A client recently came to me to as her HR Consultant to let me know that she was going to be having twins through surrogacy and wanted to discuss the short term disability benefits that she would receive as a result of having a child. As a human resources professional, I provided her with a straight forward response – you will not receive short term disability insurance if you are not physically having the baby yourself, as short term disability benefits are a result of a medical condition, childbirth for example, that prohibits you from physically doing your job. After talking through this with her further, we moved on to discuss the differences between the company’s medical leave policy that specifically referenced childbirth (this particular organization does not offer FMLA) and parental leave policy, which offered four fewer weeks of leave than the medical leave policy. This particular employee’s frustrations were around one single question: Why am I offered less leave for the adoption of a child than if I had given birth – I still have an infant to take care of? I realized through conversations with my colleagues that parents who adopt children often have this same frustration and do not understand why they are not offered the same leave benefits as employees who give birth to a child. We are seeing more and more organizations developing leave benefits for employees that take adoption into consideration; while this does not necessarily provide equal benefits to adopting parents, it does provide them with significant benefits that were not previously provided to them. Below is a comparison of leave benefits that may be available to a new parent who is either adopting or giving birth to a child.

At Helios, we have had a number of clients implement Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO) policies. This approach to leave is a growing trend for innovative companies working in all industries. Numerous companies are utilizing unlimited PTO to encourage a culture of freedom and responsibility.

The first of the calendar year is a popular time for Flexible Spending Account (FSA) renewals and enrollments. However, as an HR professional, I have found employees do not always have an understanding of what an FSA is and the benefits of an FSA enrollment. Nevertheless, let’s explore a few of the typical problems and questions that come up during FSA renewals and enrollments.

Over the years I’ve worked with a range of companies in various industries and I’ve found that managing the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a common challenge. The FMLA provision was implemented in 1993 as a means to allow eligible employees to have job protection while taking care of medical needs for themselves or eligible family members. The concept of FMLA was great, in the sense that employees could take off the time they needed to get well, return to work, and not worry about being fired or terminated while out. However, over time, there have been lots of concerns regarding loopholes that are being taken advantage of by employees.

There are many different types of insurance plans in existence today. Most employers are more familiar with a POS, a PPO, an HMO and HRA. HSAs however, are increasing in popularity as we move towards a culture of consumer driven health care. The type of plan with the most growth since inception and still the most confusing to use is the HSA plan.

While many organizations face financial cutbacks and a reduction in workforce, the staff that remains in place is being asked to do tasks that are not only outside of their job scope, but often times outside of their comfort zone. Add to that, the summer months are now exiting and Fall is making an entrance, along with its shorter days and longer nights, and the feeling that there are not enough hours in the day is a sentiment that is being expressed by many. Therefore, being asked to squeeze in just one more thing, is enough to drive some off the deep end. So, when flyers are posted and emails are sent out asking for volunteers for charitable causes, undoubtedly some ask out loud: “Who has time for that?” While others ask: “Where can I sign up?” Ask yourself, which one are YOU?