How to Support Employees with Cancer

While it’s common for family, friends and loved ones to step up and lend a helping hand when a person is battling cancer, there’s another area where assistance may be just as vital, but perhaps less available: at the office. Workplace support for employees with cancer can come in many forms — from policies and procedures that make easing back into the job a bit easier, to informal help from co-workers eager to make the daily grind a little less difficult. Both employers and employees can take steps to make sure workplace support for employees with cancer is available and being put to use. For the Employer A new guide from the National Business Group on Health and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network outlines steps employers can take to offer workplace support for employees with cancer. Key among them are providing short-term disability for cancer treatment, along with disability case managers to walk patients through the ins and outs. The guide also suggests employers put in place an Employee Assistance Program and return-to-work strategies that involve case managers, HR leaders, and the worker’s supervisor to ensure a smooth and sensitive transition. For the Employee It’s also important to be proactive about seeking workplace support for employees with cancer. Cancer.net points out that there are three steps involved in a successful return to work: preparation, adjusting physically and adjusting mentally. Cancer patients should understand the parameters of policies like FMLA and short-term disability for cancer treatments and ensure they’re taking maximum advantage of leave and other benefits available to them. When a doctor approves, contact the company and request a...

Use FMLA to Care for a Parent with Cancer

While the challenges facing cancer patients are vast, the obstacles their caretakers struggle with are often just as daunting. If a parent falls ill, chances are his or her adult child is still of working age and may need to juggle work schedules, family obligations and financial commitments with care-taking. Using FMLA to care for a parent with cancer is one way some Americans try to close those gaps. What is FMLA? The Family and Medical Leave Act is designed to help employees manage the realities of balancing work and family. Passed in 1993, the federal law allows workers of certain employers to take a leave of absence from their job if they or a family member is facing a medical crisis such as cancer, or for other significant life events, such as the birth or adoption of a child. While the law does not mandate that employers pay workers during their leave, it does guarantee that their job or an equivalent one will still be available upon their return and that the employer continues the worker’s same healthcare coverage. How Can I Use FMLA to Care for a Parent with Cancer? The first step to using FMLA to care for a parent with cancer or another pressing emergency is to talk to your employer. FMLA applies to all public agencies, such as local and state governments and schools, as well as private employers with at least 50 or more workers. Smaller employers can offer FMLA but are not bound by law to do so. Employees also need to meet certain requirements. They must have worked for the employer...