my std ran out, I am still waiting for ltd

[quietgal]

I am now on my 14th week of disability, my std ran out 12/1, and my ltd hasn't even been submitted yet, my employer hasn't forward the paperwork to the carrier yet, I was told today she hopes to fax it over by the end of today, meanwhile I am not getting any disability checks and most likely have to wait a few weeks to get it, if I am approved.

Does my employer have the right to take their sweet time in forwarding ltd p/w?
do they have the right to fire me because I am on disability?
what is going to happen after 16 weeks, I have no money and how the heck am i to get therapy without disability?
what am i to do?
I can't keep calling she is alreayd mad at me for calling everyday, are they wiating to jsut fire me or???What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? ct

 

[cbg]

Your employer is not required to drop everything else they have to do and take care of you, first. She needs to take care of it in a timely fashion but she needs to take care of everything else on her desk in a timely fashion too - she has more employees to worry about than just you. What is timely depends on what else is going on. There is no law requiring that she submit it within x number of days or weeks. The std ran out on Monday - it's only been four days. That's hardly unreasonable. Particularly this time of year.

In the absence of a state law or a bona fide contract or CBA saying otherwise, the longest your employer is required to hold your job is 12 weeks. On week 13, day 1, they may legally term your employment. It will not affect your disability benefits.

I can't answer the rest of your questions since the FA crystal ball is out being recalibrated.

 

[jesscronin@comc]

Hope this helps

I can only tell you my own personal experience and hope that it answers some of your questions.

I was on short term disability through my employer. I was fired because of my disability. Yes, that can do that. If your employee has enough employee's than you may qualify for FM LA (you'll need to goggle the amount because I don't have the exact number) You have to be employed by the company for 12 months in order to even qualify. In my situation I was not there long enough to qualify and was terminated while on Short Term Disability. Which, if you are asking for some consideration you must give consideration as well. In a perfect world it would be reasonable to ask our employers to hold our jobs. Since the world is not perfect there must be some understanding that it is their personal company, their pride and joy, and they need the position that you were in covered in order for their business to continue. Which means, they may need to let you go and hire someone to complete your job. However, If you qualify and are granted FM LA- it only states that they must have a comparable job available to you when you return to work, and you are only allotted a certain time limit for FM LA to continue even if your disability is still ongoing after that time limit. It does not have to be the exact job held for you, it only has to be comparable.

On the subject of time frame: My short term disability ran out on September 19th, 2008. I am still waiting for my approval. I do not doubt that I will be approved but, it is a long process. It is easy to qualify for STD, when you are dealing with LTD it is a much more intense process. There are many complications that you will run into during this process, it will be time consuming - educate yourself on-line, be sure to dot your i's and cross your t's**************the insurance company will fight you every step of the way. If they paid on any claim because of a disability our premiums would be outrageous, so it is their job to weed through the paperwork and not pay on every single claim. Return requests as soon as you receive them, answer every phone call, if the process continues for more than 45 days, maybe consulting an attorney would be beneficial. As for me, I will continue to wait for my LTD to be approved, I have no doubt that it will but, not in the time frame I would like. Find any resources that you can for help in the meantime. Researching your options is your best weapon.

Good luck to you.

 

[cbg]

Sorry, but I can't let that stand.

You CANNOT be fired BECAUSE you have a disability that qualifies for protection under the ADA. However, not all or even most situations that allow for STD benefits qualify under the ADA.

Nor does the ADA say you can't be fired at all. The ADA does not guarantee you all the medical leave you want or even all the medical leave you need. The ADA is there to keep employees working, not to grant them unlimited medical leave. In some (but not all) instances, a SHORT leave or a SHORT extension of a FMLA leave might be considered a reasonable accomodation. However, if you are subsequently fired it is not because you have a disability, but because you are unavailable for work.

FMLA is a Federal law granting up to 12 weeks of medical leave with your job protected. There are four qualifying criteria and ALL of them must be met. If even one is not, then FMLA does not apply and the employer has no legal obligation to hold your job beyond whatever company policy should state. (This assumes that state law does not have a more generous policy and/or that no contract or CBA provides protected leave.)

The four criteria are:

1.) The employer must have a minimum of 50 employees within 75 miles of your location
2.) You must have worked a minimum of 12 months for the employer
3.) You must have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours in the 12 months immediately preceding your leave.
4.) You or a qualified beneficiary must have a serious health condition as defined by the FMLA statute

 

[jesscronin@comc]

cbg,

Sorry for not using the correct wording that you required. As I stated, I can only tell you my experience. I was sent a letter ending my employment because my doctor would not release me to go back to work and my employer would not let me return without a letter stating I could return to work.

Call it however you would like to call it. I would still be working there today if I would not have become disabled. My performance was 5 star. It is what it is.

Again, I apologize for whatever wording I should have used. - seems augmentative that my post could not "let this stand" but, perhaps my personal experience would have lead someone down the wrong path hence, giving wrong advice - which would never be my intention.

 

[cbg]

My concern was with telling the poster that you can be terminated because they are disabled. That is not true; the law specifically prohibits an employee from being termed BECAUSE they have a disability.

But the law does not say that if you have a disability, you are guaranteed permanent employment no matter what. No law requires an employer to provide unlimited medical leave. There comes a time when the employer is permitted to cut bait and hire an employee who is able to return to work. You were not terminated because you had a disability; you were terminated because you were unable to come to work and had no protected medical leave available. There is a difference.

 

[Silverplum]

cbg,

Sorry for not using the correct wording that you required.
...
Again, I apologize for whatever wording I should have used. - seems augmentative that my post could not "let this stand" but, perhaps my personal experience would have lead someone down the wrong path hence, giving wrong advice - which would never be my intention.

It's not argumentative. This IS a LEGAL site. If you don't word your response properly and in the correct legal terms, you WILL be corrected.