Washington State Short Term Disability: Maternity Benefits

How many hours of sick time have you accumulated? For some the answer is several months. But others aren't so lucky. Often times those with months and months of accumulated time have been working for decades. A working mother often does not have many accumulated sick days, and her need for income support is greatest.

Many women with growing families are just starting their careers and haven't built up their bank of sick days.  When pregnancy and childbirth enter the picture she may be using up her sick days during a pregnancy leave, or while taking care of her infant at home. With each new child that reserve of extra sick days shrinks more and more. When any of her children are ill, it is most often mom who uses another sick day to provide care.

Washington short term disability insurance is a great way for growing families to close the gap and stabilize finances. You can have up to 24 months of continued income support if you miss work due to a covered accident or illness. You get this coverage from day one, no matter how how long you have been working for your current employer. 

The State of Washington requires your employer to permit use of accumulated sick days to care for sick family member. Your spouse can tap these resources if you need care at home while on bed rest. You of course can use these days to provide income support during any lost work due to complications of pregnancy, or while you are recovering from childbirth.

For reasons described above, you may not want to rely on your sick days: because you may not have enough. Short term disability for maternity covers your normal pregnancy when delivery occurs nine months after the policy effective date. The standard benefit for c-section delivery is eight weeks, and it is six weeks for a vaginal delivery. Buying a policy is a much better alternative for many working women in WA.

Benefits will begin after satisfying your elimination period: usually seven or fourteen days depending upon your income. If you miss work because of pregnancy complications before giving birth you would satisfy your elimination period during this episode of unemployment. Once satisfied, most women find that thier policy begins paying benefits immediately for any disability for the same or related condition. 

Washington does not have state mandated short term disability insurance. 

Washington state disability insurance consists solely of Federal benefit programs. The Disability Determination Services (DDS) is an agency of the State of Washington. This agency processes disability claims for state residents. The Washington DDS has three branch offices located in Olympia, Seattle, and Spokane.

To qualify for benefits you must be unable to perform any job for at least 12 months. This criteria disqualifies most women seeking help during pregnancy or while on maternity leave.  

Washington maternity leave laws consist of the Family Medical Leave and Pregnancy Disability Acts, along with a requirement for accumulated sick days. The laws  when combined with the Federal act may provide unpaid job-protected leave for differing population segments. The two laws works differently in terms of who is covered, and how the laws work.

The Washington State Family Medical Leave Law allows for 12 weeks of unpaid leave if you work for an employer of more than 50 employees. Washington state is unique in that it also has a separate Pregnancy Disability Leave Act which allows for job protection during the time your health care provider determines you are unable to work.

If your employer provides paid sick leave, you are entitled to use your accumulated paid time off to care for "A child of the employee with a health condition that requires treatment or supervision". You may not take this paid leave until it is earned. The law applies to employers of all sizes. Both spouses are eligible to use this accumulated time to a child at home. However this accomodation is not availble to care for a newborn at home. You may have unpaid leave for other laws, but accumulated sick time may not be used to finance this time away from work. Source: Washington FAQ About Family Care Rules

There are several federal laws that protect your rights and provide job protected leave including: Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).