In America, paid family medical leave is not a given; in fact, on a national level it isn’t even guaranteed. Because of this, we are left with some concerns that this lack in guidance presents for the employer/employee relationship. With their new rider, however, Guardian is now becoming a leader in a new wave of future paid family medical leave coverage options that we are thrilled to see!
So, let’s start with the five statistics I believe most people do NOT know about Paid Family Medical Leave and its nuances:
1: There is currently limited access to paid family medical leave in the US.
In the private sector, only 27% of workers in the United States have access to a paid family medical leave benefits program (a percentage we wish was much higher). For those who are more fortunate, their companies may offer a short-term disability plan that they pay for/or can be opted into, however even then these leave programs typically only provide 6 – 9 weeks of benefits. The “cherry on top” of these plans, is that in cases involving new parents, these programs are only offered to the birthing mother.
2: There is a broad definition to the term family
On a more positive uptick, in some paid family medical leave policies like the one proposed in the Build Back Better Act we see the definition of “family” in a much more inclusive way. The update in definition of the term now allows for immediate family, domestic partners, grandparents, siblings, and even close friends into the fold; it is really living up to the phrase “it takes a village!”
3: Paid Family Medical Leave offers coverage for many different circumstances.
Although paid family medical leave is often associated most with new parents, these programs typically cover a more expansive list of qualifiers such as:
· Taking time to care for a new child
· Taking time to recover from your own illnesses
· Taking time to care for a seriously ill family member
All things we love to see covered and protected for employees.
4: Studies show paid family medical leave programs promote economic benefits alongside health.
Studies show with overwhelming evidence that employee access to strong paid family medical leave programs increase business productivity, promote positive employee retention rates, and increase the economic stability of workers and their families.
We have already redefined what constitutes as “family,” and with these statistics, it is safe to say that being able to spread the mental, physical, and emotional load of one’s health care needs throughout the family can be nothing but positive. Fathers, adoptive parents, grandparents, and the like who would love nothing more than to care for family and children when needed, are now able to do so with paid family medical leave policies like this.
5: Implementing paid family medical leave on a national level would have a hugely positive impact on our global competitiveness.
Unfortunately, the United States is the only OECD country that does not have a national mandate for paid family medical leave. Regardless of your political affiliation I think we can all agree that this is quite embarrassing and, in some ways, detrimental to our future standing as a global competitor, let alone leaving us vulnerable to economic slowdown/slow growth. With our current political climate, I don’t foresee this issue coming across the desk of our government officials anytime soon, but my sincere hope is that we can get Congress to open those purse strings a little and reallocate funds towards a strong national program!
Come on America, WE CAN DO THIS!
Now, after laying out some of the heavy hitting statistics that show the clear benefits of a paid family medical leave program, along with highlighting the current policy holes regarding this benefit here in America, we are faced with the lingering question that Guardian is seeking to answer!
How do we offer these benefits in a financially sustainable way?
Without waiting on our state and federal governments to pay this issue some mind, Guardian is stepping in and adding a new paid family medical leave rider to bolster their already existing Short Term Disability program.
Using childcare as an example, traditional Short Term Disability programs would only cover the birthing mother as she is/has also undergone a medical procedure and will need to recover. This limited access has been proven to put a lot of stress and mental load on new parents as they try to expand their families while maintaining their careers. This new rider that Guardian is introducing would extend paid family medical leave benefits to fathers, life partners, parents who choose to adopt, and extends further to employees who need to temporarily act as caretakers for family members. This is a HUGE improvement on support!
In case you haven’t noticed, we are really excited about what this new program is bringing to the table. Although not public knowledge quite yet, we found ourselves in a unique opportunity with a current client looking to implement a new paid family medical leave policy for their company while also having prior experience with Guardian for their life and disability offerings. The stars really aligned for us to have such an early onboarding experience with this addition, and because we are so thrilled for what it can do for a business and their employees, we had to start sharing it with you!
With all of this, I will leave you with one last moment of preaching. Employee retention has been something we hear a LOT about, and this new generation of employees are being labeled as disloyal, flakey, lazy…you name it. There are doubtless some individuals that warrant these feelings from employers, but I want to pose a question for you to think over:
If you are looking for top tier committed talent for your company, should you not commit to them as deeply?
Yeah – yeah Ryan, this all sounds like butterflies and rainbows but healthcare is not cheap. What is this looking like from a financial position for employers? Is this attainable?
To give you an example, when looking at one company’s short term disability offerings without paid family medical leave, we were looking at $0.30 per $10 of benefits. Once a paid family medical leave rider was implemented, we saw those numbers rise to $0.51 per $10 of benefits. Now, when looking at those numbers it appears to be a significant jump, but when we take a broader view, we noticed that even with the rider attached to this company’s short term disability programs, the overall cost was less than the cost of just one employee’s health insurance.
It’s time we all start leading the change we wish to see (and experience) when it comes to paid family medical leave benefits. I foresee this becoming a widely adopted practice in the near future, and if I had one recommendation to any business at this time it would be to get ahead of the curve, take advantage of being the shining star of employee benefits to current and future talent, and allow those benefits to rain positivity and growth throughout your company.
As always, if you have any questions or you/your employer would like to look into potential paid family medical leave options through Guardian and H|BC, we are just one phone call away!
– Ryan
