Survey Results: Paid Leave Management

Managing paid leave laws is complex.

With so many different jurisdictions passing paid leave laws, GovDocs wondered how employers keep them all straight. So, in early March, we launched a survey: How Do You Manage Paid Leave Today.

Below, you can find the results.

Since the survey went out, of course, there has been a flurry of legislation related to the coronavirus. Meanwhile, GovDocs researchers are watching 269 bills related to employee leave of some form, and 84 bills related to paid sick leave specifically.

Coming Soon: GovDocs Paid Leave

With that in mind, here are the survey questions and results. Thanks to all who participated.

1) What department is largely responsible for managing your company’s paid leave program?

• Benefits – 32 percent
• Compliance – 19 percent
• HRIS/IT – 16 percent
• Human Resources – 14 percent
• Total Rewards – 8 percent
• Payroll – 5 percent
• Employee Relations – 3 percent
• Legal – 3 percent

2) What departments provide input to ensure compliance of your company’s paid leave program? (Select all that apply)

• Human Resources – 32 percent
• Benefits – 18 percent
• In-House Counsel – 14 percent
• Compliance – 9 percent
• Finance – 8 percent
• Total Rewards – 8 percent
• Employee Relations – 5 percent
• Payroll – 5 percent
• Legal – 2 percent

3) Approximately how many hours per month does your company (including all employees) spend managing paid leave laws?

• 0-5 hours – 34 percent
• 6-10 hours – 21 percent
• 11-20 hours – 14 percent
• 20-plus hours – 31 percent

Infographic: “Family Matters” and Paid Leave Laws

4) What is the biggest challenge your company faces with paid leave today?

• Staying on top of current, new and changing paid leave laws – 50 percent
• Managing paid leave policies across multiple locations – 29 percent
• Tracking and calculating earned paid leave for employees – 11 percent
• Interpreting paid leave laws without a legal background/expertise – 7 percent
• Identifying which paid leave law applies to each employee location – 4 percent

5) What sources does your company use to research and track paid leave laws?

• News Alerts – 40 percent
• Paid Subscription Service – 21 percent
• Inside Counsel – 9 percent
• Outside Counsel – 14 percent
• Other – 10 percent

6) Where does your company track paid leave requirements for each jurisdiction (federal, state, county and city)?

• Spreadsheets – 37 percent
• Payroll System – 33 percent
• HCM Software – 16 percent
• Internal Database – 9 percent
• Other – 5 percent

7) On a scale of 1-5 (5 = very confident; 1 = not at all confident), how confident are you that you are able to track and capture all paid leave requirements for each jurisdiction (federal, state, county and city)?

• Very confident – 10 percent
• Somewhat Confident – 38 percent
• Neutral – 28 percent
• Somewhat Unconfident – 24 percent
• Not at All Confident – 0 percent

Managing Paid Leave Laws

The coronavirus pandemic has placed an added emphasis on paid leave laws over the past few months.

Many jurisdictions are tweaking existing laws to cover public health emergencies, and even the federal government has stepped in with emergency paid leave.

In the aftermath of COVID-19, it’s likely that lawmakers at all levels of government will continue to enact paid leave legislation.

This Employment Law News Blog is intended for market awareness only, it is not to be used for legal advice or counsel.