STEAM ROOM FOR ANGER
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A coupleof the ladies I know at work have done the intermittent absences on an as needed basis under FMLA. Definitely go see HR and get that going so you don't end up violating the regular policy.
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FMLA? Fuck My Life Association? I am confused?!
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Ha! Runor, I guess American acronyms are designed to be confusing. That's the Family and Medical Leave Act, which gives (some) employees (unpaid) time off for serious medical issues. The paperwork is um, daunting.
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Candy...Federal Disability is the same in all states, I believe. But STATE disability is different in each state. Some states don't even have the SDI deduction on your paycheck, so you may not even get that in the state where you live. Here in Calif, we, the employees, PAY INTO IT ourselves...it gets automatically deducted from our paychecks, so they cannot deny us when we file a claim. IT'S OUR MONEY, after all.
Once again, good luck,
L
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I agree with mustlovepoodles to hire an attorney who specializes in disability. I have a family member who has been applying for SSI (different than SSD). After their first attempt failed, they got a disability attorney, who works on contingency (30%) and knows the ropes. I don't know about SSD, but SSI is a very long drawn out process, at times humiliating. And SS agents DO make mistakes so have to check and double check everything. Take notes; write down name of any agents you speak with, date and time.
I think SSD is an easier process but do get legal help if you run into bumps.
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Our State, Illinois, does not have State Disability. Of course. Our State is the worst in the US for finances. Our last 2 Governors ended up in Prison. So no help there.
Like I said, I asked about Federal Social Security Disability and was told I had to be unable to work for 12 months before qualifying. And I told her I had Stage 4 MBC. But yet in other threads here I have mentioned this and others agreed while others posted that they got their money within a few months. Like with everything government, it is confusing and seems not standardized.
I tried to call Human Resources at work yesterday and got put on a list for them to call me back.
Seems like everything takes multiple phone calls and lots of time anymore. Nothing easy.
KatyK- What State are you from?? How long were you out of work before you applied? You said it was just a phone call and you received money in 6 months. I have been told it would be a portion of your regular income ---- was it that way for you. You can PM me if you want.
Runor- Your description is better. HaHa.
Thanks to all of you for your posts.
I HATE THIS CANCER AND I WANT MY OLD LIFE BACK !!!! I don't want to have to deal with Disability, FMLA, and trying to save my job. I don't want to be scared of every ache and pain. I don't want to think about my mortality. I am too young to die.
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Viewfinder-
If the attorney works for a 30% cut, will he/she get 30% of my monthly check each month??? Dang. I heard you only get a portion of your work salary and then 30% off that for attorney fees, not much left to live on. My pay is the only household income. I might not have enough to live on if I go on Disability.
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Candy - Under the ADA, you should remember that you are entitled to reasonable accommodations, such as flexible hours. I agree with everyone else, start with HR. If for whatever reason, you do stop working...
apply to SSD immediately upon not working. There is a 5 month waiting period before you actually get paid...You get paid on your sixth month out of work.
It was not hard at all. It took a couple hours on the computer, but that was only because I didn’t have all of my income stuff together.
There’s a great forum in here that helped me before I applied.
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candy-678, It is my understanding, and it should be verified with any attorney you may speak to, that he gets 30% of the money that you could have gotten if you had been approved when you first applied. I don't think they get a percentage of payments going forward.
The person I know has waited a year and a half since first applying. The attorney said it may take another year or so before the judge is available for the hearing. So, for example, if it takes 3 years to (hopefully) get approved at the hearing, the attorney will get 30% of what you would have gotten during the three year period had it not been rejected. I hear this is kind of typical, at least in the US. I also understand they will pay for any legitimate medical expenses incurred during that time.
I hope I've explained myself clearly and, like I said, please check with an attorney to confirm or revise what I've said.
Again, this is for SSI; the SSD is different and the process probably easier.
All the best....
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Viewfinder- Thank you for your imput.
I would hope SSD would be some easier. We may not have 2-3 years to wait on a ruling with our diagnosis.
And I certainly do not have the monies to pay for my healthcare without insurance. Ibrance $11,000 a month, Lupron $5,000 a month, Xgeva $5,000 a month. CT scan $7,000 every 3 months. These are the amounts billed to my insurance that I see when the forms come to me. My out of pocket is MUCH lower since I have the insurance.
I guess I could seek out an attorney to consult with and ask questions. I might look into that.
