Massachusetts Short Term Disability
Posted by Tamara
Massachusetts workers who are suffering a short-term disability may be disappointed when they discover that the state has no legislation requiring employers to pay short-term disability.
There are some options, however, that employees in Massachusetts are encouraged to explore.
One of them is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Under this federal law, employers are required to provide workers with as much as 12 weeks of unpaid but job-protected leave every year. “Job-protected” means that while the worker is on FMLA leave, the employer is not allowed to hire a permanent replacement for that employee. Workers should understand, however, that employers are allowed to, and usually will, requires a doctor’s not verifying that the worker is suffering from a condition requiring leave. This is standard operating procedure in most companies, and insures that workers are using FMLA leave for legitimate reasons.
Another option is workers’ compensation. Under what is sometimes called “workers’ comp,” employees may not only receive payment for a disability, but medical expenses as well.
A third is the Pregnancy Disability Act. As a hypothetical example, assume that Company A employee Julie is pregnant. Company A offers paid leave to workers with other disabilities.” In the interest of fairness, then, the company is required to offer the identical benefits to women who are pregnant and who are suffering from a medical condition.
Workers are strongly urged to actively explore the options available to them. It is important that they educate themselves about the benefits offered by the company for which they work. Employees with questions would be well advised to contact their company’s human resources department. The “HR” department will provide information.
While Massachusetts has no legislation requiring short-term disability benefits, it is not alone in this regard. Only five states in the U.S. have passed laws requiring benefits. They are Rhode Island, California, New Jersey, Hawaii, and New York. Of these, only Rhode Island requires that the disability coverage be paid through payroll deductions. In the other four states, employers must pay costs. In Rhode Island, workers may receive benefits for as many as 30 weeks.
Last 10 posts by Tamara
- Georgia Vacation and Final Wages - February 5th, 2010
- Arizona Paternity Leave - February 4th, 2010
- Alabama Vacation Law - February 3rd, 2010
- Florida Small Business FMLA Maternity Leave - February 2nd, 2010
- Indiana Exempt Employee Comp Time - February 1st, 2010
- Minnesota Travel Time - January 29th, 2010
- Illinois Mini-COBRA Law - January 28th, 2010
- Wyoming Hostile Work Environment - January 27th, 2010
- Alaska Sexual Harassment - January 26th, 2010
- Texas Lunch Law - January 25th, 2010