Short Term Disability
- Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to provide income replacement benefits as specified below when an eligible employee is unable to work for a period of prolonged incapacity due to a non-work-related disability.
- Eligibility
Employees scheduled at .50 FTE or more per year will be eligible for short-term disability benefits after completion of one (1) year of employment. Regular employees who work less than .50 FTE and temporary employees are not eligible for short term disability.
Short-term disability benefits are not available until an employee has been absent for more than 7 consecutive calendar days. This is referred to as the “waiting” or “elimination” period. A disability for purposes of this policy is a medical condition which renders the employee continuously unable to perform the essential functions of the employee’s job. This can include illness, non-work related injury, and/or disabilities caused or contributed to by pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, childbirth, and recovery therefrom.
If a disability results from an automobile accident or some other incident for which an insurance company would normally reimburse lost wages, payment of short term disability will be secondary to lost wage payments by the insurance company. Prior to providing short term disability payments in such cases, the college may require proof from the employee that payment for lost wages has not been made and will not be forthcoming from a third party. If an employee receives a lost wage settlement from a third party after short term disability benefits have been paid, the employee will be responsible for reimbursing the college for the amount paid for lost time.
- Effects on Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
If the disability qualifies for coverage under the FMLA policy, short term disability will run concurrently with the leave time allotted under FMLA. This short-term disability policy incorporates the relevant provisions of the FMLA policy.
- Short-term disability benefit
After an employee has been absent from work for 7 consecutive days, the college will then continue the employee’s salary based on the following:
8-42 calendar days* Salary continuation at 100% of base salary**
43-90 calendar days* Salary continuation at 80% of base salary**
91+ days* Employee may be eligible for long-term disability
* All references to days mean consecutive days.
** Base salary is defined as your regular base wages exclusive of overtime, overloads, or any other special pay.
- Contributions
The cost of your short-term disability coverage is paid for entirely by Central College.
- Procedures
Once an employee has determined that they will be out of work beyond 7 consecutive calendar days, the employee should immediately contact human resources. In order to receive short-term disability benefits, the employee must meet eligibility requirements and return completed all forms given to the employee by human resources. No short-term disability benefits will be paid until the employee’s claim is approved. Failure to provide the appropriate documentation may result in a delay of benefits.
An employee will be required to use any paid sick/vacation leave for their scheduled work hours in the initial 7 day “waiting period,” and pending approval of the claim. If the employee’s claim is approved, all sick/vacation hours used beyond the initial 7 day “waiting period” will be reinstated to the employee’s sick/vacation bank.
- Restrictive duty
The principle of any temporary disability plan is to return the employee to active employment as quickly as possible, and to provide a level of salary re-numeration that encourages return to full schedule. An employee may be placed on light duty restriction or an abbreviated schedule by his/her physician. If an employee qualifies for short term disability benefits and subsequently returns to work on an abbreviated schedule anytime within the 90 days, the employee will be paid for actual time worked, and the employee will receive short-term disability pay at the appropriate percentage for the remainder of the pay.
- Status of benefits while on short-term disability
Medical/Dental/Flex Spending/Optional Life/Supplemental retirement contributions: Employee will receive their salary through regular payroll checks. Therefore, the contributions which are the responsibility of the employee will continue to be automatically deducted from their paychecks. Programs which do not require employee contributions (Life/LTD/ Retirement) will continue to be provided by the college.
Tuition Program: If a dependent of the employee on short-term disability is receiving benefits under the tuition reduction or tuition exchange program, the recipient will be allowed to complete the coursework and continue in the program. Employees on short term disability cannot attend classes under the tuition reduction program.
Note: When this policy refers to a form, such form can be found at my.central.edu under the human resources module or obtained from the human resources office.