Human Resource Blog

Short Term Disability and Maternity Leave in Missouri

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Can you receive short term disability payments while on maternity leave in Missouri?

There is no requirement under Missouri law that employers must provide short term disability benefits to pregnant workers. This is true in virtually every state in the union, except Rhode Island, California, New Jersey, Hawaii and New York.

There are three basic types of short term disability benefits in the U.S. The are:

-          State mandated short term disability programs

-          Private short term disability insurance

-          Employer-paid short term disability benefits

The majority of U.S. workers are not covered by any of these plans, in Missouri or elsewhere.

The state-mandated short term disability programs exist only in the 5 states listed above.

Private short term disability insurance is provided by some employers, as part of the employee health care insurance program. It may automatically be included, or it may be an option available to a few extra dollars per month. Short term disability insurance, when available, is a great value for most workers. If this insurance option is available, details on coverage will be provided in the insurance benefit booklet or by contacting the insurance company.

A few employers provide short term disability payments as one of the benefits that the employer offers. In this case, the employer pays workers a reduced salary when they are physically unable to work. This may be due to a heart attack, cancer treatments, or pregnancy disability.

If a company provides short term disability payments to workers who are unable to work for other reasons, then the company must offer the same benefits to workers disabled by pregnancy or childbirth. This is true in all states, under the federal Pregnancy Disability Act, or PDA. Note that the law only requires such payments during the time that the pregnant employee is actually disabled. For a normal delivery, that’s usually a period of 4 to 8 weeks.

However, there is no law that any employer in Missouri must provide short term disability benefits to workers, including workers who are pregnant.

It’s possible that this question is really, “Can paid short term disability be counted as FMLA leave in Missouri?” If so, please post another question.