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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
short term disability for maternity leave?
hey all, just wondering if anyone has any insight on what I should be looking for when getting short term disability. Our company isn't big enough for the FMLA so I need to sign up for short term disability before we get pregnant.
Thanks!
Re: short term disability for maternity leave?
So Tasty, So Yummy
At my former company, you only had to sign up for STD before you became pregnant, there were no other restrictions and it kicked in immediately after taking all of your paid leave. I have a friend who had to have X number of unpaid days (5? 10?) before STD kicked in.
Like PAGAS said, I'd verify that pregnancy recovery is covered. Then you'll want to know when it kicks in (ie, after all sick, personal, and vacation is depleted + waiting period) and what type of payments to expect and when.
I have to use all sick time/PTO before it kicks in and it does cover pregnancy..I was just wondering if there was anything that I should be aware of like if there are different coverages or anything.
I thought aflack didn't do this any more?
Go Against the Grain - Blog - Updated 1.9.12
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At my company, pregnancy is covered under STD and we get unpaid FMLA.
We had to use all accrued vacation and sick time before STD kicked in. Coverage here was 6 weeks at 100% pay for vaginal deliver and 8 weeks at 100% pay for c-section.
HR provided the paperwork and my doctor's office had to fill it out.
Ditto, except for having to use vacation and sick time prior to STD kicking in. I had a 1 week "waiting period" before STD kicked in. I could use vacation for that.
STD is a benefit provided by the company. I do not pay extra for the coverage.
you determine how long you wait before the benefits kick in and at what percentage of your salary. (i.e.: 30 days and 70%).
there is a form that your ob will have to sign once you deliver, but other than that its fairly simple.
do make sure that your maternity leave will be covered since your company is small.
wow 100% pay nice. I wish that would be the case for me lol. the time of 6 weeks and 8 weeks is the same for us just not at 100%
Go Against the Grain - Blog - Updated 1.9.12
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At my last company, the % was based on tenure. I was like 1.5 working days short of 5 years and my boss submitted the paperwork without talking to me (I went on emergency leave - i.e. went to the doc and didn't come back until Avery was 8 weeks old) and had he put in that I was taking 12 hours of vacation, it would have pushed me to 5 years of tenure. So, instead of 100% pay, I got 60% or something like that. Although that is still great, I was pretty upset about losing the 40% over something so silly.
For me, it was a better option to just save my money and then pay myself when I took off. STD doesn't give you 100% of your salary (except in rare, amazing policies), getting just 70% or even 50% of your salary is more normal.
So if you'd have to live off of 70% of your salary anyway, just start doing it now and save the 30%. You'll be able to pay yourself over 3mo of 70% paychecks after 9mo of saving. Start while you're TTC and you'll have even more.
HR know-it-all clarification alert:
FMLA is not about compensation. It's about job protection. No one has "paid FMLA." If your company is big enough to protect your job while you are on leave for a medical situation or to care for a loved one FMLA only keeps them from filling your position.
STD is supplemental compensation while you are out of work due to injury or illness. Every plan is different, like the people suggested. I do have one of those amazing plans based on tenure so my STD for a vaginal birth would be 100% because I would have been here 6 years if I had another child. There is a 1-week period where you have to cover your own pay from your PTO but you don't have to exhaust it. And then you can use any remaining PTO for the duration of your FML leave, with job protection. Then if your FMLA-protected leave runs out your employer can fill your job but here we have a total of 6 months we can be on leave and if we have enough PTO we can continue receiving compensation during that time.
So you want to find out the details of your company STD plan, as everyone said above.
1) Does it cover pregnancy, should you get pregnant?
2) is there a minimum qualifying period before you are eligible? If so, is it based on how long you have been with the company or is it based on how long you have been paying for the supplemental insurance coverage?
3) What are the compensation levels for STD payments? Standard levels are 50%, 66-2/3%, 70% and 100%. Are there eligibility criteria that affect your levels (such as 1 week for every FULL year of tenure @ 100% and then remaining weeks at one of the lower percentages?
4) If STD reimburses for pregnancy is it at the standard 6 weeks for vaginal pregnancy and 8 weeks for c-section? If there are complications before/after do you file a separate STD request for any additional time needed because you are on bed rest or require a longer recovery (yourself - won't cover a longer recovery for baby).
5) Are there any other exclusions or eligibility details you need to know?
Good luck!!
- Paula Deen to 104.1 KRBE's Producer Eric 9/17/2011
ooh lots of good info, thanks for that. there is so much to know about all this stuff it gets confusing and frustrating lol.
Go Against the Grain - Blog - Updated 1.9.12
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My apologies. I should have stated that we do not get paid maternity leave. I know there are companies that automatically give you 3 months of paid leave. We simply have FMLA and have 12 weeks of job protection.
Wasn't directed at you. As the HR person responsible for every HR policy at my organization, you would be surprised how many questions I get from people who say that it is paid FML and get so confused by all the paperwork they have to complete. (Benefits or their Generalist is supposed to help them with questions but if you email HR Policies @[company.com] I get the emails. For someone new to the process, I was just trying to clarify for those who might also be confused so they use the right terms when asking their HR folks what their policies are. (I also know that some HR people are idiots and cannot jump ahead to helping the person with the outcome they need, rather than arguing about the HR alphabet soup. I've heard someone say, "We don't have paid FML" and then end the conversation without offering, "but we do have STD - let me explain what that is..." So using the right acronyms might help someone get the answers they really need).
- Paula Deen to 104.1 KRBE's Producer Eric 9/17/2011
Group disability insurance through your workplace usually covers up to 60 percent of regular income. All the benefits you receive from your group policy will be taxed which means you may lose about 40 percent of your income. You?ll also find limitations/exclusions to your group policy. You should purchase a private disability life insurance to supplement your group policy. You can get cheap life insurance (STD) to supplement your group disability insurance policy. This kind of coverage can ensure your full income is covered and the benefits from a private policy are not taxed.
Denise