Short-Term Disability (STD) Policy

The University of Richmond provides a short-term disability policy to all full-time employees, administered by New York Life (NYL). This policy will provide salary continuation if an eligible employee (staff or faculty) has an illness or injury and cannot perform the duties of their position.

Eligibility

First day of the month following date of hire (or date of hire if hire occurs on first work day of a month). If the employee is not in active service on the date their insurance would otherwise be effective, it will be effective on the first day of active service.

Coverage

• Benefit Waiting period (14 days)
  
  • staff must use accrued sick/vacation leave or holiday (if the holiday falls within the 14-day waiting period) before going on STD
  • faculty will be paid (no sick or vacation accrual)
• Maximum Benefit Period - 24 weeks -beginning on the 15th day out
• Weekly benefit percentage
  • 66 2/3% of base salary for staff
  • 100% of base salary for faculty - faculty do not accrue sick and vacation time
  • Payment is taxable
• New employees have a pre-existing clause
• Staff may choose to be paid accrued sick leave and then vacation; if sick is exhausted, prior to being paid the STD benefit. This would allow staff to be paid at 100% if they use their sick/vacation leave.
• Both faculty and staff must apply for STD and FMLA if out more than 3 days (managers must notify HR when employee is out more than 3 days)

Filing a Claim

• New York Life will adjudicate all employee claims (UR won't need to have specific knowledge of medical claims)
• Employees call in their claim directly to New York Life at 1-888-842-4462 (no paperwork to complete)
• Once claim has been approved UR will make STD payments through Banner
• Smooth transition to long-term disability (LTD) if needed (New York Life is the University's LTD vendor)

Payment of STD (Staff)

• It is very important to file a STD claim as soon as possible. If an employee is going to be out longer than 3 days, they should contact New York Life to file a claim. New York Life will notify the employee of the status of the claim.
• Once New York Life has approved the claim, the employee must contact URHR to indicate how they prefer to be paid:
  • Accrued sick leave (used before vacation) at 100% pay or be paid at 66 2/3% through STD
  • If the employee doesn't contact URHR, then they will be paid from sick/vacation leave accrual prior to being paid 66 2/3% through STD.
• Employees are only eligible for payment past the two-week elimination period if New York Life approves their claim, regardless of what leave balances the employee may have available.
• If New York Life has not approved the claim, the employee should work with New York Life to ensure they receive the appropriate information needed from their physician. If the claim is not approved, this could affect the employee's pay.
• If New York Life denies the claim, the employee will not be able to use any accrued leave time for absences after the two-week elimination period.

Helpful Hints

• If an employee is out of work for 3-10 days and under the care of a physician, it is required that they contact New York Life at 1-888-842-4462 to file a claim. Employees must do this even if they plan to use available sick leave (vacation) to cover their absence.
• If an employee is absent from work for less than 10 days and under the care of a physician, it is required that they submit a doctor's note prior to their return to work. The note must include a return to work status; indicating a full-duty return or job restrictions. Physicians may email this to URHR at urhr@richmond.edu.
• If an employee does not receive an approval from New York Life, their pay could be affected.
• All employees (staff and faculty) are required to provide HR with a Return to Work notice indicating a full-duty return or restrictions.

For more detailed information, please see the appropriate summary plan descriptions in the gray boxes to the right.