Opportunities to Improve Family and Medical Leave Administration

Family and medical leave is complex and difficult to administer. An executive proposal to modify King County Family and Medical Leave (KCFML) will likely address some administrative challenges and create efficiencies; however, significant issues will remain. For example, departments will continue to need to use side systems to track family and medical leave. Gaps in guidance and training, weaknesses in data systems, and the county’s decentralized approach to family and medical leave administration continue to present challenges. As a result, administration of family and medical leave is inefficient, inconsistent, and may result in improper use of leave. Ultimately, accurate and efficient administration of family and medical leave depends on close coordination of federal, state, and local requirements with the county’s management processes.

We recommend that the County Executive take steps to ensure the consistency and accuracy of family and medical leave time reporting. These steps may include improvements to timekeeping data entry processes and time tracking systems, consistent and comprehensive training, and education to employees regarding family and medical leave. These changes will help ensure that employees are using the amount of family and medical leave to which they are entitled, while providing greater predictability and ease of administration to employees, supervisors, and county management. Further, we recommend that the County Executive follow through with his proposal to resolve the administrative challenges presented by the differences between KCFML requirements and similar federal and state regulations.

This audit examined King County policies, procedures, and practices for the use and administration of family and medical leave by King County employees. The County Executive has proposed changes to how the County administers family and medical leave. Our review focused on how these changes would simplify leave administration and what challenges may remain. In doing so, we also reviewed the county’s family and medical leave management structures and the consistency of family and medical leave processes among county departments.