Process for Disability Management

1
Process for Disability Management

• Presentation to
• Staff Council
• November 2008

2
Objectives of Disability Program Initiative

• Realign and improve short term disability and
  sick leave benefits to better meet employees
  income protection needs
• Provide a consistent, accurate, streamlined
  process for absence reporting and FMLA
  administration/recordkeeping across RIT

3
Two Step ProcessStep 1 Plan Design - 2005

• Effective July 1, 2005
• Improved short-term disability plan
• Introduced cash-out for unused sick leave for
  nonexempt employees
• Replaced sick leave with salary continuation for
  exempt employees
• Grandfathered existing sick leave banks for all
  employees who had them on July1, 2005

4
Step 2 Disability Management Process - 2006

• Effective July 1, 2006
• Unum Provident (UNUM) began providing expanded
  disability management services
• Unum is our carrier for short and long-term
  disability, as well as RITs life insurance
  program
• Employees call Unums toll-free number to report
  absences (TTY available)
• Employees still notify supervisor when absent
• Unum coordinates paperwork with employee and
  physician to certify disability
• Unum determines which absences qualify for
  designation under Family Medical Leave Act of
  1993 (FMLA)

5
When Will Employees Call Unum

• On the 1st day of absence
• For chronic illness (yours or a family member)
• For intermittent leave, including partial days,
  due to a serious health condition (yours or a
  family member)
• To care for your newborn child, or your newly
  placed adopted or foster care child.
• If out of work greater than 3 days for a
  continuous absence
• For your own disability or workers compensation
• To care for a family member with a serious health
  condition.
• Workers compensation absences will be reported
  to
• but not managed by Unum

6
Advantages for Employees

• More seamless and centralized process
• Removes HR and supervisor from middle
• Live person available 8AM-8PM Monday-Friday
• Ensure accuracy and consistency of FMLA
  designations recordkeeping
• Responsibility for designating FMLA absence is
  determined by a neutral 3rd party
• Confidentiality of personal information
• Remove manager responsibility for recordkeeping

7
Advantages to RIT

• Fair, consistent and accurate application of FMLA
  designations
• Fully compliant, accurate and centralized
  recordkeeping-including intermittent leave
• Managers and employees only need to know absence
  reporting procedures and not elements of FMLA
  regulations
• Unum handles notifications
• One call initiates FMLA and STD process
• State leave laws are managed

8
FMLA Basics

• Provides job protection to eligible employees for
  absence from work due to specified family, family
  military medical reasons.
• Eligibility
• Full and part time faculty staff
• Worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months
  preceding the leave
• Completed 12 months of employment at RIT
• Excludes student employees and adjuncts

9
FMLA Basics, cont.

• Up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during a 12
  month period
• Paid leave substituted for unpaid leave (both run
  concurrently) e.g. sick leave, salary
  continuation, STD, Workers Compensation,
  vacation.

10
FMLA Basics, cont.

• Qualifying reasons for FMLA leave
• Care of employees newborn child (within first 12
  months following birth)
• Placement of child with employee for adoption or
  foster care (within first 12 months following
  event)
• Care of employees spouse, child or parent who
  has a serious health condition
• Inability of employee to perform one or more
  essential functions of their own job due to
  employees own serious health condition

11
FMLA Basics, cont.

• Employees spouse, child or parent has been
  called to active duty.
• In addition, employee may be entitled to up to 26
  weeks of leave to care for a spouse, parent or
  child who is a covered service member and is
  undergoing medical treatment for a serious
  illness or injury.

12
State Leave Laws

• Bone Marrow Donor Leave
• 24 work hours of leave
• Seek or undergo a medical procedure to donate
  bone marrow
• NY Witness or Victim Act
• Amount of leave is not specific
• Appears as a witness, consult with DA, exercise
  legal rights in connection with criminal
  procedure law or Family Court Act.11

13
State Leave Laws, cont.

• Blood Donation Leave provides up to 3 hours
  unpaid leave to donate blood.
• Leave for Military Spouses up to 10 days unpaid
  leave to an employee whose spouse has been
  deployed by the military and is on leave while
  deployed.

14
Leave Types/Frequency

• Full
• Leave that is continuous (e.g. 12 consecutive
  weeks)
• Reduced
• Schedule of leave that reduces the number of
  hours an employee works daily or weekly
• Intermittent
• Leave taken periodically and may be taken in
  increments as low as 1 hour.

15
Certification Serious Health Condition

• Six Serious Health Condition Categories under the
  FMLA
• Hospital Care
• Inpatient care
• Includes a period of incapacity and subsequent
  treatments
• Example Overnight stay in a hospital
• Absence Plus Treatment
• Greater than 3 consecutive days of incapacity
• Plus treatment twice or once with a regimen of
  continuing treatment
• Example Flu if it meets the above
  requirements

16
Certification Serious Health Condition

• Pregnancy
• Period of incapacity due to pregnancy (severe
  morning sickness)
• Prenatal care appointments
• Chronic Conditions Requiring Treatments
• Periodic visits for treatment
• Continues over an extended period of time
• May cause periods of incapacity
• Examples Asthma, diabetes, migraines

17
Certification Serious Health Condition

• Permanent/Long-Term Conditions
• Permanent/long-term period of incapacity due to a
  medical condition
• Continuing supervision of health care provider
  but need not be receiving active treatment
• Examples Alzheimers, severe stroke
• Multiple Treatments
• Absence to receive treatments and recovery
• Restorative surgery after accident/injury or
  condition that results in incapacity greater than
  3 days without treatment
• Examples chemotherapy, dialysis

18
RITs Disability Management Program
19
The RIT Disability and Leave Management Line at
UnumProvident
20
FMLA/State Leave Management -Initial Response to
Request for New Leave

• Within 2 business days of the leave request, the
  Leave Management Center will mail a packet to the
  employee containing
• Notice of eligibility / ineligibility for FMLA /
  State leave
• For FMLA, this is based on length of employment
  and number of actual hours worked
• FMLA Rights Responsibilities
• If eligible
• Conditions of leave and employee obligations
• Medical Certification form if applicable
• Authorization form

21
Employee Responsibilities

• Contact UnumProvident immediately to report
  family/medical leaves or Disability claims at
  1-800-605-2802 (TTY 1-800-887-2180).
• Notify supervisor of leave request
• Supply requested certification to UnumProvident
  within specified timeframes
• Provide UnumProvident with signed copy of
  Authorization to Release Information (disability
  claims only)
• Maintain periodic contact with UnumProvident and
  supervisor while on leave
• Notify UnumProvident and supervisor of any
  changes in return to work status or date