No short term disability in federal government

[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.

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.

Then leave.

[Anonymous]

There seems to be a lot of confusion here between the leave bank and the voluntary leave transfer program. If you are a member of the leave bank (simply by donating one pay period's worth of annual leave per year), you just fill out a form and can get 480 hours, I believe, of sick leave. You do not have to beg anyone for it. Now the voluntary leave transfer program is different.

I am now a federal employee of 30 years and came down with mono during my first year. I had to use advanced sick leave and it took me many years to make that up. I immediately joined the leave bank after that and have stayed ever since. I've never had to use it, but I know its there if I need it. Even when I was a new employee without any annual leave, I was happy to donate 4 hours per year to make things easier for anyone else who had a situation like I had.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The PP I responded to obviously doesn’t understand the benefits because they thought feds get 4 hours of annual leave every week. I am not a fed but I do think every job should offer the opportunity to purchase short and long term disability insurance. The safety net in this country is so tenuous, the least we can do is have an easy way to BUY some peace of mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of confusion here between the leave bank and the voluntary leave transfer program. If you are a member of the leave bank (simply by donating one pay period's worth of annual leave per year), you just fill out a form and can get 480 hours, I believe, of sick leave. You do not have to beg anyone for it. Now the voluntary leave transfer program is different.

I am now a federal employee of 30 years and came down with mono during my first year. I had to use advanced sick leave and it took me many years to make that up. I immediately joined the leave bank after that and have stayed ever since. I've never had to use it, but I know its there if I need it. Even when I was a new employee without any annual leave, I was happy to donate 4 hours per year to make things easier for anyone else who had a situation like I had.

This is OP. It's not 480 hours. It's however many hours the leave bank can support. So in some years it may be 480 hours, although that sounds like a TON. In some years it's less, depending on the number of hours in the bank (the donations to the bank and the amount the bank has needed to pay out).

In my case, it will be 4 weeks of leave from the leave bank (160 hours).

Then I'm eligible to beg for more hours from colleagues through leave donations, which I will certainly do, but I agree with others that it's a crappy system.

I don't know why my supervisor won't give me advance leave. He's a new manager and he's anxious about all things managerial. My old chief approved many, many hours of advance leave for me years ago when I went on maternity leave. This is a manager problem, but unfortunately because of a weird organizational quirk, there is no one above him in the org chart to appeal to, other than in the front office. I could do that but it out burn every scrap of good will I have with him. Right now we have a good relationship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of confusion here between the leave bank and the voluntary leave transfer program. If you are a member of the leave bank (simply by donating one pay period's worth of annual leave per year), you just fill out a form and can get 480 hours, I believe, of sick leave. You do not have to beg anyone for it. Now the voluntary leave transfer program is different.

I am now a federal employee of 30 years and came down with mono during my first year. I had to use advanced sick leave and it took me many years to make that up. I immediately joined the leave bank after that and have stayed ever since. I've never had to use it, but I know its there if I need it. Even when I was a new employee without any annual leave, I was happy to donate 4 hours per year to make things easier for anyone else who had a situation like I had.

Not all agencies have a leave bank. Mine does not, as far as I know, so people have to ask with the leave transfer program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The PP I responded to obviously doesn’t understand the benefits because they thought feds get 4 hours of annual leave every week. I am not a fed but I do think every job should offer the opportunity to purchase short and long term disability insurance. The safety net in this country is so tenuous, the least we can do is have an easy way to BUY some peace of mind.

I also suspect everyone on this board who thinks feds get "plenty" of leave is not the default parent who needs to stay home with young children every time they get sick and can't go to daycare or school, and also wasn't the parent who had to stay home with the kids through all of the covid shutdowns and burned all of their leave during that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The PP I responded to obviously doesn’t understand the benefits because they thought feds get 4 hours of annual leave every week. I am not a fed but I do think every job should offer the opportunity to purchase short and long term disability insurance. The safety net in this country is so tenuous, the least we can do is have an easy way to BUY some peace of mind.

Ok, so that was my typo and i corrected two posts down. I am not a pro-govt fed but, from benefits perspective, govt benefits are very generous. Try to keep in mind your benefits are not limited to AL and SL. Do you think private sectors allow you to take Social Security at 57 (i.e., Special Supplement which you can take until 62), health benefits for life (yours and your spouses)? pension that equates to more than a million dollars easy? I think some of you guys are just being unreasonable and frankly greedy.

