CPS Teachers - Short Term Disability

stina76 · January 2014

Hey! Does anyone have any experience with the new short term disability policy for mothers in CPS? The way I originally thought it worked was that we get 90 days. I met a friend of a friend last night and she was saying that it wasn't quite as good as they made it sound. She didn't get 90 days. She said it was crazy because she had the baby a week after the policy went into effect and no one was giving her the same answer when she would call. When I read through the policy on the HR website it sounds like we will only be covered for 6 weeks under STD if it's a vaginal birth, 8 weeks for c-section. If that is the case, it changes my plans quite a bit. It also looks like we have to use 10 sick days first. I am due May 14th and originally I was going to use up most of my banked sick days to get me to the end of the year, have the summer, then start the STD in the fall. It doesn't sound like they will approve that. Urgg!! CPS has to make everything so difficult!! I haven't talked to Sedgwick yet (disability administrator that CPS uses for this) so I'm trying not to stress out.

Anyone been through this recently? Please give me good experience stories! : )

Thanks!!

stina76 · January 2014

FYI - I talked to Sedgwick and they confirmed that pregnancy is covered for 6 weeks unless there are complications.

TKtravels · January 2014

I'm not employed by CPS, but I did use STD to get some paid maternity leave after my daughter was born last year. She was born vaginally, so we got 6 weeks covered, and were able to extend the time just due to me not feeling 100% recovered. Basically, if your medical care provider is willing to support you and write a letter/fill out forms stating that you need extra time off, you should be able to get more coverage.

I say "should" because I used to work for an insurance company, and it was pretty much policy to deny everything the first time around, and then later approve it if the claimant had jumped through the proper additional hoops satisfactorily.

ChiAmy · February 2014

I am leave now. You get six weeks paid... 12 if you have ppd. And you do have to use whatever sick days you have first. So if you have ten, you only get 4 weeks paid. You are due in May though, school will be out after six weeks. If you have questions about it let me know, I can help.

stina76 · February 2014

@ChiAmy - Thanks for letting me know about that! Did you have to use all of your banked sick days too? Or just 10? And your sick days take away from the 6 weeks? That kind of stinks! CPS made it sound much better when they were first touting it!

LRohwer · February 2014

What is ppd?

LondonToSavannah · February 2014

I understand the policy to be that you use your sick days, then the 6 weeks short-term, then you can use up to 6 weeks of FMLA unpaid. That is what I was planning to do, I'm due 8/28 and wanted to stay off through Christmas break.

I haven't spoken to Sedgwick yet, just got that from reading the CPS policy.

TKtravels · February 2014

LRohwer said:

What is ppd?

postpartum depression

stina76 · February 2014

I'm due 5/14, with all of our snow days, we now go to school until 6/18. So if baby comes near my due date and I first use 10 sick days, then start the STD, that will be about 2-2 1/2 weeks on the STD then summer break kicks in. Do I then get the other 3 1/2-4 weeks when we start back in the fall? Or does that not happen? I'm so confused. I called Sedgwick, but they couldn't really give a straight answer. It was like they had never had the question before??

ChiAmy · February 2014

no after the ten sick days you get four more weeks. so use your sick days..and they will not roll over to the next school year. Once summer starts that's it.

amls218 · March 2015

Hi! I am also a CPS teacher and due at the end of May. My friend just had her baby yesterday, so we have both researched this topic a lot. This is the information I have taken from it:

1. You have to use 10 sick days before Sedgwick STD kicks in.

2. The first 30 CALENDAR days of Sedgwick begin after the use of 10 sick days. The first 30 days are paid at 100%.

3. If you want to be out longer than 30 days, you have to have a medical reason and doctor documentation to move into the next category, which is 31-60 days at 80% of your pay. Same would go for the 61-90 calendar days.

4. You are not able to start STD after summer break, unless you have a medical reason for needed to be out, which would require the doctor documentation asserting and qualifying this fact.

5. You can, in fact, bank sick days until your bank reaches 40. So for example, I only used 3 last year, so 7 rolled over to this year. I am only on my 4th year, and had to use previous sick days for the birth of my first child, so my bank is only 20 some days.

Hope that helps. CPS literally has one of the WORST maternity policies I've seen. I understand that it's great we have one at all, instead of relying solely on sick days, but it's laughable. Especially all the hoops and paperwork involved. It's like CPS wants all pregnant teachers to plan the birth of their children for summer break only.

Good luck! Spring break in a week and a half!

LondonToSavannah · April 2015

I was on leave all 1st semester. Here is what I did:

10 sick days immediately following birth.

6 weeks of STD.

Then I used 18 more sick days to get more pay. You also get paid for any holiday that occurs during your leave, for instance I was paid for Thanksgiving and Christmas break.

CPS allows 10 MONTHS of supplemental child rearing leave, which is actually pretty amazing. You can take 10 months and still keep your position. However, it is unpaid leave, and you do not need a doctor's note, you just notify Sedgewick that you want to use supplemental leave.

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