Take It or Leave It

In this milestone 40th episode of Take It or Leave It, host Josh Seidman dives into the 2024 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey with special guest Daniel Stunes, researcher and manager of data monetization for SHRM. Together, they unpack key data and trends from SHRM’s comprehensive annual report, which spans everything from paid parental leave and PTO to flexible work policies and emerging benefit categories.

From unexpected shifts in unlimited PTO adoption to evolving support for caregiving and loss-related leave, Josh and Daniel explore how employers are reshaping their benefits offerings in response to workforce demands. They also spotlight surprising year-over-year changes and reveal which industries are leading the charge on flexibility and innovation. It’s a data-driven conversation with big implications for HR and Leave Law strategy in 2025 and beyond.

Read the full transcript of this episode here: https://www.seyfarth.com/dir_docs/podcast_transcripts/TIOLI_Episode_40.pdf

In this second episode of our Take It or Leave It two parter, host Josh Seidman explores how Connecticut Paid Leave, the state’s paid family medical leave (“PFML”) mandate, handles complicated standards like coordination of state-mandated PFML with employer-provided paid leave policies, and navigating the ins and outs of private plan compliance. Special guest Erin Choquette, CEO of the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority, returns to tackle these and other pressing paid leave topics including:

• Connecticut Paid Leave benefit coordination, including key considerations around accruals, employer-provided benefits, and primary versus secondary payers, plus insights on how employers can navigate overlapping leave programs effectively,

• The private plan option under Connecticut’s PFML program - employer adoption rates, approval criteria, and the unique employee vote requirement,

• Connecticut’s audit process for private plans, with some lessons learned from working with counterparts in other state PFML programs, and the broader patchwork of paid leave laws across the country, and

• The prospects for a federal paid leave program and how its implementation could reshape the landscape for employers and employees alike.

In this first episode of a Take It or Leave It two-parter, host Josh Seidman takes a deep dive into Connecticut Paid Leave, the state’s mandatory paid family medical leave (“PFML”) program. As more states prepare to launch their own mandatory PFML programs in 2026—including Delaware, Maryland, Maine, and Minnesota—it’s critical to examine how existing programs are evolving. Sitting down with Josh is Erin Choquette, CEO of the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority, to discuss the Authority’s role in administering Connecticut Paid Leave, how PFML has developed in Connecticut, key eligibility requirements and other metrics, and the variety resources available to employers and employees navigating paid leave compliance and entitlements.

Josh and Erin explore how Connecticut Paid Leave has evolved since its enactment in 2019, including insights from the program’s 2024 annual report and claim processing. Erin also shares valuable lessons for states preparing to implement their own PFML mandates, offering guidance on building resources and ensuring transparency for businesses and workers alike. Join Josh and Erin for the first part of their informative discussion on Connecticut PFML.

In this episode, host Josh Seidman sits down with Christina Meddin to explore the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and its requirements for employers to provide reasonable accommodations to workers with pregnancy-related limitations. Together, they unpack the law’s broad coverage, and discuss practical steps employers can take when seeking to comply with the PWFA.

This episode highlights essential action items for organizations, such as training frontline managers and HR teams to recognize accommodation requests, promptly responding to those requests, and engaging in the interactive process to explore alternatives. This episode also covers preliminary PWFA enforcement activity by the EEOC, and how this enforcement activity can inform employers’ practical compliance efforts. And, no PWFA discussion is complete without examining how the new law compares to the ADA. Join Josh and Christina as they strategize about structured approaches to handling requests and leveraging tools to manage accommodations effectively, while emphasizing the importance of documentation, forms and policies to comply with the PWFA.

Last month, Michelle Feit and Jesse Matton from the National Partnership for Women & Families sat down with host Josh Seidman on Take It or Leave It Episode 35 to discuss, among other topics, paid leave benchmarking initiatives and the latest involving Paid Leave at the federal level. But as anyone who tracks paid leave developments as closely as Olympic medal counts knows, much of the change in this area comes at the state and local level.

For Part 2 of their discussion, Michelle, Jesse, and Josh explore recent state paid leave trends from the last 12 months, and how National Partnership tracks and analyzes statistics in its Leave Means a Stronger Nation report released earlier this year. They compare new and pending legislation, as well as challenges across states, and take a look at how the United States compares to the rest of the world when it comes to caregiving and leave. In an insightful second episode, Michelle and Jesse offer some regional highlights, explain barriers to paid leave and support, and share the steps they think employers should be taking to improve caregiver access to leave.

