Survey illustrates employee leave challenges, with a glimpse at future predictions

October 26, 2026

In August 2026, J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc., along with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), surveyed 1,389 HR professionals to better understand what leave administration looks like today and where the biggest challenges lie.

Ongoing legislation across the country indicates that employee leave administration is growing more complex as federal, state, and local laws continue to evolve. Remote work and accommodation obligations continue to intersect with the expanding leave landscape. HR teams are managing this complexity while often relying on a mix of HRIS tools, spreadsheets, and manual reminders.

The survey highlighted three big takeaways for HR professionals:

Leave complexity and HR workloads are rising: More HR teams report increases in both the time spent and complexity of leave administration than report decreases. In fact, complexity is rising faster than the time allotted to deal with it.
Documentation and coordination are HR's pinch points: Gathering documentation (39 percent) and coordinating overlapping laws/benefits (15 percent) dominate HR’s time, while intermittent leave (44 percent) and documentation (45 percent) are top friction areas.
State leave law expansion and mental health issues will shape the future: Survey participants indicated that continued expansion of state laws (50 percent) and more employee accommodation/leave requests (46-45 percent) will drive day-to-day burden for HR professionals. Mental health (55 percent) will be the biggest influence on related policies.

Documentation

Respondents indicated that most of their time spent administering employee leave focuses on gathering information and documentation. While many laws allow employers to ask for documentation supporting the need for leave, some state paid leave laws require employees to provide such documentation to the state agency, and not the employer.

Adding to this issue, health care providers might charge fees for completing certifications related to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Nevada, however, is the first state to limit how much health care providers may charge to complete FMLA certifications, capping the price at $30.

The current health care provider shortage can also exacerbate certification challenges, as employers struggle to obtain them in time.

The more things change…

Employers are spending more time trying to keep up with all the statutory changes. While the federal FMLA hasn’t changed, state leave laws continue not only to be enacted, but existing ones are changing, and no two are identical. Employers have to be somewhat familiar with the different details of the laws.

Not surprisingly, intermittent leave was a top challenge noted in the results, as it creates staffing issues, particularly when the leave is unforeseeable.

What employers expect for the future

Survey respondents indicated that they expect state leave laws to continue to expand, and they also expect more leave and accommodation requests from employees, particularly those dealing with mental health issues.

To help, employers might consider the following:

Standardize documentation and intake,
Strengthen multi-jurisdictional coordination,
Target intermittent leave rigor,
Increase manager readiness,
Monitor capacity and load, and
Prepare for the continued surge in mental health issues and accommodation requests.

Key to remember: Employee leave complexity is here to stay and will continue to increase. Employers must respond to the current state and prepare for the future.

Publish Date

October 26, 2026

Author

Darlene Clabault

Type

Industry News

Industries

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