STD / work vent

allinduetime

i have a separate short term disability policy that was offered by Unum.... a rep came to all our offices and signed up whoever wanted to sign up. it's a freestanding policy, meaning we take it with us if we leave our job. my employer doesn't pay anything for it, i pay the entire premium.

i casually asked my boss about FMLA / STD / paid extended leave time today (she knows we're pregnant). i have 5 weeks of extended leave saved up that can only be used if you are on FMLA. but, my boss is trying to tell me that i have to use up all of my paid extended leave time before i can submit a request to tap into my STD. 

that means if it's a normal vaginal birth and i'm cleared after 6 weeks, i won't even be able to use the STD i've been paying for, because there's a one week waiting period.  my thougth is that if it is an individual policy, and not tied to the company, i should be able to use it whenever i need to, and when my dr. okays me for it. 

grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. 

 

tina623

I wouldn't listen to your boss.  Call Unum and ask. When I gave birth, I had two weeks of vacation and sick pay saved up.  I didn't get state STD until my boss stopped paying me, but Aflac didn't care if I was still getting paid from my boss, my dr took me out of work and that was that.  Aflac is free standing too.  Good luck.

allinduetime

ah, thanks. i am thinking along the same lines.

Mrs.Reem

Ummm no. Your boss is smoking something. STD starts when your Dr deems you medically incapable of working. So... once the baby is born or you're put on bedrest.

STD and FMLA run concurrently and you would probably have to use up any paid leave before taking unpaid leave but most likely your boss is wrong about the STD at least. You should be able to take your extended leave after your STD ends and while you're still covered under FMLA.  

BTW I work(ed) in HR so I'm 99% sure of this.

doolin

I have a similar setup at work and was also really confused by this.  I was contemplating slowly eating into my PTO while still pregnant so I could maximize the STD payout (I feel it's only right since I've been paying the premiums all along).  I think I need to get some clarification ...

 

BTW, I had to LOL b/c I initially read STD as sexually transmitted disease.  Clearly my head is not in the game today ...  :-)

Christina617

Yes, I would look into this more.  I have two STD policies and was able to use them both.  One required a 2 week waiting period so I took 2 weeks of sick time, used my STD policy for 6 weeks, and will now take 4 weeks vacation.  I also had an AFLAC plan and they just send you a lump sum for STD.