Temporary Disability

[newmom17]

Hello all. About 6 weeks ago I dislocated and broke my kneecap among other things and got surgery in the hopes to repair it all. During this time I have been out on short term disability which sucks since it only pays out 60% of my actual pay. My husband and I figured we could put up with it in the short term but after my first surgery we learned the damage was more extensive than they’d realized and a second surgery would have to be performed requiring me to be out to at least June at the earliest. Did I mention STD pay sucks? I am desperately looking for something else (literally any other work I can do in the interim to earn what I’ve been making as an RN. The caveat is I’m not allowed to supplement per my insurance company, so any money I earn would be subtracted from whatever I get from the insurance company which would mean I’d have to earn enough working to at least make up for, if not surpass, my benefits. See my dilemma? Anyone had to go through this and have some advice? 

*If it helps any I can walk right now but it’s with a pretty gnarly limp and I’m not yet able to carry extra weight which is why I can’t just go back to my bedside role

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

On 3/23/2021 at 10:26 PM, amoLucia said:

I worked multiple facilities where light duty was reserved for on-job injuries only. The facilities were required to provide jobs for those employees.

I knew of many CNAs doing laundry/activities. Nurses were doing catch-up documentation and auditing/surveying, admission & discharges. Nothing that could result in a furthering of injury. And the worst part was that these jobs were only poss on day shift! Really upset some staff!

Seriously, this was a quite common occurrence.

This was more than likely due to the terms of the facility’s insurance policy with their work comp carrier (which is, after all, insurance). The carrier’s expenses are less if the employer if somebody injured in the job has some form of light-duty work **paid by the employer** not by the carrier. Light duty paid by the carrier may have a time limit or other conditions as part of the policy terms. There may also be contractual terms with the union that come into play. 
What the employer does with employees with employees with other temporary disabilities is up the them and is at their own expense, within other regulations and obligations, like union contracts, ADA, and FMLA, for examples. 

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

Will FMLA not work?  Do you have enough PTO to cover you?  

We have several that got injured OTJ and they gave them light duty. Another had elective surgery and has exhausted all PTO and much of long term. 

Our hospital allows us to donate PTO if needed

[newmom17]

On 3/23/2021 at 10:38 AM, Wuzzie said:

I hope that works out. Many hospitals do have light duty options because they'd rather pay you to work but you sometimes have to advocate for yourself to get it.

Thanks. Unfortunately because I’m starting on a new unit and am technically an orientee there isn’t a light duty option for me per my new manager and after checking the hospital for any needs they weren’t able to find any vacancies on the covid teams. They’re advising I stay on disability until I can actually do floor work ?‍♀️?‍♀️

21 hours ago, amoLucia said:

'Light duty' is usually avail ONLY for those injured while ON THE JOB. As in you'd be pulling Workman's Comp.

Nobody really extends 'light duty' otherwise, unless you've a VERY benevolent employer.

Word of advice - don't screw up your collection of your current benefit status.

Most importantly, don't JEOPARDIZE your future recovery by trying to return to work TOO EARLY.  Just not worth it. If you unintentionally ZIG when you should have ZAGGED, you'll risk your health & safety, and maybe that of some pt.

In fact, some facilities might regard you as too high a LIABILITY to allow you to return to work with limitations.

Sorry! Not too optimistic, am I.

Wishing you well for your recovery.

 

Thank you ? that might be hospital specific because there are plenty of nurses at my hospital that go on light duty as needed which is basically my manager finding them some administrative work to do. It doesn’t have anything to do with how or where they got injured

[newmom17]

21 hours ago, Hannahbanana said:

Classic object lesson for having your own LTD. Check to see if your STD policy has a clause that allows you to transition to LTD after a period of time, many do. Good luck!

That’s actually why I’m paying extra for short term disability! ?‍♀️ I will definitely look into that; thank you ? 

[newmom17]

17 hours ago, Emergent said:

I got some light duty after a non-work related accident. I was on sick time and FMLA, and it helped stretch out my sick time nicely. I  did chart audits and callbacks. I did it a couple of days a week. It really lifted my spirits too.

That sounds nice. I would love to do something like that and would be able to if my legal ties to my old unit hadn’t already been severed. We also don’t get sick time. We get 7 hours of pto every two weeks of work and that’s it. I’m currently using std which I opted to pay extra for at 60% of my normal salary and fmla after that which is no pay so basically....not enough.

