Bentley provides short-term disability (STD) payments to assist eligible employees who are absent for an extended period due to their own illness or injury. STD is intended to serve as a bridge between when paid time off is exhausted and when long-term disability begins. STD payments are 60% of the employee’s base salary.
Eligibility
To be eligible for STD payments, an employee must meet all of the following criteria:
- Be a full-time, staff employee who has completed at least six months of employment. Union employees should refer to their Collective Bargaining Agreement to see if they are eligible for the STD benefit.
- Be absent from work due to the employee’s own injury or illness for 30 consecutive calendar days (the “waiting period”)
- You have the option to use all accrued sick time, all but one week of vacation time, and any personal time
- Has been approved for FMLA leave for their own serious health condition or a non-FMLA eligible Medical Leave
Period of Benefit
Following the 30 day waiting period, employees may receive STD payments based on their length of service, as follows:
Length of Full-Time Service | Maximum Benefit Period Per Year* |
| At least six months but less than two years | Up to 60 calendar days |
| Between two and three years | Up to 90 calendar days |
| Three or more years | Up to 150 calendar days |
*Year is calculated as a rolling 12-month period counted forward from the date STD payments begin.
No employee will receive more than six months (26 weeks) paid time off as a combination of holiday, accrued sick, personal, vacation time and STD.
If an employee returns from a leave covered by STD payments, and needs to go back out on leave for the same medical condition within a 6-month period, the employee would not need to wait the 30 day waiting period before being eligible to resume STD payments, up to the maximum benefit period.
Employees who need to be out of work for more than six months due to their own illness or injury may be eligible to apply for Long-Term Disability Benefits. Please contact the Benefits Specialist for information on how to start the process for applying for long-term disability.
Date last revised: April 15, 2015