changing extended leave benefit
dgerm
5 Posts
My company has an earned extended sick-leave benefit that carries over each year to specific limits -- 8 weeks but soon to be extending it to 10 weeks. In simple terms, it can be used after 1 continuous week of the same condition or hospitalization. They are not paid for this on termination. We've always paid this out at full salary when someone has needed to use it, though few people have. We would like to start paying it out at 75% of salary if the employee uses this time beyond a month -- so any extended sick-leave lasting longer than a month and utilizing the benefit would be paid 75% of salary. But if someone uses this benefit for a shorter period for the same condition – less than a month -- salary would be paid at full salary. My question is does anyone see any problem with changing our policy like this? Possible legal or other?
Comments
[quote user="dgerm"]My company has an earned extended sick-leave benefit that carries over each year to specific limits -- 8 weeks but soon to be extending it to 10 weeks. In simple terms, it can be used after 1 continuous week of the same condition or hospitalization. They are not paid for this on termination. We've always paid this out at full salary when someone has needed to use it, though few people have. We would like to start paying it out at 75% of salary if the employee uses this time beyond a month -- so any extended sick-leave lasting longer than a month and utilizing the benefit would be paid 75% of salary. But if someone uses this benefit for a shorter period for the same condition – less than a month -- salary would be paid at full salary. My question is does anyone see any problem with changing our policy like this? Possible legal or other?[/quote]
If there is a problem with this, assuming the policy is well written and communicated thorougly, it will be a state level problem.
If you are requiring appropriate paperwork to qualify for the leave, why reduce the pay? If it's a money saving thing, save yourself the pain of administering this and pay the benefit out at the reduced rate right from the get go.
You can set up your plan in any manner you see fit, so long as you are not discriminating on any legally protected basis. You should give some notice of the policy change, and grandfather anyone who's already out on leave.
Sounds like you work for a great company--this is not a policy offered by many companies.
That's not exactly true: there are state level concerns about paid leave types and what you can do with them, particularly already accrued amounts. Without knwoing the state, I wouldn't just jump in on that.
[quote user="pmerson"] You should give some notice of the policy change, and grandfather anyone who's already out on leave. [/quote]
Actually, this is critical and I skipped over it: this is particularly true for anybody out on FMLA and concurrently under this paid leave benefit.