At the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference, a panel talked about Walmart’s experience shifting to a vendor to manage their Accommodation Process. The speakers were: Herminio Vargas – Senior Manager Integrated Absence Management – Walmart Ben Cormack – Senior Manager Integrated Absence Management – Walmart Shawn Johnson – SVP Client Services – Sedgwick According to a 2015 DMEC Leave Management Survey, 82% of employers manage their ADA accommodation process internally. In 2013 Walmart initiated a process to move their return to work accommodation process to Sedgwick. Today Sedgwick administers approximately 80% of Walmart’s program. Walmart is the largest employer in the
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At the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference a panel discussed the challenges of multiple laws regulating disability management the benefits of an integrated disability management program. The panel was: Jane Ryan – Return to Work Recovery and Claims Services – Mayo Clinic Trina Mouton – Manager Disability Management & Wellness – CenterPoint Energy Patrick Leary – Health and Productivity Professional Karen English – Partner – Spring Consulting Group There are currently many different leave of absence laws that employers must comply with including: Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) State Family and Medical leave laws Military Leave (USEERA) State Military
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At the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference, a panel discussed a variety of workforce management issues facing employers in 2016. The panel was: Scott Mattes – Manager Workforce Health – Amerigas Propane Sonya Stephens – SR Benefits Analyst – Symantic Corporation Andrew Harrison – Americas HR Direct Benefits & Leave Operations Manager – Nike Nikki James – Americas HR Direct Leave Operations Supervisor – Nike Julie Johnson – Operations Manager, Leave Services – Liberty Mutual Joanne Archer – National Account Executive – Liberty Mutual Generational Differences There are currently more generations in the workforce than ever before and there are significant
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At the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference Patricia Purdy from Pacific Resources and Kimberly George from Sedgwick talked about why mental health is important to the workforce today and into the future. According to a recent Gallop poll, employees are working more hours than ever before but 70% report they are disengaged from their employment. The stress associated with working long hours is having an impact on the workforce and behavioral health issues are common. At any given time, at least 20% of employees report symptoms of depression, chronic fatigue, anxiety or sleep problems. The majority of these conditions are untreated.
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This week Conference Chronicles is blogging from the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference in New Orleans. The Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) is committed to providing focused education for absence management professionals. From face-to-face conferences to helpful tools and resources, they provide you what you need to reduce costs, minimize lost work time, and increase staff productivity. You can learn more about the conference HERE

At the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference, a panel discussed how organizations offering mental health solutions can improve the employee experience and engagement. The panel was: Scott Daniels – Director of Disability Benefits – Comcast Jack Stoddard – Chief Strategy Officer – Accolade, Inc. Hong Un – Chief Psychiatric Officer and Head of EAP – Aetna Adele Spallone – VP Business Integration & Strategies and Absence Management Services – Aetna One overriding thing to keep in mind when creating a behavioral health wellness program is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Something that works for a large employer with many resources
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At the 2016 DMEC Annual Conference, a panel discussed strategies to raise awareness of the stigma associated with mental health and how to address it. The panel was: Donna Hardaker – Director, Wellness Works – Mental Health America of California Heather Holladay – Integrated Health Manager – Pacific Gas & Electric Rich Paul – SVP Employer Strategy & Development – Beacon Health Options Bryan Bass – SVP of Disability & Absence Practice & Compliance – Sedgwick In a recent survey, over 35% of respondents cited fear of peer responses as a reason they would hesitate to seek treatment for mental
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At the 2106 DMEC Annual Conference, a panel discussed strategies to build the business case needed to evolve mental health and well being and a culture of health in the workplace. The panel was: Debra Lerner – Director, Program on Health, Work and Productivity – Tufts Medical Center Harry Spencer – VP Compensation, Benefits & Corporate Social Responsibility – JetBlue Airways Ron Loeppke – Vice Chairman – US Preventive Medicine, Inc. Thomas Parry – President – Integrated Benefits Institute With the large amount of data now available for analysis, employers looking to build a business case for changing their employee
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At the 2016 ACE Conference, Bob Wiese from Disneyland Resort discussed the differences between traditional insurance and self-insurance when it comes to liability claims. One of the biggest advantages of being self-insured for liability claims is that you get to define what claims you are going to handle and how you will handle them. You are not bound by policy language defining what is covered. This allows you to have a more customer-service focus with your liability claims handling program. . Some examples of things Disney does include: Public relations settlements. Often times they will do things from a public
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At the 2016 ACE Conference, Randi Lichtenstein from BNY Mellon and Don St Jacques from Jopari Solutions discussed opportunities for insurers to increase adoption of electronic payments. Payment Evolution Countries like the UK have payment systems that are advanced beyond ours and they have not been paper check based for years. Paper checks are very inefficient. The average cost of issuing a check is almost $6. In addition to print and mail costs, checks can get lost and need to be reissued, remain uncashed requiring escheatment, and cause delays getting payments to consumers. There are many growing pressures on what
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