HR - Short Term Disability - MA

Policy Statement and Reason

For the purpose of this policy, employees include Massachusetts staff only. All provisions of this policy apply, except that for employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement, this policy does not create any benefits not expressly provided by that collective bargaining agreement and if there are inconsistencies between this policy and the collective bargaining agreement, the terms of the collective bargaining agreement will govern. 

Faculty employees should refer to their applicable collective bargaining agreement for information about Short-Term Disability.

Emerson College provides eligible staff employees with Short-Term Disability (STD) pay if they are unable to work due to non-work related illnesses or injuries (referred to herein as STD for “medical”). The College also provides STD to eligible staff employees for the birth of their child, adoption of a child under age 18, adoption of a person under age 23 who is mentally or physically disabled or placement of a child with an employee pursuant to a court order (referred to herein as STD for “bonding”).

The College’s STD policy works with eligible staff employees’ accrued unused sick, personal and/or vacation time as set forth below. STD is provided and administered by the College.

Eligibility

After working ninety (90) calendar days, regular full-time and part-time staff employees working twenty (20) or more hours per week may qualify for STD.

Staff employees must be on authorized full-time medical and/or bonding leave with the College to be eligible for STD.  Staff employees are ineligible for STD while on intermittent leave. 

In order to receive STD, all required leave certification forms must be accurately completed and received by the College’s Leave Administration vendor within 15 days of the initial leave request/notification to the Leave Administration vendor. If the required certification forms are not accurately completed and/or submitted within the required time frame, or if the College determines that the documentation submitted is not sufficient to approve STD, the College may deny or discontinue STD. As a reminder, STD is considered an income replacement policy and does not guarantee job protection while receiving such benefit unless the leave is otherwise covered by another College policy or applicable law that provides for such job protection.

Coordination With Leave Laws

To the extent that an employee is eligible for STD and for leave under other policies/laws at the same time (such as FMLA, MA Parental Leave, and MA Paid Family and Medical Leave “MA PFML”), this pay will run concurrently with those leaves to the greatest extent possible under the laws. 

Note that for unpaid leaves of absence such as those pursuant to FMLA or MA Parental Leave, STD is a way in which eligible staff employees may be paid during such leaves. Other methods of salary continuation for eligible staff employees may include sick, personal and vacation time. 

To the extent an employee is eligible for MA PFML for a reason for which STD is offered, the employee is required first to have applied for MA PFML benefits to be eligible for STD under this policy. To the extent an employee is taking MA PFML, they may use STD, if eligible, to supplement that benefit as explained more fully in the MA PFML Policy.

STD Benefits 

Eligible staff employees will receive STD as follows:

• Fourteen (14) calendar day elimination period: Staff employees must satisfy a consecutive fourteen (14) calendar day elimination period before STD benefits begin (“Elimination Period”).
  • Benefits begin on the first scheduled workday of absence following the Elimination Period.
  • Accrued unused sick, then personal, then vacation time, must be used during the Elimination Period in order to be eligible for STD; however, staff employees may hold up to five (5) total days of sick, personal and vacation time in reserve during the Elimination Period.
  • Staff employees who have exhausted their sick, personal and vacation time, or staff employees who wish to hold up to five (5) total days of such time in reserve and cannot cover the full fourteen (14)-calendar day Elimination Period, will be unpaid during this period.
  • Eligible staff employees on medical leave must be continuously disabled for the entire Elimination Period to be eligible for STD benefits under this policy 
• Benefit Amount: Eligible staff employees who satisfy the Elimination Period may receive sixty percent (60%) of their base salary for the approved period of STD. Staff employees are not eligible for retroactive STD payments. 
• Supplementing STD: Staff employees may use sick, personal and vacation time to supplement some or all of the unpaid portion of their base salary while receiving STD.
• Holidays:
  • Eligible staff employees will be paid 100% of their regular rate of pay for College-designated holidays that fall during the Elimination Period.
  • Eligible staff employees will be paid their STD rate of pay for College-designated holidays that fall during paid leaves of absence.  Holidays are counted toward the total duration of STD.
• Winter Break:
  • Eligible staff employees will receive Winter Break pay at their STD rate of pay if they are on a paid leave of absence that falls during Winter Break. 
  • Winter Break days are counted toward the total duration of Short-Term Disability. 
• Full-time staff appointments working less than twelve (12) months, such as a nine (9) or ten (10) month appointment, are not eligible for STD during periods in which they are not scheduled to work.

STD Duration

Eligible staff employees are entitled to up to a maximum of one hundred and eighty (180) days of STD per “rolling” 12-month year measured backward from the date an employee uses any STD leave for any reason. 

• Medical: Eligible staff employees are entitled to up to a maximum of one hundred and eighty (180) consecutive calendar days as supported by medical certification and approved for STD for their own non-work related illness or injury. If their illness or injury continues beyond one hundred and eighty (180) days, they may be eligible for Long-Term Disability benefits thereafter. 
  • Staff employees receiving STD for their own illness or injury who return to work before exhausting the one hundred and eighty (180) days of STD, and go out again for the same illness or injury within thirty (30) calendar days of their return, may be eligible to continue STD (with no additional Elimination Period) subject to review and approval from Human Resources. 
  • Birth mothers are entitled to STD for medical conditions related to pregnancy and birth and/or recovery from birth as supported by medical certification. This use of STD is separate from the use of STD for bonding as described below. However, in all cases, no employee is entitled to more than a total of one hundred and eighty (180) days of STD for any reason per rolling twelve (12) month period.
  • Bonding: Eligible staff employees are entitled to a maximum of ten (10) consecutive weeks (taken in one block) of STD for bonding. Eligibility for bonding is limited to one ten (10) week period per rolling twelve (12) month period.

Return to Work and Restrictions

Staff employees on medical leave must provide the College with documentation from their healthcare provider clearing them to return to work at least one (1) week before returning.

When staff employees are medically able to return to work with medical restrictions, the College will engage in an interactive process with staff employees to identify any reasonable accommodations that may be necessary to return staff employees to work in a job compatible with their medical restrictions. The College reserves the right to conduct an independent assessment of proposed accommodations to determine the extent to which such accommodations would create an undue hardship for the College.

When staff employees can return to work, including a return to work with restrictions, staff employees are no longer eligible for STD. STD is not available for reduced schedule leave or intermittent leave. 

Bonding Leave for Spouses or Unmarried Parents Employed by the College

When both parents work for the College and need bonding time, the amount of STD benefit available for bonding leave is limited to an aggregate of ten (10) workweeks. Employees who are parents of the same child and need bonding leave have options in terms of how to share the STD for bonding leave between them. The following are some examples of those options:

• One parent takes the full STD benefit of ten (10) weeks and satisfies the full Elimination Period; or
• The parents split the STD benefit such that, for example, each spouse takes five (5) weeks. With this approach, the Elimination Period may be satisfied two ways: (a) the first parent to take leave can satisfy the full Elimination Period, or (b) the Elimination Period can be shared with each parent satisfying half (seven (7) days) of the Elimination Period at the start of their respective leaves. 
• The parents split the STD benefit such that, for example, each spouse takes five (5) weeks. With this approach, the Elimination Period may be satisfied two ways: (a) the first parent to take leave can satisfy the full Elimination Period, or (b) the Elimination Period can be shared with each parent satisfying half (seven (7) days) of the Elimination Period at the start of their respective leaves.