Policy 603 - Short-Term Disability (NY State Disability)

  1. Home
  2. My St. John's
  3. Policy 603 - Short-Term Disability (NY State Disability)

Section: Benefits
Policy Number: 603
Responsible Office: HR/Benefits
Effective Date: 1/1/75
Clarified: 6/30/02
Revised: 5/1/05; 1/1/18; 7/2/21

Scope

All full-time faculty, full-time and part-time administrators, staff and student workers are covered by this benefit.

Summary

New York State Disability benefits are available to employees to replace, in part, wages lost due to injuries or illnesses that do not arise out of or in the course of employment. Disability benefits include cash payments only. Medical care is the responsibility of the claimant.

Cash benefits are 50% of a claimant’s average weekly wage, but no more than the maximum benefit allowed ($170.00 per week, as of May 1, 1989). The average weekly wage is based on the last eight weeks of employment. Benefits begin on the 8th calendar day of disability and continue up to 26 weeks or the end of disability, whichever occurs first. Benefits are subject to Social Security and tax withholding, and may not exceed 26 weeks during a 52 consecutive week period.

An employee must exhaust all accrued sick time prior to receiving NY State Disability benefits and has the option to use accrued vacation time. (For Sick Time information, see policy #402 in the Time Off section; for Vacation Time, see policy #401.) Upon returning to work after a disability leave, an employee must present a certification from their physician stating fitness to return to work. The University reserves the right to require a complete “fitness to return to work” physical examination by the University physician. For specific coverage information, consult the plan documents available in the Employee Benefits Office. If anything stated in this policy differs from the information contained in the plan documents, then the plan documents supersede this policy.

To file a claim or for a copy of a NY State Disability booklet, contact the Employee Benefits Office at (718) 990-2363. For information on family and medical leave conditions that are covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) see policy #502 in the Leave section of this manual.

St. John's University, New York
Human Resources Policy Manual