Three in four surveyed employers do not say they are very confident they can run leave lawfully
NFP's survey of 1,004 US employers finds only 26% are very confident they can administer leave lawfully as the list of leave types grows. Among in-house teams without software, 46% spend three to five hours per request, up from 37%.
The Board Room · Leadership desk
Key figures: 46% of employers managing leave in-house without dedicated software spend three to five hours on each leave request, up from 37% the year before. 69% of employers handle leave administration in-house.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-house, no software: 3-5 hours per request | 46% of employers | 5 | |
| Same group, year before | 37% of employers | 6 | |
| Handle leave in-house | 69% of employers | 18 |
What happened
- About three in 10 employers outsource leave administration entirely, while 69% handle it in-house, often without dedicated resources.
- Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Menopause Equity and Care Act on August 7, 2026, and its employment provisions take effect January 1, 2027, according to the National Law Review.
- More than half of employers, 54%, said they were unaware of emerging menopause legislation.
- 34% of employers said they are open to offering menopause accommodations within five years, up from 25% last year.
- Of employers that offer bereavement leave, 35% now extend it to miscarriage or failed IVF, up from 28% when NFP first measured it in 2023.
Why it matters
- What it costs cost Software and outsourcing cost cash, and 66% of employers that have weighed outside help named cost as the main barrier, so for many the price of staying in-house is staff time.
- Who's exposed exposure FMLA remedies stack liquidated damages and attorney's fees on lost wages, and HRD puts the cost of one mishandled leave at several times the wages involved.
- Who has to decide decision Employers with Illinois staff have until the new year to check whether their accommodation process handles menopause-related conditions and who owns it.
- What it sets up precedent More state bills are likely, with uneven passage: Bloomberg Law reported a surge in 2026 sessions, while Virginia's governor declined to sign a similar bill pending a labor department study.
NFP ran the survey in coordination with research firm Empatix [2], and Human Resources Director (HRD) noted that it measured confidence and not audited compliance, so the 26% shows how employers feel about their programs [4]. The sample skews small, with 72% of respondents having fewer than 500 employees [3]. The remaining 74% did not say they were very confident [24].
In our view the hours data is firmer evidence, though it is also a survey answer. The share of in-house employers without dedicated software who spend three to five hours per request is nine points higher than a year earlier [25]. Software does not close the gap on its own: even among employers with leave software, nearly half report spending at least three hours on each request [7]. The work being coordinated spans the Family and Medical Leave Act, paid family and medical leave programs run by the states, short-term disability and an expanding list of local requirements [8].
Employers have a reason to keep adding. "Leave is not just an administrative obligation," said Maria Trapenasso of NFP in New York, the firm's senior vice president and national practice leader for talent solutions. "It's a critical part of the employee experience and an important tool for attracting, supporting and retaining key talent." [9] We think the retention case explains part of the expansion, and the cost of each added type falls on whoever processes the requests.
NFP's 2026 report put current offerings of menopause accommodations at 10%, against 7% in this year's survey [28][26]. The materials HRD reviewed did not explain the difference [28]. In June 2025 Rhode Island became the first state to mandate menopause protections in the workplace, and Philadelphia's ordinance came that December [11].
HRD reports that most of these laws operate through the accommodation processes employers already have in place [23]. In the view of the law firm Proskauer Rose, Rhode Island's law extends protections on par with those pregnant employees have long had [16]. For an employer whose process works, the laws add little. HRD's caution is for the rest: for employers that have not looked at how they handle accommodation requests, the exposure may be a duty they already had, now applied more explicitly [29].
The second Illinois date is the one that reaches the benefits budget. The Menopause Equity and Care Act requires group health coverage to include menopause-related care from January 1, 2028 [13]. HRD separately reports that rising medical costs are squeezing HR budgets heading into 2027 [22].
What to watch
- Whether Virginia's labor department study, requested by the governor who declined to sign the March bill, leads to a renewed menopause measure.
- Whether NFP's next report shows menopause accommodation offerings above this year's 7% once Illinois's employment provisions are in force.
- Whether the 46% share of in-house teams without software spending three to five hours per request rises again in the next survey.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence50
- Adoption20
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives60
- Confidence65
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Only 26% of employers say they are very confident they can administer leave accurately and in line with the law, according to NFP, an Aon company and benefits consultancy, in announcing its 2027 NFP US Leave Management Report.
- [2]
The report drew on a survey of 1,004 US employers conducted in coordination with research firm Empatix.
- [3]
72% of respondents had fewer than 500 employees, so the sample skews small.
- [4]
The survey measured confidence and not audited compliance, so the 26% shows how employers feel about their programs.
- [5]
Among employers managing leave in-house without dedicated software, 46% said they spend three to five hours on each leave request.
- [6]
The 46% figure is up from 37% the year before.
- [7]
Nearly half of employers that use leave software still spend three or more hours per request.
- [8]
Leave administration means coordinating the Family and Medical Leave Act, state paid family and medical leave programs, short-term disability and a growing set of local rules.
- [9]
"Leave is not just an administrative obligation," said Maria Trapenasso, senior vice president and national practice leader for talent solutions at NFP in New York. "It's a critical part of the employee experience and an important tool for attracting, supporting and retaining key talent."
- [10]
54% of employers said they were unaware of emerging menopause legislation.
- [11]
Rhode Island became the first state to require workplace protections for menopause in June 2025, and Philadelphia followed with an ordinance that December.
- [12]
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Menopause Equity and Care Act on August 7, 2026, and its employment provisions, which prohibit discrimination based on menopause-related conditions and require reasonable accommodations, take effect January 1, 2027.
- [13]
A requirement in the Illinois act that group health coverage include menopause-related care follows on January 1, 2028.
- [14]
Virginia's legislature passed a similar menopause bill in March, but the governor declined to sign it and asked the state labor department to study the issue first.
- [15]
Rhode Island's law helped spark a surge of menopause proposals in 2026 legislative sessions.
- [16]
Proskauer Rose, a law firm, described Rhode Island's law as extending protections equivalent to those long available to pregnant employees.
- [17]
Of employers that offer bereavement leave, 35% now extend it to miscarriage or failed in vitro fertilization, up from 28% when NFP first measured it in 2023.
- [18]
About three in 10 employers outsource leave administration entirely, and 69% handle it in-house, often without dedicated resources.
- [19]
Among employers that have considered outside help with leave, 66% named cost as the main barrier.
- [20]
Under the FMLA's enforcement provisions, an employer found in violation can owe lost wages and benefits, an equal amount in liquidated damages, attorney's fees and equitable relief.
- [21]
One mishandled leave can cost several times the wages involved.
- [22]
Rising medical costs are squeezing HR budgets heading into 2027.
- [23]
Most menopause laws work through accommodation processes employers already run.
- [24]
74% of surveyed employers did not say they were very confident they can administer leave lawfully.
- [25]
The share of in-house employers without dedicated software that spend three to five hours per leave request rose 9 percentage points year on year.
- [26]
Only 7% of employers in the NFP survey offer menopause accommodations.
- [27]
34% of employers said they are open to offering menopause accommodations within five years, up from 25% last year.
- [28]
NFP's 2026 report put current menopause accommodation offerings at 10%, and the materials reviewed did not explain the difference from this year's 7%.
- [29]
For employers that have not reviewed how accommodation requests are handled, the exposure may be an existing duty that now applies more explicitly.
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Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- hcamag.comEmployers keep adding leave. Few are confident they can run it
1 article · October 16, 2026
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