Short -Term Disability

The amount of salary continuation is based on an employee’s status and length of service to the Institution and can last for as long as twenty-six (26) weeks.  The first seven (7) calendar days are covered by the Institution’s Occasional Illness benefit. 

STD Income:

Pay is calculated based on hours associated with status (4 hours/day for half-time employees, 6 hours/day for ¾-time employees, and 8 hours/day for full-time employees).

An employee receiving less than 100% of his/her normal salary may coordinate the STD income with accrued vacation time. 

An illness or injury that qualifies for Short-Term Disability will also be a qualifying event under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  Short-Term Disability will run concurrently with the time period allotted under the FMLA. 

Once an employee has determined that he/she will be out of work for more than seven (7) calendar days, he/she should:

• Call his/her supervisor to report how long he/she expects to be absent.
• Call the CIGNA hotline at 1-800-362-4462 to begin the claim process.  Please see the CIGNA brochure for complete details on how to report a disability claim over the telephone or via the CIGNA website. 

If an employee has an illness or injury that requires him/her to take approved intermittent time off for the same illness, the time taken is accumulated and charged against the total period allowed under the Short-Term Disability plan (26 weeks).  If the employee returns to work on his/her regular schedule for a period of less than thirty (30) calendar days and then goes out again for the same illness or injury, the absence will be considered to be part of the same Short-Term Disability period.  Therefore, no new waiting period will apply and no new claim must be filed.  If an employee returns to work on his/her regular schedule for a period of thirty (30) days or more, any subsequent absence will not be considered to be part of the same Short-Term disability.  In that case, a new waiting period of seven (7) consecutive calendar days will apply and a new claim must be filed and approved.

Employees are responsible for informing the Institution of his/her plans to return to work.

Employees who cannot return to work after their STD benefit is exhausted may be eligible for benefits under the Institution’s Long-Term Disability plan

A basic principle of any disability plan is to return the employee to active employment as quickly as possible, if appropriate.  Studies show that individuals’ health improves when normal routines resume and they are involved in meaningful work on a regular basis.  As such, an employee may be placed on a light duty restriction and/or an abbreviated schedule by his/her physician.  Light duty work assignments and/or abbreviated schedules will be reviewed on a case by case basis by the employee’s supervisor, Human Resources, and CIGNA and may only be available if reasonable accommodations can be made.  Light duty work assignments and/or abbreviated schedules must be temporary and cannot exceed thirty (30) calendar days.

While on STD, the employee will continue to receive his/her pay through regular payroll checks. Therefore, contributions towards elected benefits will continue to be automatically deducted from his/her paycheck.

Benefits that do not require employee contributions will continue to be provided by the Institution.

Vacation leave will continue to accrue while on STD.

Employees on STD are not entitled to Holiday pay.