Summary of Disability Benefits
SHORT TERM DISABILITY INSURANCE
If you are paid on an hourly basis, and you are regularly scheduled to work at least 30 hours/week (either year round or on an academic year basis), you are eligible for short term disability insurance (STD). It insures a level of continued income for you in case of a non-work related accident, illness, or surgery that prevents you from working on a “short term” basis -- for several days up to 26 weeks. Employees who are not regularly scheduled to work at least 30 hours per week are ineligible for short term disability insurance.
The College offers two STD plans to cover different needs. Both plans pay the same benefit – 70% of your average weekly wage (up to a maximum of $600). Both plans allow you to use sick and/or vacation time together with the STD benefit to provide 100% of your income. But, each plan has a different “waiting period” which is the time from the last day you worked (before you became ill or injured) until the day that the benefit begins.
Plan A is designed for employees who
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-do NOT have a large number of sick days saved and
- -could NOT financially afford to have an UNPAID medical leave.
If you elect plan A and you have a non-work related illness or injury requiring you to be out of work, there is a “waiting period” of 15 calendar days before the insurance benefit begins. Therefore, you would have to use sick and/or vacation days to cover regularly scheduled hours during that waiting period. The cost of Plan A is dependent on your weekly wage. You pay a portion through a biweekly pre-tax payroll deduction and the College pays a portion (an amount equal to the cost of Plan B).
Plan B is designed for employees who
- -do have a significant number of sick days saved and
- -could financially afford to withstand an UNPAID medical leave.
If you elect plan B and you have a non-work related illness or injury requiring you to be out of work, the “waiting period” is much longer -- 60 calendar days. Therefore, if you normally work 40 hrs/week, you would need to have saved at least 320 hours of sick and/or vacation time just to provide you with income during that waiting period. You would need to have saved additional hours to provide 100% income after the waiting period is met. The College pays the full cost of Plan B and there is no cost to you.
The College pays a portion of the cost of this benefit for every eligible employee. Therefore, once you meet the waiting period for the plan you have elected, you MUST use your STD plan. For example, if you elected Plan A and are out of work for five weeks, you would use sick time for the waiting period, apply for STD, and receive 70% of your average weekly wage from the insurance company for the next three weeks. You can use sick and/or vacation time to cover the other 30% of your time (thus yielding 100% of your income), but you cannot decide to use five weeks of sick and/or vacation time instead of applying for STD benefits.
If your claim is accepted and you have met the “waiting period,” 70% of your average weekly wage will be paid by the insurance company. If you have sick time available, you may log 30% of your normally scheduled hours on your time sheet as sick time and you will receive a paycheck from the College for that amount. However, your regular payroll deductions (e.g., health and dental insurance, supplemental life insurance, etc.) will be subtracted from your College paycheck and certain College benefits (sick time, vacation time, and the College’s contribution to your retirement plan) will only be accrued or paid at 30% of your normal amount.
If you do not have sick and/or vacation time available, you may apply to the Campus Emergency Sick Time Bank for additional sick hours to be added to your personal sick time bank. Applications are reviewed on a biweekly basis and awards are made based on the number of hours in the campus bank, the number of requests, and previous rewards.
LONG TERM DISABILITY INSURANCE
All regular employees working 30 or more hours per week on a regular schedule are eligible for long term disability benefits. This benefit, which the College provides free of charge to all eligible employees, provides an additional level of insurance for your income in the event that you are unable to work for an extended period of time (longer than 6 months). Coverage begins the day after you complete one month of continuous employment in which you are actively at work. If you are unable to work due to illness or a non-occupational accident, the College’s long term disability plan will pay 60% of your regular earnings once the 6 month elimination period is complete. However, you may not use sick and/or vacation time together with your long term disability insurance to yield 100% of your regular pay. And you may not use hours from the Campus Emergency Sick Time Bank to supplement your long term disability insurance benefit.