Employers lengthen time off allowed with paid medical leave
The amount of time employers are letting staff take off to deal with getting medical care and treatment (while still getting paid) has swelled in recent years.
Workers today get about six weeks of paid medical leave as part of their companies’ policies, up from about three and a half weeks as of March 2022, according to an analysis from Cocoon, a leave management platform.
Post-pandemic, employers have revised a variety of their paid leave policies, like those covering bereavement and caregiving leave, to better support employees dealing with challenges in their lives outside of work. Overall, expanding paid medical leave policies is a new area of interest.
“Really we’re putting our employees in this really tough position where we’re making them choose between work and life,” said Mahima Chawla, founder and CEO of Cocoon. “Because it’s unrealistic to think that if you have a medical procedure, you can just put your life on hold or push it out into the future.”
An evolving patchwork of state laws is mostly driving this though, as employers look to ensure their policies are in compliance with changing local laws and are comparable across geographies.
“Lots of employers during Covid expanded their workforce to operate in many different cities and states, and so lots of small-, medium- and large-size businesses are contemplating putting policies in place for paid leave that do align with the most gracious employee benefits that are mandated,” said Niki Ramirez, founder and principal consultant at HR Answers, a human resources consultancy for small businesses.
Paid medical leave policies can vary widely by employer and state. Federally, the Family and Medical Leave Act allows new parents to get 12 weeks of time off without risk of losing their jobs, but it’s unpaid, and many workers aren’t eligible, as they must work for a company with at least 50 employees and have been in their roles for at least 12 months.
Another factor driving expanded paid leave policies is an increase in the number of mental health leaves being taken that are classified as medical leaves, Chawla said. “Employers are recognizing that they need to be able to support their employees during that time,” she said.
Medical leave laws have always covered mental health conditions, but talking about those conditions at work has only recently become more normalized.
“Employees are more willing to come forward and say to their employer, to their manager, listen, I am suffering from a mental health episode or a condition, and I need to use my paid leave for that reason,” Ramirez said.
Employers are also using expanded paid leave laws as a retention and talent attraction tool, as policies can vary widely across employers and give some companies a competitive advantage over others when it comes to drawing in workers.
Cocoon’s analysis also found that paid medical leave policies can vary widely by industry. Biotech companies, for example, currently offer the most paid time off — 12 weeks on average — followed by venture capital companies at nine weeks.
“Every business is looking at these trends and saying, well if I want to attract and retain the best employees I also need to consider offering this benefit or I may not be able to attract and retain the best people,” Ramirez added.