, but if it goes longer than that OR if someone doesn't qualify for FMLA, etc.
So... as we have already set a precedent (in not really having any firm policy), can we now set a NEW policy that gives an actual "maximum" allowed (such as 3 months, 6 months, etc.) and then notify ALL employees of the "new" policy?
Wondering also, if you have any "input" as to what works well for a "time frame" ?? Thanks so much.
So... as we have already set a precedent (in not really having any firm policy), can we now set a NEW policy that gives an actual "maximum" allowed (such as 3 months, 6 months, etc.) and then notify ALL employees of the "new" policy?
Wondering also, if you have any "input" as to what works well for a "time frame" ?? Thanks so much.
Comments
I was assuming you did not have any union issues.
we've learned that it's better to be flexible with our ee's lives and not have to retrain every 6-12 months...overall, it's worked well for us.
If you give advance notice, there is no reason why you can't change the policy. However, if your company doesn't adhere to it (and I have found that different dept. heads have different "theories" as to who should be given a "break" re length of leave)
you will end up with the same problems.
Where you will have difficulty and get into trouble with legal issues is in the application of no written guidelines from which the company can plan and act without discrimination among the many members of the team at any level.
When I stepped into my position in 2001 (well after 1993), I found much variety in LOA management. It was basically being left to individual departments, which meant a couple of things: every department head saw themselves as the center of the universe and believed his/her opinion of how to properly dole out LOA approval to be the most logical, regardless how much it varied from the next department and without respect to the next department's staffing needs; favorite employees were given substantial freedom in LOA while less favorite employees were being dealt with very firmly. No one knew here what FMLA was, much less made any attempts to try to administer it (and we had 500+ employees within a square mile 52 weeks/yr).
Our LOA policies continue to be in need of revision, but the quality of what we have in place is vague enough that I have gradually tigthened the reigns by practice without compromising our company too much and insist on centralized LOA administration in HR. No doubt we still need to address our policies, and some of my questions are similar to yours. In my practices, I have discovered some helpful tips that I think will help in my exercise to revise our policies:
1. Consistent FMLA is a required minimum.
2. After 12 weeks, will the employee continue to have PTO to pay insurance premiums by payroll deduction? If so, we can be lenient, and have objective criteria to support inconsistent durations of LOA.
3. Is there an impending RTW date? If so, we'll try to work toward it (if all other issues on this list are favorable).
4. Has the employee been cooperative throughout the FMLA process? If so, we can be lenient if PTO is enough to pay premiums.
5. How critical or hard to fill is the position? Again, points us toward objective criteria.
6. What does our benefits contracts allow? Some of them are fairly specific about FMLA these days.
7. Do employee insurance policies run for calendar months or rolling months?
8. What is the employment payment schedule vs. month of insurance coverage (the month before? the month of? the month after?
9. What is the company's philosophy on compassion or benevolent assistance? This is the hardest area to deal with in that it introduces a high level of subjectivity into a decision-making process that should focus on objective criteria, but some employers are highly compassionate. Ours is.
My in-house observations have led me to lean toward going through FMLA, allowing extended LOA if PTO is available to fund insurance premiums, extend approval of LOA until the end of a calendar month, and potentially placing the employee on favorable rehire status if we reach a separation date. If the employee is not eligible for FMLA, we bypass the FMLA step. If the employee is part-time and has no benefits or PTO, we focus on the likelihood of RTW, when it is projected to be, and staffing needs for the department. The more favorable, the better.
With approval from an employee whose doctor insists that RTW is imminent, we are willing to slow PTO to the point where just enough is used to cover premiums if necessary. We have annual limits on PTO balance roll overs that are consistently applied, so there is no inherent favoritism for long-term employees. We get to exercise an acceptable level of corporate compassion. We have minimized some of the risk of inconsistent LOA administration as well as adverse no call/no show situations. In two years of following the above, we have had very, very few questionable circumstances where a fair decision could not be reached quickly.