Short Term Total Disability Leave
Eligibility
All staff employees who work 20 hours a week or more (regardless of months per year) are eligible for
this benefit.
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Benefit
Employees earn short-term disability leave in proportion to their employment status (i.e. hours/week and
months/year). An employee accumulates one month of short-term total disability leave for each full year’s
service to the College up to the maximum allowable accumulation. No disability leave accumulates for a
fraction of a year’s service. Sick leave and vacation leave will not accrue while employees are on shortterm
disability leave.
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Maximum
The maximum allowable accumulation of short-term total disability leave will not exceed five months. For
any individual employee the actual short-term total disability leave accumulation, when added to the
employee’s available paid benefit time, will not exceed six months.
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Utilizing Benefit
For employees to become eligible for short -term total disability a written statement from the physician
certifying disability must be submitted to the Employee Benefits Manager and approved by the Director of
Human Resources.
The College reserves the privilege of requiring a second medical opinion from a College- designated
physician before approving disability benefits. Should the medical opinions of the employee’s physician
and the College-designated physician concerning total disability differ, a third physician, chosen mutually
by the employee and the College, will be asked to render an opinion. The majority opinion of the three
physicians will be binding.
Short-term total disability leave may not commence until all paid benefit time has been used, and
eligibility has been approved. Any debts owed to the College should be paid prior to the effective date of
the leave. If sick and vacation leave have been exhausted and eligibility is still pending, the employee will
be on an unpaid leave status. If the disability is approved, the College will retroactively pay the employee
for this unpaid leave. While an employee is on an unpaid leave, the employee will be responsible for the
entire premium (100%) for benefits.
The College may require that the eligible employee provide status reports at least every thirty (30) days
regarding the employee’s condition.
The College, when circumstances allow, will keep the employee’s position open for the employee to
reassume upon the termination of the leave. However, when the orderly functioning of the College
requires replacement, the College may fill the position. In such cases, the College will make every effort
to find an equivalent position for the employee elsewhere in the College.
Each time an employee utilizes short-term total disability leave; the total amount of the employee’s
accrued short-term total disability leave time is reduced by the amount of short-term total disability leave
utilized. Once short-term disability leave is exhausted, no further accumulation will occur. In addition,
each time an employee utilizes short-term disability leave, the employee’s Family and Medical Leave Act
(FMLA) benefits will begin and the total amount of the employee’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
benefits will be reduced by the amount of short-term disability leave utilized (refer to the Family and Medical Leave Act on this site).
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Leave after Exhaustion of Benefit
Should an employee anticipate the disability to extend longer than the eligible period of short -term total
disability, a request for a leave of absence or a termination of employment must be initiated prior to the
beginning of the last month of eligible short term total disability leave or termination will occur. A covered
employee who is totally disabled for more than six months may be eligible for certain benefits. Included in
this coverage is the continuation of the employee’s medical benefit plan subject to COBRA limitations.
Any employee who has been on leave of absence for any work-related or non work-related illness or
accident for over 180 days, and has not contacted the Human Resources Director to see if a reasonable
accommodation (if applicable) can be made, is terminated automatically. The termination is “no-fault.”
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Benefit Upon Termination
As of the date of retirement, resignation, or termination of employment, the employee forfeits all accrued
short-term total disability leave. Should the employee, again be employed by the College, he or she
receives no short-term total disability benefits due to prior service.
In cases in which an employee has been employed by the College for a definite period of time, ending at
a specific date, short-term total disability leave will under no circumstances continue to pay the
employee’s salary subsequent to the scheduled date of termination of employment.
Short-term total disability due to pregnancy is treated the same as any other type of short-term total
disability for the purposes of this Short -Term Total Disability Leave Policy.
Please
contact the Human Resources Office if you have any questions about this
leave.
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