For a third consecutive year, The NEEBC community gathered to connect and learn about ever-developing innovations making a difference for the workforce.  NEEBC’s January 23^rd sold-out conference – Innovation in Employee Benefits: Changing the Game – provided an exciting window into the future of employee benefits, discussing cutting-edge developments in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) in HR, leave management, and health benefits. Here’s a summary of the key topics and insights shared throughout the event.

1. AI-volution in Employee Benefits
Mike Brennan, Partner of HR Digital Transformation Services at Mercer, led an engaging discussion on the transformative impact of AI in the employee benefits space. Brennan outlined how AI can drive productivity and enhance employee value. The future of work, he suggested, will shift from routine tasks (HANDS work) to more strategic thinking (HEADS work) and eventually towards work that fosters human connection (HEARTS work).

The Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) landscape has become increasingly complex as states propose a variety of paid leave laws across the country, even though there were no new mandatory programs enacted in 2024. Multiple states are, however, working to finalize regulations and establish their PFML programs, beginning to collect contributions in 2025, and preparing to pay benefits in 2026. In addition, while various federal programs have been proposed with the goal of aligning practices across states, there has been little movement; and we expect, with the new administration, the stalemate will continue.

Outside of New England, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Washington, and the District of Columbia have mandatory paid family and/or medical leave laws in place. Employers should be aware of all paid leave laws for the jurisdictions in which they have employees working and ensure they comply with any and all applicable regulations.