Income Replacement Programs

On January 1, 2022, the Connecticut Paid Family and Medical leave (PFML) launched. This state-run program provides income replacement for those on an approved own health medical leave, but individuals must apply to the State of Connecticut in order to receive the benefit. Prepare to Submit a Claim.

Note that individuals who work in a state other than Connecticut which has implemented a PFML program must apply for state benefits through that state’s process.

An approval for leave by The Standard does not mean you will be approved for income replacement by the state of Connecticut. Note that the state requires you to apply for pay benefits 30 days in advance of foreseeable leaves, and as soon as practicable for unforeseen leaves.

Staff must identify, up front, if they would like to use paid time off accruals or not. When you apply for a leave, The Standard will ask if you would like to use your paid time off accruals and they will communicate this decision to Yale’s Absence team. For continuous leaves, accruals can be used in full days or half days, and will be applied in the default order as outlined within the “Income Replacement Programs” section of the website. If you would prefer not to use your paid time off, you may communicate that to The Standard. For intermittent or reduced schedule leaves, accruals can be used, or not. If you are receiving partial pay or no pay from Yale, you may be eligible for income from the state PFML program. Please note that staff on a leave may not receive more than 100% of salary from the combination of PFML, Yale pay and/or any other source of income (STD insurance, second jobs).

Note that once you make the election on how to use your accruals, it cannot be reversed. As part of the PFML process, the state requires employers to identify staff use of accruals on the Employer Verification form. Changes made to accrual usage after being reported would result in inaccurate reporting to the state and cannot occur.

For M&P staff receiving University-paid short-term disability or parental pay, Yale will coordinate pay with the state. In this instance, primary income comes from the state of Connecticut. Secondary income comes from Yale. While you are receiving income replacement that is University-paid, pay will be adjusted. The University will supplement any benefits received through the PFML program with Yale-provided compensation, when applicable, so that the employee receives 100% of their regular weekly pay. M&P staff receiving short-term disability or parental pay must apply for PFML income replacement through the state’s process as soon as possible, but no later than within the first month of taking a leave of absence. Once approved, the state will pay its portion of income replacement directly to the staff member. In no case may a staff member on a leave receive more than 100% of salary.

Note, the state of Connecticut requires that staff members be allowed to keep 10 days of accruals in their bank but staff members may choose to use all of their accruals. If you have elected to use your all of your paid time off accruals, please contact the Absence Management office at employee.services@yale.edu.

If the state denies your claim, it is your responsibility to share the documentation with Yale, so that your income and/or accruals will be appropriately adjusted. If you have been retro-approved for a PFML claim, you must provide proof of the amount the state approved to Yale’s Absence Management team, in Human Resources, in order to appropriately adjust your timecard.

For staff using accruals, deductions will be taken under the following default order: Sick, Vacation/PTO, Bonus Vacation, Personal, Floating Holiday, Compensatory Time, Flex, then Unpaid, if you have requested to use all accruals. Otherwise, 10 days of time will be left in your bank. If you are approved for a leave of absence and would like to change this order, request to use all of your time, or be unpaid for the duration of your leave, you must email the Absence Management team at employee.services@yale.edu, or call 203-432-5552, Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., within 5 days of your approval notification.

Examples of Pay while on leave

There are many different ways to receive pay on leave. These are examples of how an hourly staff member may choose to allocate pay. These examples are not intended to represent how each leave would and should function, but rather these are sample ideas:

Example #1: Hourly staff member with Aflac STD, taking a continuous leave for one’s own health leave for 10 weeks and applying for CT Paid Family and Medical leave (PFML):

The PFML benefit exhausts after 12 weeks, so in this example, 2 weeks of state PFML remain to be used at a later time.

The Aflac benefit exhausts after 26 weeks for one’s own health condition.

Example #2: Hourly staff member with Aflac, taking a continuous leave for maternity and then child rearing for a total of 32 weeks, and applying for PFML:

Example #3: Hourly staff member with no Aflac, taking a continuous leave for caregiver for a duration of 12 weeks, and applying for PFML:

M&P Staff - Examples

There are different ways to receive pay on leave. These are examples of how your pay will be allocated, depending upon your leave type and situation. These examples are not intended to represent how each leave would and should function, but rather these are sample ideas:

Example #1: M&P birth parent taking a continuous leave for maternity and then child rearing for a total of 34 weeks, and applying for PFML:

Example #2: M&P staff taking a continuous leave for caregiver for a duration of 12 weeks, and applying for PFML:

The university provides access to a voluntary short-term disability program, offered through Aflac. Premiums are paid by the staff member and the benefit provides income replacement for one’s own serious health condition. Please note the following:

