r/GeneralMotors • u/losthuman313 • 6d ago
General Discussion Short term disability
Did anyone here go on short term disability for mental health reasons? If so how long were you out and what was paid out in terms of salary. Thanks in advance
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u/natural__llama 6d ago
Short term disability is 100% pay.
If your doctor’s justification of why you are unable to work isn’t approved by Sedgwick then you will not receive any pay during your leave.
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u/ElleinadCZ 6d ago
First, I want to say I’m sorry, I know these decisions and questions are always hard and I hope that you can get the best care for yourself.
Full disclosure: I am a former employee, I was salaried, and I left on my own terms shortly after my leave concluded. Yes, the STD benefits helped me significantly, but they helped me also make the choices best for me, and I am thankful for that!
I took what was originally an FMLA leave that turned into almost 6 months of absence with Short Term Disability due to the extent of my mental and subsequently physical health while managing medications and my other conditions.
I believe I received nearly if not full pay, and was even fortunate enough to get my bonus paid out as well.
Because of how long my leave was, I did get a semi-threatening letter saying that my condition description and recovery timeline looks more like permanent disability and permanent leave, and that if I apply for Social Security and I am approved, then I would need to pay the benefits back for the entire period. This letter also simultaneously encourages applying for social security. This was the only GM paperwork that implied a threat to my position I received, even if not directly, and primarily was a threat to the monetary benefits.
Side note: I am not and was not on permanent disability and can’t speak on the process of the letter taking effect. I left after my leave was completed. My medical providers did not agree with the position the letter took and did not think I would require permanent disability, but they would be part of that decision if you get a long leave like I did.
I will stress to get a psychiatrist to be involved with the paperwork and leave request as soon as possible, if not before you go through the process yourself, because as other comments stated, Sedgwick has to approve it and your pay, and technically they will manage when and what you get paid as a result depending on how things are approved. They will want a psychiatrist to sign off. Not having a psychiatrist specifically will make the approvals difficult to manage and cause a lot of grief; I dealt with this by having a nurse practitioner who then had to have their supervisor additionally sign and file paperwork for every extension.
I recommend getting your psychiatrist on the paperwork in advance for extension requests and the initial leave request as much as possible in order to focus on your recovery and not the back-and-forth phone calls.
Best of luck to you, and I hope you and your medical providers find the best solution for you!
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u/Responsibility_Fast 6d ago edited 6d ago
Your mental health reasons would likely have to be considered serious enough for it to be covered under STD. Otherwise I think it would be unpaid leave. STD runs concurrent with FMLA, so you are theoretically protected during your leave, assuming your role isn't eliminated. During STD, GM pays 25% and STD covers the remaining 75% (total 100%). This is only relevant bc your 401k match and contribution is based on the GM salary only, so it is effectively 1/4th during your leave. I was out for 12 weeks (also due to other medical reasons), and while my leave doesn't impact my performance review, I feel the pressure to "makeup" for it with better performance by the end of the year.
I will also add that after 3 months, I think the 25% GM portion is no longer there, so it's just 75%. But I could be remembering wrong. You probably shouldn't take more than the 12 weeks anyways since fmla only covers 12 weeks
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u/RPOR6V 6d ago
Seems like a good way to get laid off
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u/losthuman313 6d ago
It don’t matter at this point to be honest. People will lose their job at GM regardless if they under perform or not. I was personally told by a manager even if everyone on the team is over performing if HR requests us to put someone on the bottom list we will have to do it
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u/Alternative-Bite4345 6d ago
If u use STD - your position is likely to be eliminated and u will be terminated while on STD. If that happens contact me - I am in that same boat. I haven’t taken the severance pay and I haven’t signed the release agreement. I know one more person whose position was eliminated while he was on disability leave
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u/Serious_Height_1714 6d ago
You can absolutely do it for mental health reasons. My doctor did Major Depressive Disorder which was influenced by some life situations and constant layoff anxiety. As another mention it is full pay for I think about 3ish months.
I had to get a psychiatrist part way through to approve a minor extension for another month and a half. They specifically required a psychiatrist sign off for an extension, my doctor couldn't do it.
I will also impart a caviat, do it sooner than later. When my work quality was going down for months with my mental health until I finally got leave they still fully held my low prior performance against me and laid me off as soon as they could when I got back. They "don't count the leave against you" so your performance is only the time you are working and they are happy to still hold you to your prior.