Sarah Yelvington, Savers Admin’s new FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) benefits specialist, first learned the ins and outs of FMLA as a front-line supervisor. So she knows the perspective of the clients she’ll be serving.

Sarah Yelvington

The 25-year-old Florida native and graduate of the University of Central Florida previously worked at an Orlando firm that translates speech to text so that the deaf can use the phone. She started as a transcriptionist and rose to supervisory roles, where her subordinates sometimes requested leave under FMLA.

Now that she’s specialized in FMLA, she remarked, “I understand what I did a little better.”
As a specialist, she expects to bring a deeper knowledge of the law’s detailed requirements than most employers can provide in-house. “Then employers can focus on their business and employees can have peace of mind while they’re going through a hard time, knowing nothing’s fallen by the wayside.”

In the new service, clients will refer employees requesting FMLA leave to Savers Admin, which will gather preliminary information on the nature and reason for the request. The next step is to check with the employer to see if the applicant’s length of service and hours worked are sufficient to qualify. “Then we provide a form to document the medical problem or military deployment,” Yelvington continued, “Then we issue approval.”

Savers Admin will follow each case through return to service, verifying a physician has determined it’s safe, and if return to the original job isn’t appropriate, “we’ll work with the employer to try to find an interim role.”

Yelvington and her husband moved here in February at the urging of friends who live in Greensboro. She said “everyone here [at Savers Admin] has been really awesome. They’re very knowledgeable and quick to help.” But she added “I’m still getting used to the cold.”

She and her husband are cinema buffs and are looking forward to this year’s RiverRun Festival. She said she also enjoys all kinds of outdoor activities, including hiking the Appalachian Trail with her father.