New AbsenceSoft Report Finds HR Teams Struggling to Keep Pace as Leave and Accommodation Requests Climb

Survey finds mounting compliance complexity is creating challenges beyond legal and financial risk to employee retention and productivity

DENVER, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- AbsenceSoft, a leading provider of leave and accommodations management SaaS solutions, today released its Business Impact Report, finding that most businesses are struggling to keep up with changing laws and the growing volume of leave and accommodation requests. Based on a survey of 1,200 HR professionals, the report explores how confident HR teams are in managing leave and accommodations, the impact on the HR teams doing the work, the employers carrying the risk, and the employees navigating the process.

The PWFA, evolving ADA guidance, and a growing list of state paid leave laws have reshaped what employers are expected to do to comply, and how quickly they're expected to do it. At the same time, HR teams are managing more requests, creating added pressure on processes and systems that haven't always kept pace.

The report finds sizable gaps in both confidence and execution. Just 42% feel very confident they understand the legal and financial risk of mishandling accommodations, and 60% say accommodation cases fall behind schedule or miss deadlines at least occasionally.

The pressure is only building as leave and accommodation requests climb sharply. Nearly two-thirds of HR teams (64%) report a rise in accommodation requests, while 57% report the same for leave.

Those challenges have a price that extends beyond the legal and financial exposure. Half of organizations say they've lost employees who might have stayed with a better accommodations experience, while two-thirds say the leave experience plays a significant role in employee retention. Those experiences also impact employee productivity: 54% say that accommodations improve employee productivity and 44% associate leave with stronger productivity when employees return to work.

"There's never been more pressure on employers to get leave and accommodations right. Even avoidable failures carry real consequences," said Seth Turner, Founder and Senior Advisor at AbsenceSoft. "Requests are climbing, and many organizations are struggling to keep pace. But this isn't just a compliance issue. When employees don't get the support they need to stay and contribute, they may simply quit. Replacing an employee can cost far more than providing the accommodation in the first place."

Requests Keep Climbing and So Do New Laws

HR teams are managing a growing volume of leave and accommodation requests as the compliance landscape becomes increasingly complex.

• Nearly two-thirds of HR teams (64%) report accommodation requests increased over the past two years.
• 57% report leave requests increased over the same period.
• Most HR leaders aren't confident they understand their compliance risk: 53% feel very confident about leave, compared to 42% for accommodations.
• 38% cite keeping pace with changing compliance requirements as one of the biggest barriers to managing accommodations, on par with manager training (39%) and administrative complexity (37%).

Manual Processes Are Slowing HR Teams Down

Even where technology exists, many organizations are still patching together separate processes for leave and accommodations.

• 44% say their all-in-one HR platform covers the basics but leaves compliance gaps; only 39% say it fully meets their leave needs.
• 42% still manage accommodations through a separate internal process, and only 33% have integrated it with leave management.
• Half of HR teams (50%) cite forms and paperwork as their biggest time drain when managing accommodations, followed by manager and employee questions (36%).
• 60% say accommodation requests fall behind schedule, miss deadlines, or require significant follow-up at least occasionally compared with 57% for leave cases.

Retention Is on the Line

How leave and accommodations are handled is shaping up to be a retention and productivity issue as much as a compliance one.

• Half of organizations believe they've lost employees who might have stayed with a better accommodation experience, yet 29% still don't formally track employee satisfaction after the fact.
• Backfilling a role during leave costs more than $1,500 a week for more than a quarter of employers, and 21% aren't tracking the expense at all.
• 66% say the leave experience plays a meaningful role in employee retention.
• More than half associate accommodations with stronger retention, while 53% say leave improves retention and 44% associate it with stronger productivity when employees return to work.

AI Adoption Is Widespread, But Trust Is A Real Issue

AI has moved into leave and accommodations work faster than the guardrails around it.

• 70% of HR teams already use AI for accommodations tasks, but only 7% generally act on its output without human review.
• Just 31% are very confident their AI tools reflect current accommodations law, and only 27% say the same for leave law.
• 77% have concerns about using AI for accommodations and 79% for leave, citing data privacy, human judgment, compliance risk, and accuracy.
• Only a third have a formal AI policy in place for accommodations, and even fewer, 28%, have one for leave.

Investment Is Following the Demand

Budgets are starting to reflect the pressure HR teams are under.

• More than three-quarters of organizations (77% accommodations, 78% leave) plan to increase investment over the next 12 months.
• Retention tops the list of expected returns for both leave (50%) and accommodations (49%). HR time savings is another leading benefit, cited by 49% for leave and 42% for accommodations.
• For accommodations, 35% are actively evaluating AI solutions, and 22% already have an expansion plan in place. For leave, 34% are actively evaluating options, and 22% already have a defined plan.

"What this research makes clear is that leave and accommodations have become too complex to manage with disconnected systems and manual processes," said Chris Murphy, AbsenceSoft CEO. "Organizations are navigating more requests, more regulation, and higher expectations from employees. We built AbsenceSoft to help HR teams handle those demands and reduce legal risk by bringing together purpose-built technology and compliance expertise in a single platform."

Download the Leave and Accommodations Business Impact Report here.

Methodology

The report is based on a survey of 1,200 U.S. HR professionals conducted via Pollfish between July 10 and July 23, 2026. Respondents were age 25 or older, employed full-time, and worked in human resources at organizations with 500 or more employees.

About AbsenceSoft

AbsenceSoft is the leading leave management and accommodations platform in the U.S. We deliver scalable, easy-to-use, and configurable software to easily and efficiently manage 200+ statutory policies like the FMLA, the ADA, and the PWFA. Our software streamlines and automates leave and accommodations processes, ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations while elevating the employee experience. Built by leave professionals, for leave professionals, AbsenceSoft is trusted by employers across industries, Third Party Administrators (TPAs), and Professional Employee Organizations (PEOs) to manage over seven million lives. Learn more at absencesoft.com or follow the company on LinkedIn.

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SOURCE AbsenceSoft