CONTACT:
Mike Chittenden
202-789-8685
mchittenden[at]epf.org
The direct costs of FMLA leave include the net labor replacement costs, continuation of group health benefits, and lost productivity. Industries hardest hit are telecommunications and transportation paying 2.4 and 3.2 percent of their labor costs for compliance with FMLA leave, respectively. According to the survey, 14.5 of employees took leave in 2004 with 35 percent of those taking leave more than once during the year.
"Employers face a significant financial burden in fulfilling their obligations under FMLA," said Janemarie Mulvey, EPF Chief Economist. "No one is upset about allowing employees time off for serious medical conditions, but the intermittent leave provisions are so flexible as to make FMLA subject to abuse by a small-but costly-group of employees.
EPF's survey found that the number of workers taking multiple episodes of leave has increased dramatically since 2000. "The proportion of leave-takers who took leave more than once in 2004 was almost 50 percent higher than the proportion who took multiple episodes of leave in 2000," said Mulvey.
The survey found that 30 percent of FMLA leave is intermittent leave comprising shorter periods of leave, sporadically throughout the year and without prior notice to employers. An employee has up to two days after being absent from the workplace to inform their employer the absence was FMLA leave. This has led some to suspect that some employees are using the FMLA to protect against employer discipline for work missed for reasons other than serious medical conditions.
Employers faced added difficulty, because often, they do not know when an employee is going to take leave. The FMLA envisioned that in most cases, employees would notify employers in ample time so the employer can better prepare for a leave period, requiring notice of 30 days for foreseeable treatment of a serious medical condition, birth, adoption, or foster care placement. However, in practice, the majority of leaves begin with little notice to the employer.
"In 2004, nearly 50 percent of employees notified their employer of FMLA leave on the day the leave began or after. In fact, 30 percent of the time, notice was not provided until at least one day after the leave began," said Mulvey. While this may occur in emergencies or sudden illness, its frequency suggests that employees are not providing notice "as soon as practicable," as required by FMLA regulations.
Without notice, employers must scramble to find workers to fill shifts, often bringing in workers to work a second shift or for overtime. If an employer is unable to find a co-worker to fill in, they may hire a temporary worker to fill the position while the employee is gone. All of these result in a loss of productivity and additional labor costs for the employer.
EPF's report is available online at:http://www.epf.org/pubs/newsletters/2005/ib20050419.pdf