Benefit-eligible Employees
All benefit-eligible full-time and part-time employees working at least 20 hours per week are eligible for the benefit. Coverage will begin on the first day of the month following your first 30 days of work.

Automatic Enrollment
Eligible employees are automatically enrolled for Short-term Disability. There is nothing you need to do to enroll. This is a fixed plan offered and no changes to the plan can be made.

Experiencing an Event
If you experience a Short-term Disability event, please contact Unum at 866-779-1054. 

As of July 1, 2024...

Employees Supplementing their Short-term Disability Insurance Payment with their Own Leaves
Employees must use sick leave (earnings code 550) on their time sheets for all time out of the office if wanting to supplement their Short-term Disability insurance payment with their own pay. 

Employees NOT Supplementing their Short-term Disability Insurance Payment with their Own Leaves
Employees who do not wish to supplement their pay with their own paid leaves must use Short-term Disability leave (earnings code 622) on their time sheets. This is an unpaid earnings code and employees using 622 will receive no additional pay outside of their Short-term Disability insurance payment (and any hours worked while on Short-term Disability). 

Please review the Short-term Disability Process Changes news article for the details on the change. 

 

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The process below is for employees on Short-term Disability prior to July 1, 2024

 

Earnings Code 622 (Unpaid Earnings Code)
If approved for Short-term Disability insurance benefits, use earnings code 622 on your time sheet for 60% of your time while out of the office and receiving Short-term Disability insurance benefit payments. Earnings code 622 is an unpaid earnings code. Unum provides payment to you directly for your time on Short-term Disability insurance, not the University of Alaska. Please do not use this code unless you have been approved for Short-term Disability, as using earnings code 622 on your time sheet will not generate any pay. Employees have two options when completing their time sheet: (1) supplement with paid leaves or (2) do not supplement with paid leaves.

In no case should an employee receive more than 100% of their pay. In some cases, an employee receiving Short-term Disability insurance payments will not receive 100% of their pay due to the $800/week cap on the insurance benefit payments. Overtime is not allowed while on Short-term Disability. 

Not supplementing pay while on Short-term Disability
If not using paid leave to supplement pay:

• • Use earnings code 622 for 100% of pay

Supplementing pay while on Short-term Disability
Employees can choose to use their paid leaves to supplement their Short-term Disability payments. In this case, payments will come from two (2) locations: the University of Alaska for paid leaves and Unum for the Short-term Disability insurance payment. 

If using paid leave to supplement pay:

• • Use earnings code 010 for any time worked
  • Use earnings code 622 for 60% of time out of the office
  • Use sick leave earnings code 550 for 40% of time out of the office

Examples on How to Supplement Pay

Full-time Employee - Supplementing Pay and Not Working While Receiving Short-term Disability Insurance Benefits
Jude is a full time employee who is normally scheduled to work 40 hours per week. They will not be working while they are receiving Short-term Disability.

• • • 60% - They will use Short-term Disability (earnings code 622) for 3 days (24 hours, representing the 60% payment from Unum).
    • 40% - For the remaining time that is not yet accounted for on the time sheet, they will use Sick Leave (earnings code 550). In this case, it will be for 2 days (16 hours).

Full-time Employee - Supplementing Pay and Working While Receiving Short-term Disability Insurance Benefits
Kaela is a full time employee who is normally scheduled to work 40 hours per week. She will be working 8 hours per week while she is receiving Short-term Disability.

• • • She will use Regular Pay (earnings code 010) for 1 day (8 hours).
    • For the remaining 4 days (32 hours) Kaela will split the time accordingly...
      • 60% - She will use Short-term Disability (earnings code 622) for 19.2 hours, representing the 60% payment from Unum
      • 40% - For the remaining time (12.8 hours) not yet accounted for on the time sheet, she will use Sick Leave (earnings code 550)

Part-time Employee - Supplementing Pay and Not Working While Receiving Short-term Disability Insurance Benefits
Mary is a part-time employee who is normally scheduled to work 25 hours per week. She will not be working while she is receiving Short-term Disability. 

• • • 60% - She will use Short-term Disability (earnings code 622) for 3 days (15 hours, representing the 60% payment from Unum).
    • 40% - For the remaining time that is not yet accounted for on the time sheet, she will use Sick Leave (earnings code 550). In this case, it will be for 2 days (10 hours).