• Staff may enroll in the Aflac STD plan annually during open enrollment (December). All new hires have the option to enroll during the first 30 days of employment.
• Staff must first apply for a leave of absence with The Standard to gain approval for time away from work. A Short Term Disability (STD) approval is not a leave of absence approval, nor an approval for PFML benefits.
• The Aflac program provides income replacement for a certain period of time, depending on the nature of the disability. After filing for a leave of absence with Yale, you must separately file for STD with Aflac. You can only file an Aflac claim if you have already enrolled in the program.
• To file a claim with Aflac, you must complete and submit their claims packet. As part of the claim packet, you will be asked to provide an Employer’s Statement to Yale’s Absence Management team via the Employee Service Center. Yale will complete the Employer’s Statement and send directly to Aflac. Please do not send the Employee Statement or medical paperwork to Yale – those need to be returned directly to Aflac.
• Aflac issues the approval or denial of your claim.
• We recommend you contact the Yale Absence Management team to appropriately coordinate for your timesheet. Aflac insurance is an individually purchased policy and does not connect to your Yale timesheet.
• For questions about this process, and for more information on this program, please call Aflac at: 866-849-2991.
• In addition to applying for benefits with Aflac’s STD program, if you apply for benefits with the state PFML program, your pay will be coordinated between PFML, Aflac’s STD and use of your accruals, should you choose to use accruals. Income is not to exceed 100%.

M&P staff members are eligible for a comprehensive Short-Term Disability (STD) plan. M&Ps are automatically enrolled in the plan upon hire. STD, in conjunction with sick time used during the 1-week benefit waiting period provides salary protection for up to 26 weeks for extended absence due to a non-work related illness or disability. The plan is applied per disability. Please note the following:

• Staff will be able to simultaneously apply for a leave of absence and file for STD by calling The Standard.
• Staff approved for STD must first utilize their existing sick accruals for the first week (known as the “benefit waiting period”) before STD benefits are applied. For more information, visit the Disability (Managerial and Professional) page and review the Plan Documents.
• When receiving a University-paid benefit, such as short-term disability, staff must apply for PFML income through the state’s process as soon as possible, but no later than within the first month of taking a leave of absence. Once approved, the state will pay its portion of income directly to the staff member. The university will reduce the income from STD to adjust for the income paid by the state.
• M&Ps with multiple state claims in one year’s timeframe: When you apply for University-paid Short-term disability, and you have already collected state PFML within the same year, you must provide a proof of earnings statement from the state, to Yale’s Benefits department. This is to ensure that the offsets for a STD claim are correctly allocated. In the absence of documentation, Yale will assume you are collecting state PFML for the full duration of 12 weeks, and reduce Yale-paid earnings accordingly. Upon receipt of a state benefits statement, Yale will adjust your earnings accordingly. If any overpayments occur, Yale reserves the right to recoup those funds. Coordination with State-paid leave programs is complicated, and we appreciate your patience as we navigate through the process.

All staff members are automatically enrolled in basic long-term disability (LTD) that provides 60% salary protection on base compensation up to $150,000 for eligible disabilities. Staff members may elect to be covered by supplemental LTD that provides additional coverage on base compensation up to $400,000 for eligible disabilities.

• Newly eligible staff members are automatically enrolled in supplemental LTD coverage without the evidence of insurability requirement and may choose to opt out of this coverage.
• Staff members who opt out and subsequently request this coverage are required to provide evidence of insurability (EOI). Coverage requested after the first 30 days of eligibility is subject to insurance company review.
• When applicable, apply for PFML as PFML is considered “deductible income” by which your LTD payments will be reduced.

Generally, those eligible for LTD have already been out of work on an approved leave of absence for approximately 6 months or more. To apply for LTD, please call 203-432-5552, press option #1. If you are not on a leave of absence with Yale, you will need the Group Plan Number, which is #642971.

In January 2021, a new State of Connecticut tax was deducted from all employee’s paychecks. The new tax was enacted by the Connecticut legislature to support the Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave program, which went into effect January 1, 2022.

Visit the tax and future benefits to learn more.

New York Paid Family Leave (Paid Family Leave)

Insurance coverage for New York Paid Family Leave (Paid Family Leave) is available to staff working in the state of New York and is administered by The Standard. In order to apply for leave under the Paid Family Leave, an employee must contact The Standard, who will request information in order to review eligibility for the paid leave benefit. Learn more about New York Paid Family Leave.

Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave

To learn about this program, read the guide to Paid Family and Medical Leave for Massachusetts employers.

D.C. Paid Family Leave

To learn about this program, visit the Information for Workers page on the Office of Paid Family Leave website.

Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave

To learn about this program, visit the Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave website.

New Jersey Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance

To learn about this program, visit the Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance website.

Hawaii Temporary Disability Insurance

Insurance coverage for Hawaii Temporary Disability Insurance is available to staff working in the state of Hawaii and is administered by Pacific Guardian Life. In order to apply for leave under the Temporary Disability Insurance, an employee must contact Pacific Guardian Life at (808) 942-1282 or may complete an online application. Learn more about Hawaii Temporary Disability Insurance.

Staff members absent from work due to an accommodation may utilize their existing paid time off accruals or be unpaid.