News from Ollis/Akers/Arney Human Resources Consulting

Understanding FMLA Leave for

Mental Health Conditions

Mental health is a growing concern in the workplace. Over the past few years, many employees have experienced mental health issues, such as burnout, depression, anxiety and substance misuse. Employers have responded by expanding mental health benefits, including adding mental health programs, increasing schedule flexibility, offering telemedicine options for mental health and providing more mental health education. Despite the amplified focus on mental health, employees’ mental health issues are still commonly overlooked, especially since they may not be as readily apparent as physical ailments. However, in reality, employees may sometimes be unable to work because of their mental health issues.

While employers pursue various ways to support employees struggling with mental health issues, it’s also important to be aware of and offer appropriate leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued a fact sheet relating to an employee’s ability to use FMLA leave for their own or a family member’s mental health condition. This article provides an overview of the FMLA, the DOL’s guidance, FMLA assistance for employees struggling with mental health issues and ways employers can support their employees.

Read the Article HERE

Read the Case Studies Here

Employment Case Studies -

Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors

This article provides a general overview of the difference between employees and independent contractors. It also contains case studies that provide real-world examples of employers found to be in violation of FLSA regulations due to independent contractor misclassiﬁcations and offers guidance for how those employers could have prevented these infractions. By examining these case studies, employers can learn from the mistakes of others in similar industries and avoid FLSA violations related to the misclassiﬁcation of independent contractors.

How Employers Can Address Substance Misuse

The National Safety Council (NSC) found that 1 in 12 workers is dealing with an untreated “substance use disorder” (SUD). Even if employers don’t see it, which is more likely with remote and hybrid work arrangements, substance use, misuse and addiction likely remain prevalent among their workforce. Furthermore, the NSC reports that employees with an SUD have double the health care costs as the average employee without one. Beyond health care costs, employee absenteeism and lost productivity climb sharply with substance use.

Employers can play an essential role in decreasing substance misuse’s social and financial burden and guiding the development of a healthy and productive workforce. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly half of Americans are covered under employer-sponsored health insurance, which is required to include coverage for mental health and substance use conditions. As such, employers may also offer employee benefits that address substance misuse.

Read More Here

Overview of the Family

and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted in 1993 to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by providing unpaid, job-protected leave for eligible employees for their own or a family member’s serious health condition.

Eligible employees may take

up to 12 weeks of continuous

or intermittent leave in a

12-month period.

To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must:

Be employed by a covered employer
Have worked for that employer for at least 12 months
Have at least 1,250 hours of service for that employer during the 12 months prior to the leave
Work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius

Employees need to request FMLA leave 30 days in advance when possible.

See the Infographic HERE

5 Strategies for Reducing Time-to-Hire

In today’s competitive and fast-moving employment landscape, employers may struggle with attraction and retention. In fact, according to Zywave’s 2022 Attraction and Retention Benchmarking Overview, 75% of employers consider this a top-five business challenge. Additionally, employers cite meeting operational demands to maintain a higher number of employees and designating sufficient resources to address talent needs (e.g. hiring more recruiters or developing internal initiatives) as key staffing challenges. However, a focus on operational efficiencies can help get the right workers into their roles and take a step toward addressing these employers’ challenges.

Time-to-hire is a metric that calculates how quickly a company can select and hire a job candidate. It’s calculated by totaling the number of days that pass between the candidate applying for the role and getting hired as an employee. This is different from time-to-fill, which is a measure of how effective a company’s recruiting process is. Time-to-fill is calculated by counting the number of days that pass between a job getting approved and the offer being accepted by the candidate. Career website Zippia found that the average time-to-hire in 2021 was 42 days. Other resources reported similar findings, though time-to-hire averages can range anywhere from around 15 days to 60 days, depending on certain factors (e.g., industry).

As an employer, reducing your time-to-hire could provide an edge by providing a better overall employee experience. Having an efficient process while hiring can help get new talent into necessary roles as well.

Read the full article here

See the Infographic HERE

4 Tips for Preventing

Quiet Quitting

"Quiet quitting" is an emerging trend where workers only do what their job description says, or work directly assigned to them. It is often the result of decreased motivation and burnout. Further, a lack of effective communication from leaders can play a role.

Consider the following tips to help increase employee engagement and decrease the odds of quiet quitting among employees:

Provide clear expectations
Conduct performance reviews
Provide learning and development opportunities
Focus on good management strategies

For additional ideas on ways to keep your employees enthused and engaged in your workplace, contact us today.

The Great Reconsideration - Looking Ahead to the Next Stage of the Labor Market

The labor market continues to be unpredictable and driven by new challenges. As such, economists have signaled that the labor market is moving into another phase. Previously, there have been trends labeled as the Great Resignation and the Great Reshuffle. The Great Resignation referred to a mass movement of workers leaving the workforce. In contrast, the Great Reshuffle illustrated workers quitting one job they are unsatisfied with to take another—which has been a more accurate assessment. There has not been a mass exodus from work itself, as the term the Great Resignation suggested. While these terms still hold some truth to the current state of the market, some economists have even used a new term to describe the current worker sentiment: the Great Reconsideration. Instead, workers are seizing the unprecedented opportunity to reconsider and change their work experiences. They’ve had time to reflect on their jobs and consider opportunities with a fresh perspective.

The struggle to fill positions and related challenges have increased labor costs for employers as they raise wages and offer competitive benefits and other perks to attract talent. The market trends also demonstrate that workers remain confident enough to switch jobs for better pay and working conditions despite economic pressures like inflation.

Read the Article HERE

Time to Hire

To help avoid the expense of hiring an unqualified employee or defending a discrimination claim, employers should have a controlled hiring process. Employers should make sure they have made the best effort to find the most qualified candidate, and they have complied with both state and federal anti-discrimination laws during each stage of the hiring process. The hiring process consists of a needs assessment, recruiting, screening, selecting and finally, hiring.

For more information on recruiting and hiring strategies, or for assistance with recruiting, contact Ollis/Akers/Arney Human Resources Consulting today.

Read The Hiring Process here

For more information on recruiting and hiring strategies, or for assistance with recruiting, contact Ollis/Akers/Arney Human Resources Consulting today.