How Does Short Term Disability Work?

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ANDREW’S ANSWERS: Disability Attorney Andrew November is here to give you ANSWERS! On today’s episode, Andrew covers this topic: How does Short Term Disability Work?
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Katie Nobles:
Thanks for joining us. I'm Katie Nobles. And with me today, we have disability attorney Andrew, November. Andrew is here for another segment of Andrew's answers, answering all of the questions that you have sent in. And today Andrew's gonna be talking about how does short term disability work
Andrew November:
Short term disability is a lifeline. If you're fortunate enough to have it from an employer, you need to listen short term disability, like all private disability insurance is going to depend on what your contract says. However, there are some things that I've seen repeat often enough that I can tell you, this is probably how it is. Well, the first thing is short term is short, meaning it's for a limited duration. The average short term disability policy is gonna cover you for six months or 26 weeks. But I have seen it maybe 25% of the time be as short as three months or 12 weeks. So again, it's for a short duration. This is why it's important to also have long term disability, because almost every long term disability policy I've seen has a six month elimination period. The elimination period is the period that you have to remain disabled before you can start to collect benefits.
Andrew November:
So if your elimination period for your long-term disability case is six months, that means you don't get a penny until your six months waiting period is over. And then your long-term disability will start. So the idea is to have short-term disability bridge that gap. However, not everyone is going to be disabled for a long term. Things could be temporary. Perhaps it's a small fracture, perhaps it's pregnancy, and you work for an employer that does not offer paid maternity leave, which is very common and very unfortunate in our country. So short term disability can bridge that gap. The one thing to be aware of is short term disability also has an elimination period. Again, creatures of contract here. So it's gonna depend on what your policy provisions say, but typically the short term disability elimination period or waiting period is gonna be seven to 14 days that does mean you might have to go an entire pay period without a check, which I know is not gonna be easy for many people, but at least we know that once you get over that seven to 14 days, your benefits will continue.
Andrew November:
Now, how much are you gonna get? Well, again, creature of contract, but I do tend to see, of course anecdotal here that short term disability seems to pay a higher percentage of your earnings than long term disability. Shortterm disability sometimes will pay a hundred percent meaning you'll just get your full wages during the short term period. However, I have seen it go down to 60%. So again, check your policy. If you're confused with this, if you have a short term disability policy, you feel like you need to go out of work. Just give me a call, happy to take a look and tell you what's going on in your policy. So again, short term disability is just that it's a short duration to help you in the case that you need to be out of work, or if you're going to transition all the way on to long term disability. Thank you for watching.

[@alinedonabedian824]

Who pays for health insurance while on short term disability? Does the employer keep paying its percentage? or does the employee have to pay the full premium in New York State? Thanks

[@LinerLegalLLCCleveland]

In New York State, it depends on the employer's policy and the terms of the employee's short-term disability insurance.
If the employer has a policy that allows for continued health insurance coverage during short-term disability, the employer may continue to pay its portion of the premium while the employee is on disability leave. In this case, the employee would still be responsible for paying their portion of the premium, usually through payroll deduction.
However, if the employer does not have a policy that allows for continued health insurance coverage during short-term disability, the employee may be responsible for paying the full premium to maintain their health insurance coverage.
It's important to review your employer's policies and the terms of your short-term disability insurance plan to understand what is covered and what you will be responsible for paying during your disability leave.