Short Term Disability

[Barger30755]

Tennessee

Can a short term Diabilty be denied if your FMLA has been exhausted?What is the name of your state?

 

[cbg]

STD is a completely separate issue from FMLA and serves a different purpose. They sometimes overlap, but one is not dependent on the other. STD is income replacement ONLY. FMLA is time off. They can run concurrently, but eligibility for STD and eligibility for FMLA do not depend on each other; they are separate things.

 

[Barger30755]

I was told since my wifes FMLA was exhausted one day before childbirth, a new STD claim could not be submitted for time after birth. They said that if the FMLA had not exhausted, a claim could have been approved.

 

[cbg]

If that's the way the STD eligibility is set up, then that's the way the STD eligibility is set up. There is nothing illegal about that - nor does it change the fact that there is nothing in the law connecting the two. They are STILL two different things that serve two different purposes. Your wife's employer has chosen to tie them together. They are allowed to do that. It doesn't change the law. Since TN does not have a mandated disability plan or benefit, your wife does not have a guaranteed right to STD benefits; nor does any other employee.