It’s critically important for employees to feel supported at work, especially when it comes to taking a leave of absence for family or health reasons. As regulations grow more complex, HR teams are working harder than ever to guide employees through their leave options, ensuring they understand their rights and navigate the process with confidence.

In this webinar, attendees will learn about user-centered leave planning and how it can significantly enhance the leave administration process. Through powerful real-world examples, attendees will learn best practices in sharing effective leave planning information with employees through the use of a leave planning tool.

CEUs

This webinar qualifies for the following CEUs: 1 ADMS, 1 CDMS, 1 CLMS, 1 PHR, and 1 SHRM. 

If you are not a DMEC member and need to record a CLMS CEU for attending this event, please contact Jai Hooker at jhooker@dmec.org for assistance. 

We have all heard about neurodiversity. However, do we really know what that means? Do we know how neurodiversity impacts our employees and our obligations to accommodate them? In this webinar, we will review different types of neurodiversity (including common conditions and common traits of those conditions), the laws that protect neurodiverse employees and the unique accommodations issues that may arise when we are working with neurodiverse employees, including special considerations for investigations that involve neurodiverse individuals. If you want to learn how to support neurodiverse employees while complying with your legal obligations, you will not want to miss this webinar.

This webinar qualifies for the following CEUs: 1 ADMS, 1 CDMS, 1 CLMS, 1 PHR, and 1 SHRM. 

If you are not a DMEC member and need to record a CLMS CEU for attending this event, please contact Jai Hooker at jhooker@dmec.org for assistance. 

Navigating Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) reporting is no small feat—especially when every state plays by its own rules. This webinar takes you on a fast-paced tour of PFML programs nationwide, breaking down who needs to report what, when and where. From quarterly filings to annual submissions, we’ll uncover the complexities, highlight the pitfalls and arm you with best practices to stay compliant and penalty-free. Whether you’re managing one state or many, this session will help you master the map.

This webinar qualifies for the following CEUs: 1 ADMS, 1 CDMS, 1 CLMS, 1 PHR, and 1 SHRM. 

If you are not a DMEC member and need to record a CLMS CEU for attending this event, please contact Jai Hooker at jhooker@dmec.org for assistance. 

Inclusive hiring initiatives have become integral to modern workforce practices, aiming to create a more representative and accessible workplace. While many efforts focus on fostering equity across race, gender, and sexual orientation, disability is often overlooked. The Department of Labor reported that in 2024, only 38% of working-age individuals with disabilities were employed compared to 75% of working-age individuals without disabilities. While employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for qualified employees and applicants under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), they can also enhance workplace accessibility by making practical changes. Learn strategies to create a more inclusive workplace while meeting the requirements under the ADA.

In the early 2010s, mental health issues in the workplace surged, with significant increases in rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide. The factors contributing to poor mental health differ from generation to generation, as do preferences for treatment and the willingness to seek help. This session will focus on Generation Z and the anticipated rise in mental health challenges within this demographic. We will examine how the profound changes in childhood experiences, particularly the emergence of a phone-based childhood, have disrupted children’s social and neurological development. As this generation begins to enter the workforce, employers will encounter higher rates of absenteeism and decreased productivity unless they develop tailored strategies to address the unique needs of this population. Attendees will come away with actionable steps that employers can take to mitigate the impact of mental health issues among this generation.

In the immediate aftermath of an unexpected emergency, organizations often scramble to maintain business continuity and also to ensure that employees are safe and supported. To an extent, this is inevitable, since it’s impossible to predict the precise timing and scope of events like weather disasters or mass violence. But managers can develop skills to help them become more resilient and aid employees and the organization maintain an ongoing positive mental health culture and recover from traumatic and unexpected events. This session will highlight strategies to reduce presenteeism and absenteeism, and emphasize the building blocks of resilience, including self-awareness, emotional control, relationship management, and positive thinking. Leaders and managers will receive the tools they need to feel empowered to recognize the signs when someone is struggling with their mental health, what to do about it, and why it must be a business priority.

This panel discussion showcases a real-life collaborative, innovative approach that supports caregivers in the workplace by highlighting the success of embedding caregiving support strategy with disability. Take note of best practices and actionable strategies for implementing and engaging your workforce on caregiving for real world outcomes.

The cognitive effects of COVID-19 have sparked growing concern among healthcare providers, disability evaluators, and employers alike. Notably, as of August 2024, approximately one million Americans have been pushed out of the labor force due to long COVID, highlighting the significant impact on workforce participation. This presentation will explore the neurological underpinnings of cognitive dysfunction associated with COVID-19, including the most vulnerable cognitive domains and their implications for daily functioning. Attendees will gain an understanding of how cognitive challenges influence return-to-work timelines and disability claims, with particular attention to internal research findings. The analysis focuses on distinguishing genuine cognitive impairment from other factors such as malingering and somatoform conditions, shedding light on diagnostic nuances and their impact on disability determinations. By bridging clinical insights and disability management strategies, this session aims to equip professionals with practical tools to address COVID-related cognitive challenges in their practice or claims handling.

Human resources (HR) professionals are fielding an escalating number of calls from employees experiencing roadblocks to obtaining their leave benefits and receiving the most effective interventions, which impedes their return to work. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are providing solutions by streamlining the benefits coordination landscape; speeding the identification of individuals eligible for clinical, behavioral, and vocational interventions; and improving employee experiences by enabling insurance claims handlers to make better decisions more rapidly, all of which reduces the demands on HR. Using real-world examples, case studies, and even a little humor, this informative and engaging session will provide a plain-English approach to help you understand the ways AI technologies are transforming the landscape, reducing leave management complexity for HR professionals, accelerating employee recovery journeys and enabling them to get back to work faster.

In this session, you will learn how to conduct effective FMLA audits. Designed to help employers navigate the complexities of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and ensure compliance, this session provides attendees with the essential tools and knowledge needed for thorough audits of FMLA claims. You will gain insights into what the Department of Labor (DOL) looks for when investigating complaints and conducting audits, as well as key considerations for conducting your own internal audits to ensure claim quality and compliance. We will also discuss common violations identified by the DOL during their investigations and the potential consequences. Finally, we will explore the benefits of conducting internal audits or collaborating with third-party organizations to perform periodic audits, which can assist in training and educating your teams and ensuring compliance with FMLA administration.