Part-time Employee - Supplementing Pay and Working While Receiving Short-term Disability Insurance Benefits
Patrick is a part-time employee who is normally scheduled to work 20 hours per week. He will be working 4 hours per week while he is receiving Short-term Disability.

• • • He will use Regular Pay (earnings code 010) for 4 hours.
    • 60% - For the remaining 16 hours, Patrick will split the time accordingly...
      • 60% - He will use Short-term Disability (earnings code 622) for 9.6 hours, representing the 60% payment from Unum
      • 40% - For the remaining time (6.4 hours) not yet accounted for on the time sheet, he will use Sick Leave (earnings code 550)

Yes - if supplementing with your own paid leave

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The process below is only for employees on Short-term Disability prior to July 1, 2024

 

Sarah: Making $1,100 Per Week
Sarah makes $27.50 per hour and works 40 hours per week. This totals $1,100 per week. Sarah is out on full time Short-term Disability. Sarah would report on her time sheet 3 days (24 hours) of Short-term Disability. This will total a $660 Short-term Disability payment from Unum (24 hours * $27.50 per hour = $660). To supplement her pay, Sarah claims an additional 2 days (16 hours) of sick leave on her time sheet. This totals a $440 payment from UA on her sick leave hours (16 hours * $27.50 per hour = $440). Sarah will receive a total of $1,100 of paid leave a week while out on Short-term Disability in this scenario ($660 Short-term Disability + $440 sick leave = $1,100 total). This is Sarah’s standard weekly pay. 

Justin: Making $1,925 Per Week
Justin makes $55.00 per hour and works 35 hours per week. This totals $1,925 per week. Justin is out on full time Short-term Disability. Justin would report on his time sheet 3 days (21 hours) of Short-term Disability. This will total $1,155. Since this is beyond the $800 per week maximum for Short-term Disability, Justin will only receive $800 from Unum. Justin claims an additional 2 days (14 hours) of sick leave on his time sheet. This totals a $770 from UA on his sick leave hours (14 hours * $55 per hour = $770). Justin will receive a total of $1,570 of paid leave a week while out on Short-term Disability in this scenario ($800 Short-term Disability + $770 sick leave = $1,570). This is less than Justin’s standard weekly pay. 

Below is some basic information on our Short-term Disability plan. Please contact ua-hr-leaves@alaska.edu for additional information.

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What is a disability?
You are disabled when Unum determines that

• you are limited from performing the material and substantial duties of your regular occupation due to your sickness or injury
• you have a 20% or more loss in your weekly earnings due to the same sickness or injury
• you must be under the regular care of a physician in order to be considered disabled

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Elimination Period (14 days)
Short-term Disability is for short-term disabilities that will keep you from working and earning an income for more than 14 calendar days. This 14-day period is the elimination period. You must be continuously disabled through your elimination period and use your own sick leave during this time. If you do not have sick leave remaining,  please continue to claim the sick leave earnings code (550) and this will automatically cascade through your annual leave and/or Faculty Time Off, Personal Holiday, and leave without pay. 

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Benefit Paid to You
After the 14-day period has expired and you have been approved for Short-term Disability,  the benefit provides you with income protection up to 60% of your salary to a maximum of $800 per week for up to 11 weeks. 

Yes! As long as you are otherwise eligible, new mothers who experience uncomplicated births are considered disabled under the UA Short-term Disability policy for the 6 weeks immediately after birth. This means that, after a two (2) week elimination period has passed, new mothers may receive short-term disability payments for four (4) weeks without experiencing any non-routine postpartum medical issues. 

Mothers who experience complications associated with birth or in the postpartum period (e.g., medical interventions, surgery, health conditions associated with birth) may be eligible to receive short-term disability payments for a longer period than those experiencing uncomplicated births. 

For further information or to initiate a claim, please contact Unum at 866-779-1054.

60% up to $800
If applied for and approved, Short-term Disability will cover 60% of your salary up to a maximum of $800 per week.

Call Unum
To initiate Short-term Disability, please contact Unum.

Unum's Website

Telephone: 866-779-1054 | Fax: 800-447-2498
Monday-Friday | 4:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Alaskan

Long-term Disability
Long-term Disability (LTD) should be discussed with Unum. For more information on LTD, please review our LTD webpage.