Tuesday, 17 May 2016 03:25
Compliance Update: State Mandated Short-Term Disability Employer Requirements
Written by Juliet FitzgibbonsAs consumers, we spend so much time focusing on medical benefits and sometimes forget the importance of disability coverage. Although many states do not require that employers offer any type of disability benefit to its employees, there are a handful of states that mandate employers to offer paid-Short-Term Disability (STD) benefits for employees. STD benefits are not available from Social Security or elsewhere in the federal government. If you are disabled less than a year, you can’t collect Social Security disability or State Disability Insurance (SDI).
Several states grant employees paid STD benefits when they can’t work temporarily due to an accident or injury. The states differ on the amount of benefit (it’s a portion of your salary, typically two-thirds) and how long you’ll receive benefits (a maximum of six to twelve months). Generally, it’s easier to qualify medically for state disability than it is for Social Security disability.
There are 5 states that currently require employer-paid short-term disability benefits:
- California
- New York
- Rhode Island
- New Jersey
- Hawaii
- Fun Fact: Puerto Rico also has their own requirements, too!
Failing to comply with these state-mandated STD benefits could result in fines, penalties or legal action from impacted employees. Fall River recommends that you keep an updated employees census to include home zip codes. If you obtain employees in one of the above states, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.to make sure that the mandated STD coverage is in place as required by law.
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Compliance
Juliet Fitzgibbons
Juliet joins Fall River as an Account Executive and brings over 15 years of prior broker and account management experience. Her experience brings extensive knowledge on employee benefit programs, account management and creative cost-saving strategies and compliance solutions for employers of various sizes.
She is responsible for new business proposals, client renewals including plan benchmarking, rate analysis and mid-year reviews. She helps clients navigate healthcare systems and educates employers and employees through open enrollment meetings and day-to-day service requests. Juliet joined Fall River in 2015.