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Anyone tried to get partial disability to cut down work hours?

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Fibromyalgia
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Posted 10/15/2011 5:24 AM (GMT 0)
I'm thinking about pursuing partial disability benefits through my employer's long-term disability insurance company. It's so hard to make it through the work day sometimes. I'm so tired all the time, and when I have a flare, it's all just too exhausting. I have a desk job and feel I would be so lame to try to get my work hours cut back due to disability, after all I'm sitting most of the time. But I spend all day just wishing I could go home and sometimes the fibro fog and inability to process/comprehend questions is embarrassing and disturbing. I've used up so much of my leave time going in to work late or leaving early because the day is just too long for me.

I really need to keep making a decent salary and definitely need my health benefits, but I want to work 30 hours a week instead of 40 hours. Has anyone here done something like that using a long-term disability insurance benefit?
Posted 10/16/2011 1:13 AM (GMT 0)
I have not personally done it yet but before I had my fibro I worked for a very large company. I manged between 23-30 people on a daily basis. I had a couple of those employees for different reasons take advantage of the FMLA laws and they could take their time off pretty much when needed. They would be paid for it as long as they still had sick time, vacation time, or short term dissability but if not they still could take it without pay due to the FMLA laws. I think you have to go through your doctor first and then request the paperwork from your HR. Your doctor will fill it out and I am pretty sure by law they have to permit you the time off. Please double check since I'm not an attorney and I think FMLA laws can be different based on the size of the company. My HR person told me what to expect and even said I was not allowed to question them about it. If they felt they needed to leave they left and I just documented the time.

I wish you the best. I hope your employer understands. I have had to down size my job and pay due to the fibro. The next step will be shorter hours. I read over the employee handbook and I have to be employed for a year before I can use the FMLA. I think most states follow the year rule. Until then I just take it day by day. Most of my direct employees know about my fibro and are very understanding when I'm not my best.
Posted 10/16/2011 1:38 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the response, erie. I think I understand all the FMLA stuff, so maybe I should try to better describe what I need help with. There's a long-term disability private insurance company we can choose to pay into every month at work. I've done that for the past 24 years I've been employed there. You can get full or partial disability, but you have to prove your case, probably alot like with social security disability.
Posted 10/16/2011 5:57 AM (GMT 0)
I use to take partial disability from my company. I couldn't work the full time hrs and had to cut back hrs. It's not easy to get long term even if you paid in all those years. They did pay me some loss of money from not working. It's all about documentation and you doing your homework on this long term. I now work for a different company and I became disabled early in the job. I got short term first and then I got long term disability with social security. Long term disability has different rules then social secirity. Just because you are disabled from the state doesn't mean your disabled from them. This is what they told me. I still am receiving long term payments with my social security. I have been pretty sick. The long term saved me because you have to wait a long time for social security. It paid me while I was waiting. I have been getting long term for 2 years and social security one year. Look at any paper work that your dr. Fills out. I have Found out that they forget your limitations.I have used FMLA for many years before I stop working. It's a life savor if your frequently sick. The FMLA has many loop holes in it, so you have to check with your HR department.
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