Employers Strive To Accommodate Seriously Ill Workers And Their Families
When employees are coping with major illnesses, such as breast cancer, employers accommodate most requests that would allow these workers to stay on the job while undergoing treatment, according to a survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
The survey of benefit managers and human resource professionals revealed a strong willingness among employers to accommodate requests that would allow a seriously ill employee to continue working. Results showed that half of respondents made the requested accommodations "all of the time," while the other half made accommodations "most of the time."
The most common types of accommodation cited by respondents included a reduction in hours worked (84%), an ad hoc flexible schedule (79%), a flexible schedule set in advance (70%), additional breaks or rest periods (62%), and telecommuting (47%). One-third of respondents said their companies have a sick room or other area to provide additional rest breaks.
Employers indicated the most frequently granted types of accommodations in work assignments for sick employees included change in the timing or prioritization of work (60%), change in type of work assigned within the same position (58%), transfer to another mutually agreed upon position (55%), and job sharing (28%).
Of those employers surveyed who reported incidences of breast cancer among employees, 56% said they had received a request from an employee for accommodations to allow them to continue working while receiving treatment. The most commonly requested types of accommodation, according to the survey, included periodic time off (97%), modification of work schedule (82%), leave of absence (66%), and adjustment in workload (34%).
In addition, 55% of respondents said they go beyond the caregiver leave requirements under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to grant an employee whose spouse or partner is seriously ill the option of flexible hours, telecommuting, or a temporary shift in work assignments while his or her partner is undergoing the more difficult stages of treatment.
A number of the employers surveyed also reported offering employees the opportunity to support a co-worker with a serious illness, such as providing personal assistance to the employee (27%), conducting fundraising campaigns on behalf of the employee (19%), donating vacation days to a bank or pool (15%), and donating sick days to a bank or pool (11%). On the other hand, 53% of respondents indicated they did not view offering these types of volunteer opportunities as part of the employer’s role.
When asked what they perceived to be the main human resource challenges associated with incidences of breast cancer among employees, 57% said addressing the privacy/confidentiality issues of breast cancer, 31% reported maintaining productivity, 23% indicated dealing with perceived equity issues, and 17% said dealing with overall morale. On the other hand, 24% of respondents indicated they do not view breast cancer in the workplace as a human resource challenge.
While 52% of respondents reported they had experienced no legal or regulatory challenges in addressing breast cancer in the workplace, 19% of employers said compliance issues had arisen in relation to the FMLA, 19% experienced issues in relation to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and 17% reported issues in relation to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
