When HR doesn’t know what leave you offer, neither do your employees

“The people that are holding institutional knowledge — they are the foundation of the organization. As they support these women, they’ll stay in the workforce longer, they’ll feel supported, they’ll definitely give back more than they’re actually even receiving,” Trapenasso said.

Fix the policy before you outsource the problem

When considering third-party leave administration solutions or dedicated software, Trapenasso offered a caution that applies equally to internal and external options. The tool is only as good as the policy it is administering.

“They can’t go to an outside vendor with a broken policy and say, ‘We want to use you as a vendor,'” she said. “They need to have those aligned, make sure they understand that their processes are working correctly, and then move to a vendor that will be a partner. They’re not going to take everything off their plate — they’re just going to be a partner in that whole administrative process.”

The starting point, then, is a leave policy audit: checking alignment between internal policy and FMLA, state PFML, short-term disability, and any applicable local ordinances.

For HR leaders who have expanded into new states through remote hiring without revisiting their leave stack, that audit is likely overdue. The compliance exposure is real, the talent cost of getting it wrong is measurable, and the C-suite case for proper resourcing has never been easier to make.