New study reveals that pandemic-related absences cost employers nearly $1 billion per week

2022-01-13T14:52:00-05:00

In the last 22 months, workers' pandemic-related absences have cost employers more than $78.4 billion — nearly $1 billion each week — according to a Dec. 20 analysis from the Integrated Benefits Institute.

The Integrated Benefits Institute used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics along with its own dataset to analyze disability wage payments, state disability insurance, sick leave wages, and employee benefits for its calculation. The states of California, Texas, New York, along with the metropolitan areas of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago exhibited the highest lost work time.

Construction Dive notes that many costs due to the pandemic lie in more intangible areas that aren’t as easy to track. This includes productivity issues due to increased levels of stress, which can take away time spent on work. One suggestion made is for employers to emphasize and implement preventative mental health care in order to assist individuals before conditions become severe.

How does the recent coronavirus FMLA bill affect the architecture industry?

2020-03-20T15:31:00-04:00

President Donald Trump signed an emergency bill Wednesday to expand family and medical leave as well as guarantee paid sick leave for certain U.S. workers... The bill allows the Secretary of Labor to exempt employers with fewer than 50 employees from the emergency FMLA leave requirement, "when the imposition of such requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern."

According to HR Dive, The U.S. Senate passed the bill, titled the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, by a 90-8 vote earlier in the day. It was first passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 14, and a revised version passed Tuesday. The bill will take effect starting April 2nd and end December 31st of this year. According to the Washington Post, the new sick leave law only applies to employers with more than 50 and fewer than 500 employees.

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New study reveals that pandemic-related absences cost employers nearly $1 billion per week

How does the recent coronavirus FMLA bill affect the architecture industry?