No short term disability in federal government

[Anonymous]

OP, while you are recovering you can probably pick up some online temp work. keyboarding etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FIRREA agencies (the financial agencies that also operate on a different payscale than GS agencies) frequently offer STD and LTD policies for purchase to employees, but most agencies do not.

As OP points out, privately purchasing disability insurance generally requires a health check, whereas employer-provided policies frequently have an onboarding grace period where you can purchase insurance without an exam.

Also, there are two routes for donated leave--there is a leave bank, if one is already a member, as well as the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program, where agency members can donate leave directly to individuals who have applied to the program.

If your agency has a union, frequently the union is handling the communications or "begging" messages, as some people put it.

I would encourage the OP to reach out to HR, as allowing advanced leave is generally an agency decision. A supervisor can elect to not allow advanced leave for annual leave (for example, a new employee had made vacation plans before changing jobs), but I don't think they are the deciding vote for medical/FMLA issues. Also I would encourage them to reach out to HR around accommodations for their disabling event for when they try to go back to work. Unless OP has been a federal employee for less than a year and/or is already on probation, it is very difficult to separate an employee around performance issues resulting from a medical event. I know multiple people who barely worked for over a year before separation negotiations were concluded.

This is OP. This is incredibly helpful. Thank you. The information I found said that it was up to the agency's discretion whether they granted advance SL or AL, but it didn't say who in the agency, so I assumed it was the manager or chief. We don't have a union. HR said I could ask my friends to donate to me, which is horrifying.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry you are in this position. I have STD/LTD policies through my employer and they have been a lifesaver. It barely was worth it when I had my kids due to the waiting period but I was diagnosed with cancer two years ago and it was a lifesaver while I went through chemo and other treatments. I was able to stretch my leave to supplement my STD check and also pay for my insurances.

I would urge you not to feel squeamish about asking for leave donations. People WANT to help and it sounds like you’re in a terrible bind. My boss requested it on my behalf when I dipped into LWOP status and I got hundreds of hours donated. It was a gift that I will never forget. My husband is a fed who routinely donates leave and he is happy to do so.

This is the system that you have to work with so I would say just do it. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I'm a fed and purchased disability insurance before my second child. This was before parental leave and it paid out after I was on bed rest for a month and then had emergency C-section. Ran out of leave so this was a big lifesaver. Honestly any fed who doesn't have months of sick leave saved should get disability insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a fed and purchased disability insurance before my second child. This was before parental leave and it paid out after I was on bed rest for a month and then had emergency C-section. Ran out of leave so this was a big lifesaver. Honestly any fed who doesn't have months of sick leave saved should get disability insurance.

Through what company?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FIRREA agencies (the financial agencies that also operate on a different payscale than GS agencies) frequently offer STD and LTD policies for purchase to employees, but most agencies do not.

As OP points out, privately purchasing disability insurance generally requires a health check, whereas employer-provided policies frequently have an onboarding grace period where you can purchase insurance without an exam.

Also, there are two routes for donated leave--there is a leave bank, if one is already a member, as well as the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program, where agency members can donate leave directly to individuals who have applied to the program.

If your agency has a union, frequently the union is handling the communications or "begging" messages, as some people put it.

I would encourage the OP to reach out to HR, as allowing advanced leave is generally an agency decision. A supervisor can elect to not allow advanced leave for annual leave (for example, a new employee had made vacation plans before changing jobs), but I don't think they are the deciding vote for medical/FMLA issues. Also I would encourage them to reach out to HR around accommodations for their disabling event for when they try to go back to work. Unless OP has been a federal employee for less than a year and/or is already on probation, it is very difficult to separate an employee around performance issues resulting from a medical event. I know multiple people who barely worked for over a year before separation negotiations were concluded.

This is OP. This is incredibly helpful. Thank you. The information I found said that it was up to the agency's discretion whether they granted advance SL or AL, but it didn't say who in the agency, so I assumed it was the manager or chief. We don't have a union. HR said I could ask my friends to donate to me, which is horrifying.

try to not view it as horrifying-- many folks in an agency do end up with lost leave, and while it's always easier to get donations at the end of the year when folks are staring down the barrel of lost leave, anyone who has restored use or lose also has an expiration date looming for that leave. you'd just be letting people know that you're on the transfer recipients list, if they are in the position of considering donating leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes there is STD available to feds, but of course you had to buy into it before. It’s actually a great option that wasn’t available decades ago.

I’m sorry you’re in this situation but you can’t blame the employer. They’ve been as lenient as they can be.

Can you go back remote or part time?

A great option? It is incredibly expensive due to adverse selection. The only people that buy it are people that are pretty sure they're going to use it.

Short-term disability really should be part of the standard compensation package that is subsidized by employers. In the case of federal employees, I think the problem is that there are a lot of long-time employees with very large sick leave banks. They don't need short-term disability. But younger people do.

I agree, but many Gov branches (Fed, State, Local) are 50 years behind in their approach to providing appropriate benefits. Many school systems do not offer disability benefits either or the waiting period is a month long.

