Disability

Hey Guys,

Have any of you taken your Short Term Disability through work? How does that work for you.  I have really good insurance benefits and can take STD or even what they call "Intermittant Disability" .  I really need MOndays off and am using up all my Paid Time Off. I do my injection on Fridays after work. It's the only option. I've tried moving it around and I simply need Saturday and Sunday to recover..and now Monday.

thanks

[HectorSF]

I had the exact same experience as treatment progressed. First had to take Mondays then Monday and Tuesday off. Plus I needed time for doctor visits, blood tests, etc. You can take whatever time you need for up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off.

Talk to your HR department at work. They will give you the FMLA form. Bring it to your doctor so she/he can fill it out. Then she/he will write a note explaining what you need the time off for. I had may doctor make it as vague as possible. I didn't want work to know what my illness is. Any doctor will know how to do this. My doctor wrote that I needed to take time off for treatment, recovery, testing, etc. for a period of 3 months -12 months. I also had him state that I could not travel for my job as I barely had the energy to get to work locally.
Make sure you communicate to your doctor that you don't want work to know what you are being treated for, if that is the case.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/

Synopsis of Law
Covered employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee;
for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
**** "to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition".

Hang in there. Remember your health comes first.
Best of luck with your treatment!
Hector