Every four years, the Olympics captivates the nation with thrilling achievements and stunning successes in competitive athletics. There might not be medals involved, but the world of paid leave has seen its own share of riveting developments recently, including new initiatives, expanded types of leave, and advanced benchmarking tools.

To take a deep dive into some of the latest leave-related activity and data, host Josh Seidman is joined by Michelle Feit and Jesse Matton from the National Partnership for Women & Families, a nonprofit organization that advocates for equality for all women, and strives for enhanced quality of life for families. Together they explore stories and developments involving leave and equality coming out of the Paris Olympics, the National Partnership’s ongoing “Leading on Leave Index” – a benchmarking initiative covering a wide range of leave types, lengths, issues, industries, sectors, and trends as voluntarily reported by private employers – and the latest paid leave activity at the federal level, including current challenges and what might break the logjam on this topic in the coming years.

Two years ago, in Episode 7 of Take It or Leave It, Rob Whalen joined the program to discuss alternative options employers can offer to their employees in terms of utilizing their earned, unused paid time off, and the flexibility afforded by his company, PTO Exchange. At the time, employers were still navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and response, and reacting to shifting employee priorities, including increasing retirement plan spending, paying down loans, and health care provisions.

Halfway through 2024, employers are still exploring ways to unlock the value of employees’ earned, unused time off and offer attractive benefits. To provide an update, Rob returns to the podcast for a conversation with host Josh Seidman about how employees are choosing to spend their time off, and how recent developments have affected his company’s offerings plus how businesses and their employees are taking advantage of them. Together, they revisit the software platform to uncover the surprising trends in paid leave and related benefits, and predict what these trends in employee priorities mean for employers.

At long last the EEOC has issued its final regulation and interpretive guidance on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), providing employers with additional insights on employee entitlements, employer responsibilities and agency enforcement under the Act. The final regulation’s effective date is less than one month away – June 18, 2024. Given that the PWFA is one of the biggest leave law developments in recent memory and is still quite green (the law has been in effect for less than a year), it’s important for employers to understand how the final regulation impacts their organization and employees.

In this episode, host Josh Seidman is joined by Karla Grossenbacher, a Seyfarth Labor and Employment Partner who has followed this legislation closely, to discuss the framework of the PWFA and what has and has not changed in light of the final regulation. Josh and Karla explore key distinctions between the PWFA and related federal employment laws, including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), how these laws interplay, key terms and conditions employers need to be aware of, and practical tips and strategies for employers.

The snow has finally stopped since Part 1 of our Congressional Developments series, and spring is just around the corner. We've made the time change to spring forward, and in this latest episode of Take It or Leave It we continue to explore how prospects for and activity surrounding federal paid leave are moving forward as well.

In this episode host Josh Seidman is joined by Emma Zafran, Deputy Legislative Director for United States Representative Chrissy Houlahan out of the 6th District of Pennsylvania. Emma shares details on the U.S. House Paid Family Leave Working Group and Representative Houlahan's work to institute a federal paid leave mandate, and why filling that federal gap has proven so tricky. Emma also helps map out the details of recent paid leave initiatives on Capitol Hill, including bipartisan efforts in both the House and Senate, and the proposed “Interstate Paid Leave Action Network (I-PLAN).”

Join Josh and Emma for this important episode that looks behind the scenes at what progress is being made on paid leave at the federal level, how this issue and proposed programs have evolved, and what next steps are on the horizon in the coming year.

Six months ago, in September 2023, the Oregon paid family and medical leave program, known as Paid Leave Oregon, officially went “live” and began providing benefits to eligible employees, which means it officially turns 6 months old in early March 2024. In that time, the program has had a major impact on employers and employees across the state, with Oregon providing paid leave benefits to tens of thousands of eligible employees.

To celebrate this milestone, host Josh Seidman sits down with Karen Humelbaugh, the Director of Paid Leave Oregon, to discuss the program's history and details, including eligibility, approval process, and benefits administration, as well as lessons learned and adjustments being made to Paid Leave Oregon since September 2023. Karen also joins Josh in breaking down current standards on the interplay between Paid Leave Oregon and employer-provided paid leave benefits and with the Oregon Family Leave Act, potential amendments to this aspect of Paid Leave Oregon during the State’s current legislative session, complications created by remote, hybrid and mobile employees, and private plan intricacies. Join them for this celebratory episode looking back at a landmark program, and how it may be a harbinger of programs to come.