The Cleveland Institute of Art provides its eligible full-time employees, faculty, and part-time benefits-eligible employees with short-term disability benefits for instances of their own serious health condition as determined by a qualified physician. In order to qualify for short-term disability benefits, employees must be employed with the College for at least 90 days. Employees must complete an application for the benefit and their physician must certify that the employee’s health condition necessitates their absence from work.

Benefit period
Short-term disability covers up to 12 weeks of disability during which you are unable to perform the material and substantial duties of your job due to your own non-work-related illness or injury. Short-term disability provides full pay salary replacement during this leave. 

Waiting period
Short-term disability pay starts the eighth calendar day after a person has left for disability. During the waiting period, employees must use any accrued and unused paid time off. During short-term disability, employees are responsible for payment of the employee portion of insurance premiums in order to continue health care coverage. While on short-term disability, the accrual of paid time off will cease.

Pregnancy-related disability 
Birth mothers can take up to twelve weeks of short-term disability following the birth of a baby. Birth mothers may cease work two weeks prior to their due date without medical certification, but would need to use their accrued paid time off.

Determination of disability 
Your physician(s) will be asked to provide proof of disability to substantiate your disabling condition. This information could include office treatment notes, test results, prescription histories, specific restrictions/limitations and treatment plans from all treating physicians. A third party case manager will conduct a review of your medical records as well as use national disability guideline to assess claims. 

The case manager will attempt to contact your physician on your behalf to obtain the information needed to make a claim determination; however, you are ultimately responsible for making sure your physician provides the case manager with this information. Your physician will need to provide information as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days, to avoid any delays in your claim determination and potential impact to your short-term disability pay. If your physician does not respond to requests, the case manager will notify you via phone and letter.

Return to work
In order to return to work, the employee must provide a return-to-work statement authorized by their physician. If the employee is still disabled after 12 weeks, they may qualify for long-term disability benefits.