These orgs are still relying on sick leave to provide coverage for employees when they are ill. That may have been a good idea in the 1960s when many women quit work once they got married or became pregnant. Men died after their heart attack. And most people retired around 50 after working for 30 years.

It's not the governmental branches,it's the legislative bodies which fund the agencies. So write your Congressman or woman

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes there is STD available to feds, but of course you had to buy into it before. It’s actually a great option that wasn’t available decades ago.

I’m sorry you’re in this situation but you can’t blame the employer. They’ve been as lenient as they can be.

Can you go back remote or part time?

A great option? It is incredibly expensive due to adverse selection. The only people that buy it are people that are pretty sure they're going to use it.

Short-term disability really should be part of the standard compensation package that is subsidized by employers. In the case of federal employees, I think the problem is that there are a lot of long-time employees with very large sick leave banks. They don't need short-term disability. But younger people do.

I agree, but many Gov branches (Fed, State, Local) are 50 years behind in their approach to providing appropriate benefits. Many school systems do not offer disability benefits either or the waiting period is a month long.

These orgs are still relying on sick leave to provide coverage for employees when they are ill. That may have been a good idea in the 1960s when many women quit work once they got married or became pregnant. Men died after their heart attack. And most people retired around 50 after working for 30 years.

I don't know PP. I guess you can always ask for more but, personally, I think govt' benefits' been more than fair and incredibly generous to its workers. But, yes, you can still ask for more if you feel not enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes there is STD available to feds, but of course you had to buy into it before. It’s actually a great option that wasn’t available decades ago.

I’m sorry you’re in this situation but you can’t blame the employer. They’ve been as lenient as they can be.

Can you go back remote or part time?

A great option? It is incredibly expensive due to adverse selection. The only people that buy it are people that are pretty sure they're going to use it.

Short-term disability really should be part of the standard compensation package that is subsidized by employers. In the case of federal employees, I think the problem is that there are a lot of long-time employees with very large sick leave banks. They don't need short-term disability. But younger people do.

I agree, but many Gov branches (Fed, State, Local) are 50 years behind in their approach to providing appropriate benefits. Many school systems do not offer disability benefits either or the waiting period is a month long.

These orgs are still relying on sick leave to provide coverage for employees when they are ill. That may have been a good idea in the 1960s when many women quit work once they got married or became pregnant. Men died after their heart attack. And most people retired around 50 after working for 30 years.

I don't know PP. I guess you can always ask for more but, personally, I think govt' benefits' been more than fair and incredibly generous to its workers. But, yes, you can still ask for more if you feel not enough.

Do you really think not providing disability benefits is “incredibly generous”? Do you know that it can take months to recover from a stroke?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes there is STD available to feds, but of course you had to buy into it before. It’s actually a great option that wasn’t available decades ago.

I’m sorry you’re in this situation but you can’t blame the employer. They’ve been as lenient as they can be.

Can you go back remote or part time?

A great option? It is incredibly expensive due to adverse selection. The only people that buy it are people that are pretty sure they're going to use it.

Short-term disability really should be part of the standard compensation package that is subsidized by employers. In the case of federal employees, I think the problem is that there are a lot of long-time employees with very large sick leave banks. They don't need short-term disability. But younger people do.

I agree, but many Gov branches (Fed, State, Local) are 50 years behind in their approach to providing appropriate benefits. Many school systems do not offer disability benefits either or the waiting period is a month long.

These orgs are still relying on sick leave to provide coverage for employees when they are ill. That may have been a good idea in the 1960s when many women quit work once they got married or became pregnant. Men died after their heart attack. And most people retired around 50 after working for 30 years.

I don't know PP. I guess you can always ask for more but, personally, I think govt' benefits' been more than fair and incredibly generous to its workers. But, yes, you can still ask for more if you feel not enough.

Do you really think not providing disability benefits is “incredibly generous”? Do you know that it can take months to recover from a stroke?

Well, that's why you have SL and AL. Even new workers get 1 day (4 SL and 4AL) every week. I think that's incredibly generous. If not enough, you can always leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes there is STD available to feds, but of course you had to buy into it before. It’s actually a great option that wasn’t available decades ago.

I’m sorry you’re in this situation but you can’t blame the employer. They’ve been as lenient as they can be.

Can you go back remote or part time?

A great option? It is incredibly expensive due to adverse selection. The only people that buy it are people that are pretty sure they're going to use it.

Short-term disability really should be part of the standard compensation package that is subsidized by employers. In the case of federal employees, I think the problem is that there are a lot of long-time employees with very large sick leave banks. They don't need short-term disability. But younger people do.

I agree, but many Gov branches (Fed, State, Local) are 50 years behind in their approach to providing appropriate benefits. Many school systems do not offer disability benefits either or the waiting period is a month long.

These orgs are still relying on sick leave to provide coverage for employees when they are ill. That may have been a good idea in the 1960s when many women quit work once they got married or became pregnant. Men died after their heart attack. And most people retired around 50 after working for 30 years.

