Having personally helped employees through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake in Haiti and now the disaster in Japan, I can see that while workers affected by each of these crises had different needs, eight core benefits needs consistently were raised:
1. Prescription refills.
When people evacuate an area, they don't expect to be gone for a long time and often don't bring a large supply of their prescriptions. Work with your pharmacy vendor to override any system constraints and allow individuals to refill a prescription sooner than the standard 30 days.
2. Special government regulations.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the government passed special provisions extending deadlines for COBRA and allowing 401(k) hardship distributions. Keep abreast of any disaster-related legislation. It tends to get approved quickly and requires a fast implementation time.
3. Post-traumatic stress disorder.
Employees who have survived the disaster may need counseling for post-traumatic stress or other stressors. Many employee assistance programs will provide either telephonic or onsite counseling for those located in the impacted areas. .
4. Communications.
Communication infrastructures often suffer the most in the wake of a disaster. You'll need to find alternate methods of reaching your employees. You may need to use radio or television broadcast time in areas where your employees have been evacuated or you may need to send text messages.
5. Lost medical records.
Loss of medical records poses a significant problem if employees need to relocate permanently and have children that need to be enrolled in school or day care. Most schools or day cares request either a statement of health or vaccination records. Your employees may be unable to get these and may need to seek out extra preventive medical visits to get their children's immunization history recertified.
6. Family services.
We may be asked to help in finding child care resources, preschools and after-school care. Many EAP programs offer these types of services as part of their work-life benefits arm; however, you should know how they vet their vendors and have an understanding of the quality of services offered.
7. Health, life and disability policies.
Many policies have exclusions that limit coverage for "acts of God," acts of war and acts of terrorism. If an employee files a disability claim for a mental health or a physical injury stemming from the natural disaster, will your plans cover it? Do a complete inventory of your plan's exclusions prior to a disaster situation.
8. Leaves of absence.
Some employees who are reservists or part of the National Guard may get called up so you may need to assess the impact on overall productivity. Employees may also want to take time off to help out. You'll need to determine how many of these requests you will accommodate, if any, and have a standard policy for dealing with these types of leaves.
Contributing Editor Shana Sweeney - a self-proclaimed geek and political junkie - is a benefits professional at Google. She is an SPHR with degrees in politics and human resources. Shana can be reached at
