fmla and short term disability

[elisakaren13]

hi crazyboarders. i have been off of work for a week due to major depression and GAD. i am doing an "intensive outpatient program", which includes psychiatry, meds and counseling services (individual and group). 

i wanted to gather some info about applying for short term disability. i find the whole idea overwhelming and was seeking info. from those who have accessed s.t.d.  thank you, in advance, for your help, input and guidance.

Edited April 26, 2017 by elisakaren13

[notloki]

You would probably get STD through work, so start with HR. Basically you need a doc who will certify you can't work at you job right now due to illness. They may ask specifically how your illness limits working. Doc can still be cleaver and not disclose your diagnosis, my reason was " Housebound due to pain" and they did not ask what was causing the pain.

 

I had to have an approved FMLA to get STD, again HR is the place to go,

Edited April 26, 2017 by notloki

[aquarian]

The company I worked for used an insurance company* that provided STD. So I just told my manager I wouldn't be into work and she advised me to call the STD provider to file STD (phone intake) if I was going to be out for more than a certain number of days. Some companies require that you use up FMLA while you're out on STD and mine is one of them. In my experience, FMLA doesn't require a lot of detail or evidence (it requires some, just not nearly as much as STD). For STD, it's best IMO if you have a doctor that's willing to persevere and fill out lots of paperwork and send in medical records when needed. It will just make it a lot easier if your doctor(s) is/are cooperative.

I gave very few details to my manager. My intake call for STD was easy--just verified name, address, job title, doctor's contact info, diagnoses, reason for not being able to work, estimate of how long I'd need off, and that's about it. Then the STD company requested info and records from my doctor. It wasn't so bad but my doctor had to keep filling out paperwork in order to justify extending my leave and updating them (STD) on my condition (fatigue, anxiety, depression). Then I eventually transitioned to long-term disability. I did have a few return to work attempts while on STD and my company and STD were pretty flexible in allowing me to try to transition back slowly/gradually, like working every other day or working 2 hrs one day, then 4 hrs for a few days and gradually building up. 

Anyways, I just thought I'd share my experience, which was at a rather huge company.

*So the company I worked for is also the insurance company that provides STD (to its own employees and other large companies). In fact, I worked partly doing phone intakes for STD, which is awkward when you yourself need to go out on STD. Because my location (with all my coworkers) was one of the main 800 lines for STD intakes. So my manager gave me the direct line to someone who works for our company in another city so that I could avoid having one of my coworkers do my intake.

[elisakaren13]

thank you both for your input and information. much appreciated. hope this note finds you both well!