I don't know PP. I guess you can always ask for more but, personally, I think govt' benefits' been more than fair and incredibly generous to its workers. But, yes, you can still ask for more if you feel not enough.

Do you really think not providing disability benefits is “incredibly generous”? Do you know that it can take months to recover from a stroke?

Well, that's why you have SL and AL. Even new workers get 1 day (4 SL and 4AL) every week. I think that's incredibly generous. If not enough, you can always leave.

Every OTHER week. That is not incredibly generous these days. It should be the bare minimum. Many feds have sought employment with the government because they are willing to trade the salaries of private industry for job security and decent benefits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes there is STD available to feds, but of course you had to buy into it before. It’s actually a great option that wasn’t available decades ago.

I’m sorry you’re in this situation but you can’t blame the employer. They’ve been as lenient as they can be.

Can you go back remote or part time?

A great option? It is incredibly expensive due to adverse selection. The only people that buy it are people that are pretty sure they're going to use it.

Short-term disability really should be part of the standard compensation package that is subsidized by employers. In the case of federal employees, I think the problem is that there are a lot of long-time employees with very large sick leave banks. They don't need short-term disability. But younger people do.

I agree, but many Gov branches (Fed, State, Local) are 50 years behind in their approach to providing appropriate benefits. Many school systems do not offer disability benefits either or the waiting period is a month long.

These orgs are still relying on sick leave to provide coverage for employees when they are ill. That may have been a good idea in the 1960s when many women quit work once they got married or became pregnant. Men died after their heart attack. And most people retired around 50 after working for 30 years.

I don't know PP. I guess you can always ask for more but, personally, I think govt' benefits' been more than fair and incredibly generous to its workers. But, yes, you can still ask for more if you feel not enough.

Do you really think not providing disability benefits is “incredibly generous”? Do you know that it can take months to recover from a stroke?

Well, that's why you have SL and AL. Even new workers get 1 day (4 SL and 4AL) every week. I think that's incredibly generous. If not enough, you can always leave.

Every OTHER week. That is not incredibly generous these days. It should be the bare minimum. Many feds have sought employment with the government because they are willing to trade the salaries of private industry for job security and decent benefits.

Yes every other week. We all understood the benefits before we signed up. The job security and decent benefits (mostly) have not changed. Again, you can always leave if you feel privates offer you better. It’s just never enough with some people.

[Anonymous]

OP, my husband was unable to work for 6 months and burned through all his leave. He was a federal government worker, and did get donated leave from colleagues and people in his department. It helped a lot at the time.

Yes, we had emergency savings, but when he was so sick, we also had a ton more expenses.

What is bad about donated sick leave is that it basically depends how "deserving" your situation sounds to other people. And that you have to share personal details of your illness to generate sympathy so they will donate to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes there is STD available to feds, but of course you had to buy into it before. It’s actually a great option that wasn’t available decades ago.

I’m sorry you’re in this situation but you can’t blame the employer. They’ve been as lenient as they can be.

Can you go back remote or part time?

A great option? It is incredibly expensive due to adverse selection. The only people that buy it are people that are pretty sure they're going to use it.

Short-term disability really should be part of the standard compensation package that is subsidized by employers. In the case of federal employees, I think the problem is that there are a lot of long-time employees with very large sick leave banks. They don't need short-term disability. But younger people do.

I agree, but many Gov branches (Fed, State, Local) are 50 years behind in their approach to providing appropriate benefits. Many school systems do not offer disability benefits either or the waiting period is a month long.

These orgs are still relying on sick leave to provide coverage for employees when they are ill. That may have been a good idea in the 1960s when many women quit work once they got married or became pregnant. Men died after their heart attack. And most people retired around 50 after working for 30 years.

I don't know PP. I guess you can always ask for more but, personally, I think govt' benefits' been more than fair and incredibly generous to its workers. But, yes, you can still ask for more if you feel not enough.

Do you really think not providing disability benefits is “incredibly generous”? Do you know that it can take months to recover from a stroke?

Well, that's why you have SL and AL. Even new workers get 1 day (4 SL and 4AL) every week. I think that's incredibly generous. If not enough, you can always leave.

What nonsense is this? Sure, feds get a few more holidays but not much else. The average government worker accrues 20 AL days per year and the average equivalent private sector worker gets 17 AL days. Federal government workers accrue 13 SL days per year and the average equivalent private sector worker gets 10 SL days. So feds’ time off benefits might be 20% better. That’s slightly better, not “incredibly generous”. Do some homework before you post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Buy an Aflac policy privately.

https://www.aflac.com/prospecting

You can buy this through any insurance agent or might be able to buy it direct online.

I'm a Fed and this information was shared with me by the agency. I used it for each pregnancy and had no problem with submitting the claim or getting the payment. I kept the policy until I had enough leave and savings to be okay if I couldn't work.

I feel for OP and wonder why her advanced leave request was denied. If there is no issue with attendance or performance most supervisors would have no problem approving it.