Employers look to expand leave benefits, but struggle to administer them

A growing number of state and local laws are spurring employers to expand their paid leave programs, but these policies also pose additional compliance challenges.

Nearly three-quarters of US employers plan to expand their leave programs over the next two years, according to a recent survey from advisory firm WTW. Paid caregiver leave will likely see the most significant expansion over the next two years, with up to 39% of employers offering it, from 22% currently.

Offering paid time off to bond with a new child has become a “cultural norm” among more employers, “because there’s obviously an absence of a federal program that would provide a similar paid benefit,” Alex Henry, WTW’s group benefits leader, told HR Brew.

Efforts to pass a paid family and medical leave policy at the federal level have been unsuccessful, spurring both private companies and state legislatures to take action. Thirteen states and Washington, DC currently have paid family and medical leave laws on the books; Minnesota’s is the latest to take effect.

Compliance woes. As the landscape for paid leave has become more complex, so too has compliance, Henry said. Some 29% of employers reported finding it “difficult” or “very difficult” to remain compliant with leave laws when WTW surveyed employers between late October and mid-November in 2025—up 12 percentage points from the last time the survey was conducted in 2023.

Employers struggle not only to stay on top of new and existing laws, but also to administer the programs they have in place, Henry said. Administration may involve tasks like sending employees compliant letters or tracking their time off, and nearly half (49%) of employers surveyed by WTW said such tasks were a top challenge.

Unsurprisingly, 72% of employers are now outsourcing leave administration for state and federal family medical leave programs, up from 64%.

Room for improvement. There’s no shortage of solutions employers can turn to for help administering leave, Henry said. Traditional insurers often offer leave administration as part of their overall package for benefits like short- or long-term disability leave, for example. Specialized vendors and third-party administrators are also available to handle more “complex leave programs and setups,” he said.

There’s often a mismatch between what HR teams are seeking and what these partners provide, however. Net promoter scores for leave administration programs are currently low, at -23.

While vendors tend to focus on “compliance and consistency” with various federal and state leave laws, “employers and employees are just looking for the easy button,” Henry said. “Unfortunately…we’re not at a place where administrators have made it easy. It still is complex.”