Human Resource Blog

Rhode Island Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI)

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What benefits are available to employees with short-term disabilities under the Rhode Island Temporary Disability Insurance? How is this program different from similar programs in other states?

The Rhode Island Temporary Disability Insurance program is older than that in other states. It also pays benefits longer than most short-term disability programs, and is the only program to provide higher payments to workers with dependents. Finally, it allows workers to “double-dip” by allowing disabled employees who are receiving a salary, sick pay or vacation pay to also receive disability benefits.

Effective July 1, 2007, the Rhode Island program pays disabled workers $69 to $652 per week, plus any dependency allowance, for up to 30 weeks of disability. Workers must serve an initial 7-day “waiting period” during which they receive no benefits. However, if they are disabled for 4 consecutive weeks or longer, they are paid retroactively for that waiting week.

Workers on short-term disability collect a weekly amount equal to 4.62% of their highest quarterly wages during the past year. This works out to about 62.37% of weekly earnings. The dependency allowance is an additional 7% of the weekly benefit amount, with a minimum of $10 per dependent. The dependency allowance is limited to limited to a maximum of 5 dependents.

Rhode Island was the first state to introduce a mandatory short-term disability insurance program. The Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program, established in 1942, provides benefits to employees who are medically certified as unable to work due to a non-work-related illness or injury. Only 4 additional states (New York, New Jersey, California and Hawaii) plus the commonwealth or

Puerto Rico have such programs.  All of these state programs except

California provide a maximum of 26 weeks of disability pay.The Rhode Island TDI program is funded entirely by payroll deductions from the wages paid to Rhode Island workers. Workers whose illness or injury is work-related are covered under workers’ compensation, not TDI. Individuals with permanent disabilities are entitled to benefits from the Social Security Administration, but not to TDI.