[Anonymous]

I just went to the Aflac website, where it says short term disability insurance is available through worksite payroll deduction only.

WHERE IS EVERYONE BUYING PRIVATE SHORT TERM OR LONG TERM DISABILITY INSURANCE?

[Anonymous]

Government employment is not a social program. Good god.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Government employment is not a social program. Good god.

Then they need to offer disability insurance for purchase to their employees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry this is happening to you, OP. Have you already used up your FMLA leave for 2023? I’m also a fed and am shocked that your supervisor won’t advance you sick leave or annual leave. That’s pretty damn heartless. Is your entire agency that way, or could you possibly speak with your second-line supervisor or maybe HR to see if it can be overridden? I would also revisit the PP’s recommendation to go back to work before you’re completely recovered. You can’t just be fired for poor performance from one day to the next. You would need to be placed on a PIP first, which would buy you some time. I know being put on a PIP wouldn’t be pleasant, but in your situation it seems like the name of the game is just to do what you have to do to continue bringing in income, even if it gets a little messy.

I agree. I went through something similar and did whatever I could to get by. I faked it a lot. I was granted advanced leave, but there is a cap on that and it didn’t last long. My supervisor didn’t want to approve that either (trying to protect me for some reason I can’t remember but they did advance it). I also had donated leave. Some people donated directly. I went on LWOP for a while too. My life was a mess. I did whatever include to keep my job.

10 years later it is fine. I am still a fed, have moved around and have a ton of leave again. Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Government employment is not a social program. Good god.

Then they need to offer disability insurance for purchase to their employees.

You post doesn’t even make any sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The PP I responded to obviously doesn’t understand the benefits because they thought feds get 4 hours of annual leave every week. I am not a fed but I do think every job should offer the opportunity to purchase short and long term disability insurance. The safety net in this country is so tenuous, the least we can do is have an easy way to BUY some peace of mind.

Ok, so that was my typo and i corrected two posts down. I am not a pro-govt fed but, from benefits perspective, govt benefits are very generous. Try to keep in mind your benefits are not limited to AL and SL. Do you think private sectors allow you to take Social Security at 57 (i.e., Special Supplement which you can take until 62), health benefits for life (yours and your spouses)? pension that equates to more than a million dollars easy? I think some of you guys are just being unreasonable and frankly greedy.

And we make a lot less than our private sector counterparts. If you think having a federal job is such a great deal, then get one! Like it or not, “generous” federal benefits help to push private industry to offer more. Just remember if you get a sweet federal job, you will also have to deal with continual angst about shutdowns and furloughs, plus put up with a lifetime of criticism from people like you who think feds are greedy and lazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just went to the Aflac website, where it says short term disability insurance is available through worksite payroll deduction only.

WHERE IS EVERYONE BUYING PRIVATE SHORT TERM OR LONG TERM DISABILITY INSURANCE?

I have a policy from The Standard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The PP I responded to obviously doesn’t understand the benefits because they thought feds get 4 hours of annual leave every week. I am not a fed but I do think every job should offer the opportunity to purchase short and long term disability insurance. The safety net in this country is so tenuous, the least we can do is have an easy way to BUY some peace of mind.

Ok, so that was my typo and i corrected two posts down. I am not a pro-govt fed but, from benefits perspective, govt benefits are very generous. Try to keep in mind your benefits are not limited to AL and SL. Do you think private sectors allow you to take Social Security at 57 (i.e., Special Supplement which you can take until 62), health benefits for life (yours and your spouses)? pension that equates to more than a million dollars easy? I think some of you guys are just being unreasonable and frankly greedy.

And we make a lot less than our private sector counterparts. If you think having a federal job is such a great deal, then get one! Like it or not, “generous” federal benefits help to push private industry to offer more. Just remember if you get a sweet federal job, you will also have to deal with continual angst about shutdowns and furloughs, plus put up with a lifetime of criticism from people like you who think feds are greedy and lazy.

I am a long-time fed and even I think you are being greedy and (possibly) lazy. If you don't like it so much, why stay? I don't get you people. Shutdowns and furloughs are noneverminds. Empty theater.