Navigating the legislative leaves landscape and ensuring an excellent employee experience

In the post-COVID world, employees are expecting employers to support them more holistically—and employers have risen to the occasion. From mental health and caregiving support to healthcare navigation and financial wellbeing programs, they’ve expanded their benefits offerings significantly. The employee wellbeing journey doesn’t end there. Increasingly, employers are considering leaves of absence as part of the overall benefits strategy, as recognition has grown that an extended time away from work is sometimes the best way to support people through life’s most important moments.

Over the last two years, 42% of employees have taken a leave of absence, according to Alight’s 2025 Employee Mindset Study. The reasons are varied, ranging from treatment and recovery from illness or injury to caring for an ailing loved one to grieving a loss or welcoming a new family member. While the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandate that employers provide job-protected leave for qualifying family and medical reasons, employers are increasingly considering leaves less of a check-the-box compliance exercise and more of a crucial component of the overall employee experience.

State-mandated leave

While many employers willingly grant additional types of leaves as part of a thoughtful benefits strategy, they also find themselves required to provide leaves as mandated by state law.  Multiple states have introduced or expanded family, medical and sick leave programs, often with partial wage replacement, while some laws add paid or unpaid leave for specific situations, such as NICU care or certain crime victim proceedings

In some states, legislators are even introducing bills that recognize the personal and emotional significance of employees’ furry family members. While no U.S. state has enacted a formal pet leave law mandating paid or unpaid time off for pet-related needs, such as adoption, loss or care, several states are considering proposals to expand existing leave laws to include covered companion animals. They include:

• Missouri: HB3207 would require employers with 10 or more employees to provide at least three days of bereavement leave following the death of a pet. At least one of the days must be paid, with the remaining days being unpaid unless the employer chooses to offer more paid leave.
• Illinois: SB1670 would amend the state’s Family Bereavement Leave Act to provide that all employees be entitled to use a maximum of one week of unpaid bereavement leave to grieve the death of a covered companion animal.
• New York: AB A.791 would expand existing leave framework to allow employees to use paid sick leave for the medical diagnosis or treatment of a companion or service animal.

(For a deeper dive into non-traditional leave requests and strategies for managing them, read Jason Endriss’ Leadership Voices article.)

The challenges of multi-state operations

This variance in leave laws poses significant challenges for multi-state employers. As more states pass or expand their own leave of absence laws, keeping up with the constant pace of change can seem downright insurmountable. Not all new leave laws become enforceable on January 1 either, heightening the need for employers to be vigilant in reviewing their leave policies and practices and updating them as needed while also keeping an eye toward future potential changes.

One of the most significant challenges employers face is policy harmonization. Say a company operates in Colorado, where the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program provides paid leave for eligible workers to care for themselves or family members during qualifying life events, but they also operate in Texas, where no such program exists. They may want to consider adopting a framework that touches all employees, even those who don’t work or reside in Colorado. 

The other major challenge is compliance. Under law, employers must get every step of the leaves process right: eligibility, notices, documentation, job protection, benefits continuation and return to work along with any necessary accommodations. Something as seemingly minor as one missed notice can turn an already stressful situation into an employment relations and compliance nightmare. 

Even if they opt out of the state plan in favor of a private plan—under which they must still meet all state requirements—employers must file their plan with the state each year, make payroll deductions and report what’s taxable and non-taxable if they are paying employees for their time spent on leave.

Enhancing the experience

Compliance will always be table stakes. What matters most to employees is a simple, straightforward, easy-to-navigate leaves experience.  This presents an opportunity for HR to improve efficiency by streamlining a highly regulated, complicated process. Many employers are already outsourcing the process—either in whole or in part—to absence management providers that combine people, process and leave management technology. 

Built around the employee experience, Alight’s Leave and Wellbeing Solutions bring together data, insights and human expertise to make leave administration a more accessible, straightforward process. The new Alight Leave Planner™ available in Alight Worklife® transforms the experience by delivering clear, accurate and personalized guidance, coupled with AI-powered planning tools, to simplify decisions, reduce uncertainty and give employees clarity and confidence. 

Alight’s vision is not just operational excellence. It’s human-centered experiences at scale. Our teams are deeply committed to helping employees and families through meaningful life moments. We seamlessly integrate wellbeing support and resources, ensuring employees feel supported throughout their time away and empowered to thrive when they return.