Most business owners know they need to approve protected leave. What many don’t realize is that compliance issues often happen after the leave is approved.
Protected leave can include sick leave, Paid Family & Medical Leave, FMLA, disability leave, pregnancy-related leave, and other protected absences. The common theme is simple: employees should be able to use protected leave without interference, pressure, or negative consequences.
Here are a few common mistakes we see:
Constant Contact While an Employee Is on Leave
This is one of the most common issues we see. Managers are not trying to be difficult. They are simply trying to keep work moving.
Examples include:
- Sending emails asking for updates
- Calling about a client issue
- Texting questions about a project
- Asking where files are located
- Requesting attendance at a meeting
- Asking the employee to complete “one quick task”
The request may be small. The manager may be friendly. The problem is that protected leave is intended to allow employees to be away from work. If employees feel obligated to respond, solve problems, or continue working, the purpose of the leave may be undermined. I also tend to see this type of behavior as the straw that breaks the camels back in exit interviews.
A good rule of thumb:
If the employee is thinking about work, responding to work, or doing work, stop and evaluate whether the contact is truly necessary.
Performance Discussions That Reference Protected Leave
Managers sometimes refer to attendance, reliability, or time away from work when evaluating employees.
If protected leave is part of the concern, those conversations can quickly become problematic.
Employees should not be disadvantaged because they exercised a protected right.
Guilt and Pressure
Sometimes the biggest risk is not the policy. It’s the culture.
Comments such as:
- “We are really struggling without you.”
- “This is a bad time to be gone.”
- “Everyone else has to pick up the slack.”
can make employees feel discouraged from using protected leave in the future.
Asking Employees to Find Coverage
An employee calls out sick.
The manager responds “That’s fine, but can you find someone to cover your shift?”
It may seem reasonable, but when an employee is using protected leave, requiring them to solve staffing issues can create compliance concerns and is a violation of many state and city protected time off policies.
The Question Every Employer Should Ask
Before making a decision involving an employee who has taken protected leave, ask:
Would we be making this same decision if the employee had never taken leave?
If the answer is no, or even maybe, it is worth taking a closer look.
Most protected leave violations are not intentional. They happen because managers are trying to run the business and don’t realize how their actions may be perceived.
Approving leave is only the first step. The way employees are treated before, during, and after leave is what often creates liability.
Kristin Johnson
Monday 11:24 AM
Stay Interviews: The Retention Tool Most Businesses Overlook
Many employers wait until an employee resigns to ask:
“What could we have done differently?”
By then, the opportunity is gone.
Stay interviews help employers identify concerns before employees start updating their resumes. They are structured conversations designed to understand what’s working, what’s not, and what may cause a valued employee to look elsewhere.
Stay interviews can help uncover:
- Workload concerns
- Burnout risks
- Communication challenges
- Career development needs
- Management issues
- Retention opportunities
The best part? Employees are often far more candid during a stay interview than they are during an engagement survey or exit interview.
A few simple questions can reveal valuable insights:
- What do you enjoy most about working here?
- What would make your job easier?
- What keeps you here?
- Have you thought about leaving?
- What could leadership do better?
The key is not just asking the questions. It’s creating an environment where employees feel comfortable giving honest feedback and ensuring leadership is prepared to act on what they learn.
High turnover is expensive. Losing top performers is even more costly. Stay interviews provide an opportunity to identify issues before they become resignations.
Interested in implementing stay interviews within your organization?
We can help you develop a stay interview strategy, train leaders on best practices, or conduct confidential stay interviews on your behalf to gather meaningful feedback and actionable insights.
Contact us to learn more about how stay interviews can strengthen retention, improve employee engagement, and help your organization stay ahead of turnover.