Disability coverage ?

muchlove4ry

At my job (I am a teacher) I get no paid maternity leave so I will be using my sick/personal days and also sign up for disability.  I will also take a few weeks not paid.  So my question is when do I need to sign up for disability coverage? Is it well before the baby comes or just like a few weeks before? TIA!

abonner11

i am also a teacher and our district doesnt contribute to disability. we use sick time, if we need more we write to the sick pool and thye can donate days. since i will have a c/s i get 8 weeks off...ill use 20 sick days and they will donate the other 20.

nanceroo

My employer (in CA) said that i cant even do the paperwork until I have delivered ... or if it's a scheduled c-section, then you can do the paperwork as soon as you know the delivery date. OR if you are put on bedrest then it counts towards disability too ... but cant submit the papers until it happens. Even if you get it in the week after it's retroactive to the day that your "disabling" conditions occured ...

bessq

I've been wondering about this too.  Can you only get disability through your employer?

muchlove4ry

Good question....I thought there was state disabililty for anyone who works?

nanceroo

Disability is offered/covered by the state you live in ... in CA it is administered by the EDD - Employment Development Department.  LOL -- also the same dept that cuts unemployment checks

nanceroo

muchlove -- have you asked your school's HR about this?  Have they been any help at all? 

Even though the state covers it here, my employer will be submitting the paperwork for me ...

MaybeABaby?

I'm pretty sure you can't sign up for it if you're already pregnant. I signed up 2 years ago during open enrollment and they told me I couldn't be diagnosed as pregnant until after a certain date when it kicked in. (I signed up in May, it wouldn't go into effect until September 1 of that year.)

If you are already signed up, you have to file when your doctor takes you off of work, not before. Hope this helps!

bessq

oh good. thanks.

Emmy323

Each state.policy is different. I live in PA and work as a school counselor in a public school. Some friends, who don't work in schools, have purchased short term disability policies through outside brokers like Afflac. Unfortunately I attempted to sign up for STD too late...I was already pregnant and could not be accepted. I would check in to it now! Hope everything works out!

muchlove4ry

Well I work in a private school so we dont have an HR, and I am thinking I will need to file it myself....

MrsAlliP

I think it depends on whether or not your employer offers it to all employees as a benefit or you have to purchase the coverage.  If you have to sign up for it, it might be too late.  NC does not offer short term disability insurance to public school employees so I signed up and purchased a policy last October during open enrollment.  The rep said that I could not have a pregnancy confirmed by a doctor until after Jan 1 when the policy went into effect.  I would check with your benefits person to find out if you have coverage already or have to purchase it.  If you have to purchase it yourself, find out if you can do that since you're already pregnant.