Short-Term Disability, Sick, and Long-Term Disability Leaves for Other Academic Appointees

 

 

Uses of Sick Leave

 

Sick Leave, described above, may or may not be encompassed in Short-term disability (STD) depending on the duration of the illness or condition. The last 11 weeks of STD is a benefit that provides 60% of your base salary (minus deductions for taxes, benefits, etc.) and continuity of benefits if you are ill or disabled and cannot work. Combined, Sick Leave and STD enable continuity of benefits for up to 13 weeks, regular pay for two work weeks (10 workdays), and up to 11 weeks at 60% base salary. 

 

All benefits-eligible Other Academic Appointees (OAA) who have worked at the University in a benefits-eligible capacity for at least the six months immediately preceding the illness or disability are eligible for STD; School of Medicine Faculty are covered under the BSD faculty sick leave policy. Visitors are not eligible for STD.

 

To be eligible for STD, your illness or disability cannot be work-related (see note 2 below) or pregnancy-related (see note 3 below), you must be in-residence, and you must be unable to work.

 

You may receive up to 11 weeks of STD payments. STD does not extend beyond the end of your appointment. The 11 weeks of STD count toward Family and Medical Leave Act leave, if applicable. At all times during your STD leave, you will maintain all benefits in which you are enrolled, provided that you continue to pay your share of applicable premiums. If you have a clinical and/or administrative role in the BSD, then those salary components terminate on day 30.

 

As soon as it appears that your illness or disability may extend beyond 13 weeks, you must contact your chair or dean, who must then contact the Office of the Provost, to discuss your options, including applying for long-term disability benefits, and what will happen to your salary and benefits. All STD salary and benefits will be discontinued after the 13th week following your initial absence. If your LTD application is pending and your appointment has not ended, you may request an unpaid leave of absence.

 

If it is possible to give notice of your STD, as is often the case with planned procedures, please complete the form well in advance of your absence. If you are unable to provide advance notice, you must submit your paperwork within two weeks of your first day of absence, sooner if possible. Short-term Disability Leave counts toward leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), if applicable.

 

 

While OAAs are not required to participate in a Long-Term Disability Plan, they are strongly encouraged to purchase the Optional Plan, which has several advantageous features compared to the Basic Plan, or at the very least the Basic Plan. (Contact the Benefits Office for more details.) If the OAA’s inability to fulfill their essential University obligations due to their own illness or disability may extend into a second quarter, the OAA should apply for Long-Term Disability (LTD) promptly, as the application submission and review process typically takes up to eight (8) weeks. Individuals are eligible for LTD benefits as of the first day of the month after thirteen (13) consecutive weeks of disability. The University will not continue to pay the OAA’s full salary and benefits after 13 weeks of STD/Sick Leave/FMLA combined have been exhausted, which may come before 13 consecutive weeks of pre-LTD disability occurs if the OAA has already used FML time during the previous 365 days. The insurance carrier makes a determination on the application for LTD and may opt to retroactively issue payment to the point that the University ceased paying the OAA’s salary. Thereafter, if approved, the OAA will receive LTD benefits from the LTD carrier and salary payments will cease. 

 

If an OAA goes on LTD, they may resume their University position within two years of the first day of the short-term disability leave upon a finding by the Office of the Provost, supported by competent medical opinion and upon recommendation of the chair and the dean or director to the Office of the Provost, that the OAA is again able to fulfill satisfactorily the individual’s University obligations, with or without reasonable accommodations (if applicable and as provided by law). In certain situations, a trial or observation period may be necessary in order to determine whether the OAA is able to fulfill these obligations satisfactorily. Should the OAA have a term appointment that ends during the period of LTD, the presumption is that the appointment will expire at the end of the term, pursuant to section 11.2 of the University Statutes unless an accommodation is requested in advance of the expiration and approved by the Office of the Provost. 

 

Should the OAA decide not to apply for LTD, the maximum paid leave for inability to perform University obligations due to illness or disability will be thirteen (13) weeks from the first day of leave, and such leave shall count as leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, if applicable. If the OAA lacks LTD coverage, does not apply for LTD, or is denied LTD benefits by the insurance carrier, they may apply for an unpaid leave of absence for a period for up to 12 weeks from the first date of the short-term disability leave that rendered the OAA unable to perform their essential University obligations. If the OAA remains unable to fulfill satisfactorily the individual’s essential University obligations after those 12 weeks, the OAA’s appointment at the University may be subject to termination. If the OAA’s term appointment ends in less than 12 weeks, the unpaid leave will be coterminous with the remaining portion of the appointment term, and the presumption is that the appointment will expire at the end of the term, pursuant to section 11.2 of the University Statutes, unless an accommodation is requested in advance of the expiration and approved by the Office of the Provost. 

 

Should an OAA be partially disabled but still able to perform some of their University obligations, the OAA with the chair, dean, or supervisor will work with the Office of the Provost to determine which accommodations, if any, may be reasonable under the circumstances and whether partial LTD from the insurance carrier is an option for the OAA.

 

Note:

 

Policy effective: 1 April 2010

Last revised: 9 August 2021