11 hours ago, CharleeFoxtrot said:

I can't like this enough. As a veteran of ruining myself working too early after knee injuries I totally agree.  

I would definitely unintentionally do something like that but am trying to remind myself not to push too hard sigh.....it’s gonna be a tough road, especially financially ??

[newmom17]

1 hour ago, mmc51264 said:

Will FMLA not work?  Do you have enough PTO to cover you?  

We have several that got injured OTJ and they gave them light duty. Another had elective surgery and has exhausted all PTO and much of long term. 

Our hospital allows us to donate PTO if needed

I have std and fmla. Std is capped at a certain amount per year (can’t remember right now) at 60% of my pay (after 2 weeks pto) and after that fmla kicks in which is no pay. We have three kids to take of so I won’t have a choice but to try to find another job in the interim. 

Just now, newmom17 said:

I have std and fmla. Std is capped at a certain amount per year (can’t remember right now) at 60% of my pay (after 2 weeks pto) and after that fmla kicks in which is no pay. We have three kids to take of so I won’t have a choice but to try to find another job in the interim.

1 hour ago, mmc51264 said:

Will FMLA not work?  Do you have enough PTO to cover you?  

We have several that got injured OTJ and they gave them light duty. Another had elective surgery and has exhausted all PTO and much of long term. 

Our hospital allows us to donate PTO if needed

Also my pto is now gone because I just came off of maternity leave two months ago 

[cubrnjvm, MSN, RN]

message me, I know of something you can do from home ?

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

On 3/23/2021 at 7:25 PM, JBMmom said:

My hospital also has nurses on light duty for conditions other than work related injuries. And my organization does NOT appear to be overly generous about anything, so I was surprised to read that as well. 

My hospital only gave light duty for WC.  Otherwise you were on your own.  I had my own STD policy till I retired, because we didn't have that till later on.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

I would advise against another job.  Wouldn't that jeopardize your STD and even your job?  I would try to cut costs instead.  If you are home that should save on childcare expenses.  Stop retirement contributions and if needed take out a retirement loan to tide you over.  You can pay it back up to 5 years depending on your employers plan.  If you have a HELOC use that, if not apply for a HELOC once your back to work.  It can be used a emergency fund while you build one up.  A Roth IRA can also work as an emergency fund, but a HELOC would be preferable.  You only have to pay the interest on a HELOC which can be a help in a tight spot.  Eventually you have to pay it all back I think it is like revolving credit with a 10 year end to payoff or refi.  Hopefully the govt stimulus will help tide you over as well!

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

One last thing, change your tax withholding ie W4 to maximum deductions until you are working again.  That should give you more money since most employer provided STD is pre-tax for them, but you have to pay taxes on it.

Whereas if you have your own separate policy you can pay taxes up front with your monthly statement, but then if ever needed the benefit will be totally tax free.

When my hospital switched to STD/LTD it was free and 75% base pay.  But it eventually dropped to 50% base pay with the option to pay for 20% out of your pocket.  I already had my own STD policy which I used once to supplement the employer one.  Technically you are supposed to pay the employer policy back, but of course, I didn't tell them and they didn't find out.  My STD was for a year, whereas the hospital was for 6 months so I kept my STD and then paid the surcharge for the 20% add on for LTD to 70% base pay.  Never used it, but one in four people will become disabled from 45 to 65 so it is a good idea to have one if you can afford it. 

But we are at increased risk of injury and disability and if you really need LTD, social security is very difficult to get approved.  There is a huge back log and they deny most claims up front.  You usually need to reapply, probably will have better luck with an attorney.  It can literally take 2-3 years to finally get approved and they don't care if you don't have any money to live on or end up homeless!  That is why you need to have emergency savings as well as credit cards, a HELOC, Roth IRA and 401k or 403b for access to cash in a worst case scenario.

I took care of a couple people that had gone thru it and one was left homeless living in a shelter, the other had student loans over $40,000 from a MA librarian degree her city job required, but was laid off after and never found another job that paid more than $10/hr.  She eventually did get her student loans cancelled, but the last time I took care of her she was transferred to ICU in severe CHF/CRF and I think she may have even died.  I never saw her again.

[Going2bRN, ASN, BSN]

Nobody said this... why not declutter your house and sell of stuff on FB Marketplace, eBay, etc... It is basically a garage sale. If you must, sell in your husband's name. 

[OldEMTNurse, LPN, EMT-I]

I have a friend who was very pregnant and was given a lighter job in the ER typing up records. I thought that was admirable for our local medical center.