Will job be safe?

[Sinamenone]

What is the name of your state? PA

Within the past couple of weeks, my sister was diagnosed with a degenerative disk. She's suffering with back pain & tingling & numbness in her leg & foot. Currently, she's in therapy to see if exercise will help her condition & @ the same time her neurologist is hounding her to get surgery. Anyway, she's been @ her job a little over a year. Her HR Dept. said she can only get 30 days of STD with Keystone Health Plan East, then apply for FMLA when it runs out. Why is she only entitled to 30 days STD? My girlfriend had a pinched nerve & was out of work for 6 months this year. Will her job really be safe when she comes back? Can her employer terminate her while she's undergoing treatment & possible surgery (as a last resort)? Thanks in advance.

 

[cbg]

She's only entitled to 30 days STD because that's all the policy allows, I suppose. There's no law in PA (or in 44 other states) guaranteeing her STD at all.

There is no state standard for STD in PA (or 44 other states). Evidently your girlfriend's employer had a more comprehensive policy than your sister's employer. That's not illegal.

She's exceptionally lucky that her employer is allowing her to take all her STD time first before her FMLA begins. They could require that the 30 days of STD and the first 30 days of FMLA to run concurrently.

The LONGEST her employer is required by law to hold her job is 12 weeks. When 12 weeks is up, her employer may legally terminate her regardless of the legitimacy of the medical necessity to be out longer. No law says you can't be terminated while on disability leave, as long as you've received the maximum time required under the law.

 

[moburkes]

Generally, STD does NOT last 6 months. 6 months is NOT a short period of time.

 

[cbg]

Actually, moburkes, it's not at all uncommon for an STD policy to cover between 13 and 26 weeks of benefits. I've even recently seen an STD plan that will cover the employee for up to a year (thought that's quite uncommon). Then LTD kicks in, usually.

In the extremely large majority of STD and LTD plans, the length of time a disability plan will pay benefits has no relationship to the length of time the employer is obligated to hold an employee's job. Barring a state law or binding contract to the contrary, an employer NEVER has to hold a job longer than 12 weeks. But even after termination, every STD/LTD plan I've ever seen and every one but one I've ever heard of, will continue to pay benefits even if the employment is termed.

The poster's girlfriend's employer clearly had a comprehensive policy that covered six months (not uncommon) and would hold a job for that time period (also not uncommon, but not required by law either). Many employers will provide more than the minimum. For all I know, the poster's sister's employer will do so also. But not having read the policies, I can't promise it, because the minimum under the law is all she is guaranteed.

 

[moburkes]

Thanks, cbg. I've never seen one that lasted that long. I think the longest that I saw was 14 weeks, of course, at which point, the LTD policy kicked in.

 

[cbg]

Maybe it's regional.