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I am a non-exempt employee, who is out on leave for open heart surgery. I have used up all of my FMLA, due to complications post op. Leave began Mar 1 08. On Apr 18th, my employer went from paying full salary to paying me 1/2 salary.
My employer offers 1/2 salary for the remainder of my alloted time off, but only up to Aug. I should return to work in late June, early July, but I cannot support my family on 1/2 salary. Can I apply for any other benefit program to supplement our income until I return to full time? If so, are any of the programs retro pay to date of disability?
My regular salary is 3875 per month, and I am now only netting 635. every 2 weeks, due to deductions, taxes, and medical insurance. Any ideas?

Thx.

Wish we could be more helpful, but there is probably not any supplementary income program that’s available. Presumably, you are already receiving any available short-term disability benefits through your employer. Social Security disability benefits only apply to those who are disabled for 5 months or longer.

Workers on medical leave generally do not qualify for unemployment.

If you live in Hawaii, California, New Jersey, New York or Rhode Island, you can apply for state short term disability benefits. Other states have no such program. Workers who are unable to work normally don’t qualify for unemployment.

Almost the only alternative is to try to find some part-time work that you are physically able to perform, or for another family member to get a job.

Because you mention a family, you may qualify for TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), formerly called welfare, although your income is probably too high. Food stamps may be an option during this tough time, depending upon your family size.

It’s little consolation, but the employer here is actually being very generous. Most employees in this situation would not be paid any salary, so they would be without income for the entire period from March 1 to August. And, many employers would terminate the employee on the 13^th week of FMLA leave – because legally, FMLA is only 12 weeks.

For other readers, situations like this are exactly why financial advisors recommend short term disability insurance and/or having enough savings to live on for 6 months. Short term disability insurance can cost as little as a few dollars a month.