Vagueness and lack of specificity cause FMLA claim to fail: A dental office employee's references to sickness in her family were too vague to trigger Family and Medical Leave Act and COVID-19-related worker protections, a Florida federal judge said. The employee alleged that her termination the previous month was an illegal act of retaliation in response to her repeated requests for time away from work to care for her children, who she said were sick with COVID-19. According to Martinez, who requested three sick days and the right to work from home, Aspen was obligated by the FMLA and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act to provide paid leave.  The judge held that the employee calling in sick did not sufficiently notify Aspen of an ongoing and protected medical emergency because the employee neglected to specify that her children had symptoms of COVID-19. The company could not have known about the family emergency. Therefore, FMLA and EFMLEA protections were not triggered, and the company was free to terminate her.  Takeaway – simple vague statements do not trigger FMLA.  Source:  Law360 2/23/22

Job recruitment costs increased in 2021: The median cost per job posting rose 43% in 2021, up to more than $28 per posting, according to an analysis of data from some 1,200 U.S. employers by job ad software firm Appcast. Median apply rates increased by only 3%, however.  An abundance of choice for applicants played a part in the trend, Appcast said, but so did other factors that prevented or discouraged workers from taking a job, such as caregiving responsibilities. Out of 24 job functions analyzed by the company, the food service industry saw the largest decline in application rates, followed by customer services, healthcare, and HR.  Mobile devices accounted for more than 68% of clicks on ads and 67% of applications last year, continuing an upward trend going back to 2019. The timeframe between 2020 and 2021 marked a 13.8% decrease in desktop apply rates. "While the predominantly desk-driven technology and legal jobs ranked lowest for percentage of mobile applications, these job functions still saw significant increases in mobile applies," Appcast said in a statement.  Source:  HR Dive 2/28/22

Non birth parents may suffer depression too:  A 2021 Verizon Media survey found 87% of HR executives saw mental health as the most significant impact on their workforce in the pandemic's first year. Employees experiencing mental health concerns can exhibit a variety of symptoms and may be impacted by differing circumstances. Childbirth is one such example, and employers are likely familiar with postpartum depression or other forms of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, referred to by medical professionals under the shorthand PMADS. Approximately 1 in 5 women are affected by mental health issues either during pregnancy or within the first year post-pregnancy, according to the nonprofit Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, constituting the most common complications of pregnancy and childbirth in the U.S. A May 2019 article published in the peer-reviewed journal Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, written by Dr. Jonathan R. Scarff, a psychiatrist with the Behavioral Health Service Line at Kenner Army Health Clinic in Fort Lee, Virginia, details risk factors for postpartum depression, or PPD, in men, including a history of depression in either parent, poverty, and hormonal changes. The article noted that PPD occurs in approximately 8% to 10% of fathers.  Do your benefits cover men and non-birth partners for mental health issues?  Source:  HR Dive 2/18/22

Now that business travel is back on the table: When business travel ground to a halt during the spring of 2020, most organizations seamlessly switched to videoconferencing to conduct business and build internal and external relationships. Two years later, aspects of the pandemic have changed dramatically, and business travel may be back.   Here are some guidelines for considering business travel.  First, develop clear policies on when business travel is warranted. Second, determine to which locations are eligible for travel.  Third, determine which employees would be eligible for travel.  Next, tell employees to do business travel only if they feel well.  Fifth, develop contingency and treatment plans if an employee is infected while traveling. Also, encourage employees to take steps to reduce transmission risks while traveling. Finally, though not required generally, promote routine testing pre- and post-travel to increase the possibility of early detection of the coronavirus.  Source: StrategicCHRO  

Young workers get most benefit from salary increases:  The country’s youngest workers are securing the fastest wage increases of any age group, the only one whose gains have outpaced inflation.  Their pay progress reflects employers’ strong demand for labor as the economy recovers from the pandemic’s effects, particularly for many service jobs, such as at restaurants and retail stores, that tend to employ younger workers.  Median hourly wages for workers age 16 to 24 were 10.6% higher in January than a year earlier, far exceeding the 4% overall gain for all workers, according to Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank data. While young workers typically log faster wage growth because they start from a lower base, the 12-month rate is at its highest in the past 25 years, according to the Atlanta Fed. By comparison, consumer prices rose 7.5% in January from a year earlier, the Labor Department reported.  Many of these jobs are service jobs, which has the most need.  These workers are benefiting from the intense competition among employers struggling to fill traditionally low-wage, low-skilled jobs. In 2020, the last full year with available data, 48% of all workers making the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour or less were under 25 years old.  Source:  The Wall Street Journal 2/28/22

More women use telehealth than men:  Of the 25.6% of Americans who reported using a telehealth modality during the pandemic, the majority were women seeking behavioral healthcare, according to a report published by Trilliant Health.  During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telehealth increased by 1,015%. However, usage has dropped over the past year.   About 75% of Americans claimed to have not used any telehealth services during the pandemic.  Of those that did use the virtual care services, 46% used it for a single visit, 80% did not have more than four visits, and 14% had seven or more visits.  Researchers posited that despite the jump in telehealth use during the pandemic, patients still prefer in-person visits.  The report shows that women made up 60% of all telehealth patients. Women also made up the majority of each utilization group, which includes single users (one visit), low users (two to four visits), average users (five to six visits), high users (seven to 24 visits), and super users (25-plus visits).  Among the female patients using behavioral health services for telehealth, the most common conditions were those related to stress and anxiety.  Source: mHealth Intelligence 2/24/22