MRA Hot Topic Survey Shows COVID-19 Best Practices for Employee Absences

February 14, 2022
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Kathryn Klopfer, Marketing Communications & PR Manager
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MRA Hot Topic Survey Shows COVID-19 Best Practices for Employee Absences

MILWAUKEE, WI (February 14, 2022) — MRA just released its latest Hot Topic Survey on COVID-19 Absence Pay.

“With the recent dismissal of the proposed Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), employers still do not have clear direction or understanding of the actions to take regarding COVID-19 absences in the workplace,” said Zach Day, MRA Director, Surveys, Custom Research & Analytics. “There is no one-size-fits-all solution. So, we asked the questions to find out what organizations are doing.”

“Surprisingly, we found that 53 percent have not changed their attendance policy to excuse COVID-related absences.”

Hot Topic COVID-19 Absence Pay Survey Highlights:

  • MRA’s Hot Topic Survey does show that 31 percent of organizations are offering additional paid time off (PTO) for COVID-19 illness in addition to existing PTO.
  • When asked how much time employers are providing (based on a regularly scheduled work week), the highest percentage (35 percent) offer one week, and 22 percent offer two weeks.
  • The majority (67 percent) of responders use guidelines from the CDC to determine the number of paid days to provide for COVID-19 absences.
  • In addition, 87 percent of companies do not have a maximum number of unpaid days that can be used for COVID-related absences before applying the attendance policy (assuming employee is not eligible for FMLA).
  • Also noted was that the majority (77 percent) of companies do not pay for COVID-19 testing.  

Added Day, “During times of such great uncertainty, it helps to know what other companies are doing and solutions that work. These Hot Topic Surveys are designed to provide data and information to help employers make the best-informed decisions for their workplaces.”

For the full survey results or to see more MRA Hot Topic Surveys,  visit the website.

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About MRA—The Management Association: Founded in 1901, MRA is a nonprofit employer association that serves 4,000 employers, covering more than 1 million employees worldwide. As one of the largest employer associations in the nation, MRA helps its members thrive by offering comprehensive HR services, talent management, learning and organization development opportunities, and total rewards planning. MRA helps organizations build a successful workplace and powerful workforce. Headquartered in Wisconsin, MRA has regional offices in Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota. To learn more about MRA, visit www.mranet.org.