4.10 Long-Term Disability
All new employees will be covered by long term disability insurance after completing the appropriate qualifying period. (Refer to current contracts and employee agreements for specific information.)
Disability benefits will begin on the 31st consecutive calendar day of illness/disability. The employee, after the 30th consecutive day of illness/disability, will receive 65% of regular salary. Only full time and regular part-time employees are eligible to participate.
Procedure: Sick Leave and Disability Programs
All full-time and regular part-time employees will be covered by long-term disability insurance after completing the appropriate qualifying period.
Employees experiencing illness/disability which prevents them from working may have all or part of their income continued through a combination of the following: family medical leave, earned sick leave, other types of earned leave, the College’s self-insurance program, and the long term disability program.
Since premiums are paid by the College, long-term disability benefits are subject to taxes. If the disability is such that there is a chance it will last longer than 12 months, it is mandatory to apply for social security disability. If approved, the Social Security disability is integrated with long- term disability benefits and the social security portion is tax free.
Definition of “Self -Insurance”
The College has created a self-insurance (rather than insurance carrier) program designed to bridge the gap between 30 consecutive calendar days of illness and ninety consecutive calendar days of illness at which point the long term disability insurance carrier program may take effect.
If an employee has accrued leave, the College’s self-insurance program would take over if the accrued leave is exhausted before 90 calendar days passes from the onset of the illness/disability. The College’s self-insurance program, like the long term disability program, provides an employee income calculated at 65% of base pay. Employees may not receive full pay from accrued leave (sick, vacation and emergency leave) and disability insurance program payments at the same time.
Faculty Sick Leave/Disability Coverage
Sick Leave
Faculty members are credited with ten (10) works days of paid sick leave at the commencement of each year. Faculty unused sick days may be carried over from one academic year to another to a maximum accumulation of fifty (50) days). Sick leave for faculty is only charged and available during the thirty two (32) week academic year.
Disability
Faculty who are ill for an extended period may remain in full pay status by using collegial coverage, accrued sick days, spring break, holidays, and semester breaks until these are exhausted or until 90 calendar days have passed from the onset of absence due to illness, whichever comes first.
After thirty (30) consecutive calendar days of absence due to illness, a faculty member may qualify for the College’s self-insurance. Since disability and Family Medical Leave are coordinated and used simultaneously, a faculty member who cannot obtain collegial coverage and does not have sufficient sick leave to cover the period prior to qualifying for self-insurance (30 calendar days after onset of absence due to illness), will maintain insurance coverage during this “no pay status” period via the Family Medical Leave.
Once 90 calendar days have passed from the onset of the absence due to illness/disability, the faculty member may become eligible to apply for the long term disability program. Actual eligibility is determined by the College’s insurance carrier. Long term disability benefits are calculated at 65% of annual base.
Note: Once faculty are in cycle to qualify for the College’s self-insurance and/or long term disability, sick days are charged on a five day work week basis regardless of individual schedules.
If faculty complete the contracted academic year prior to becoming ill/disabled, the countdown for qualifying for long term disability begins from the first day of illness, regardless of whether they have received balance of contract or are still being paid. At the beginning of a new academic year, sick leave may be utilized to maintain full pay status prior to being provided coverage under the long term disability program. Faculty returning to work from disability prior to the end of a semester will have balance of contract payments calculated on a ratio based on a thirty two (32) week academic year. For example, if they have worked ten (10) weeks, balance of contract will be calculated at 20/32 or 62.5% of balance due.
Non-Faculty Employee Sick Leave/Disability Coverage
Non-faculty employees experiencing an extended illness/disability may maintain full pay status until all accrued sick leave, emergency leave, and accrued vacation leave have been exhausted, or until 90 calendar days have passed from the onset of absence due to illness, whichever comes first.
Non-faculty employees who have exhausted their accrued leave may become eligible for the College’s self-insurance program after thirty (30) consecutive calendar days of absence due to illness. Since disability and Family Medical Leave Absence are coordinated and used simultaneously, a non-faculty employee who does not have sufficient accrued leave to cover the period prior to qualifying for self-insurance (30 calendar days from the onset of illness), will maintain insurance coverage’s during this “no pay status” period via Family Medical Leave.
If the employee does not exhaust all accrued leave and vacation by the time the 90 calendar day qualifying period for long term disability, the College’s self-insurance may not be utilized. The exhaustion of accrued leave may not be used to extend the ninety (90) day disability qualifying period.
Once 90 calendar days have passed from the onset of absence due to illness/disability, the employee may become eligible to apply for the long term disability program. Actual eligibility is determined by the College’s insurance carrier. Long term disability benefits are calculated at 65% of base salary.
Since premiums are paid by the College, long term disability benefits are subject to taxes. If the disability is such that there is a chance it will last longer than 12 months it is mandatory for the disabled employee to apply for social security disability. If approved, the Social security disability is integrated with long term disability benefits and the social security portion is tax free.