Thanks all.
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One other thing...these attorney's usually give a free initial consultation, so it might be worth to check one out.
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Candy
Does your company have short term disability coverage? These types of benefits typically pay a percentage of salary for continuous absences for a period of time for example up to 6 months.
You should be eligible for FMLA job protection up to 12 weeks/year and ADA accomodation for intermittent absences related to your cancer diagnosis.
Your HR department should be able to help you with these.
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Liwi-
I plan on talking with my HR department next week after the Holiday. And I will take notes. My company does have short term disability and also long term disability. But if I do not adhere to the regular attendance policy and get fired for missing too much then I would think the disability benefits are gone. That is what is worrying me----following all the rules so they don't have reason to fire me and thus can wipe their hands of my situation. As we posted here corporations do not have a heart and know how to work the system. Ridiculous I have to do this dance to keep my job.
ADA accomodations---what do they cover?? I was thinking that this is for HOW I do the job, ie lifting so many pounds due to bone mets . Would ADA accomodations include absences due to fatigue, MD visits, etc. ? Where do I educate myself on ADA accomodations and what they cover?
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candy- apply for FMLA. Depending on how your doc completes the paperwork, you can be off for a contiguous period of time, or for intermittent periods throughout the year. There may be prerequisites like you have to have been with your current employer for at least a year (you should be good there) and you have to have been at work at least half of the previous work year. You can also request reasonable accommodations (lifting restrictions, periodic time off, etc.). The requested acvommodations do have to be reasonable.
I have had two employees apply for and receive SSD and LTD recently. Neither used an attorney.
Best of luck to you.
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Candy- there’s a thread here on BCO about SSD that tells you exactly how to apply without having to hire an attorney if you’re stage IV. Stage IV diagnosis gets you on the expedited automatic approval list. You just have to know how to file it properly. That thread will walk you through it.
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Here's the link to the best info and forum out there on ssdi and ssi. Check it out.
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Thank you ladies !!!
I didn't realize there was a thread on here for this issue.
I hope to be able to continue to work for a long time. I am just wanting info for a Plan B for when things progress. And I don't want to be caught off guard if the company one day says " We have to let you go, you missed too much work over the year. Or, you cannot continue to do the work we hired you for". Progression and failing health will be hard enough without losing income and insurance without a plan in place.
Scary, when I think about the future. Loss of health, loss of job, loss of money. I am a single household income.
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Candy, I'm so sorry your workplace isn't supportive. Grrrr. [I don't know how I'd do without mine. They are there being helpful every step of the way)
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Lula73-
I was just looking at BCO and where do you find the thread about SSD like you mentioned in your post? I went to "All Topics" and see there is an area about financial, is this the one? Looks like people post about several financial issues. Do I start a new topic?
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under financial... here's a good thread..
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Candy, I applied for SSD online myself. No lawyer required. No way I'm giving 30% of anything that should be mine to a lawyer. It is not difficult. It just takes time and patience. I wrote up some advice about it for a friend's niece who was procrastinating. PM me your email address and I'll send it to you. The first thing you have to do is decide if that is what you want to do. Once you start the process, you are committed to it. If you fill out a bunch of the stuff online and then stop, you'l have to start over when you decide to do it again. They will save it while you are working on it but I assume for a limited amount of time. Plus, your answers may change over time. Your description of your condition now may be different from your description two years from now.
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Good advice Jaycee. Of course all those infomercials by lawyers insist you can’t get it done without a lawyer. Good for you. 30% is ridiculous.
Diane
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Ahh, the JOYS of dealing with Social Security.....
I received notification by mail today that they will start my Medicare Part A and Part B this month, and my monthly payment will be deducted/credited $134.00 each month to pay for it.
WTF ?!?!?
Why are they doing this? I'm NOT EVEN 60 YEARS OLD YET! To my knowledge, one is NOT even supposed to sign up for medicare until one is at least 65. So, I went on line, got the PDF fill-in APPEALS form and filled it out. I will now have to haul my rear over to the SS office first thing Tuesday morning and turn it in.
They better have a DAMN good explanation for this. I've only been on Social Security Disability, NOT regular Social Security Retirement. Is this some capricious thing? Are they trying to save money because they have paperwork that states I'm Stage IV Metastatic/Terminal and it's time to push me over to a smaller payment and gouge me for $134 each month because I should be dead already?
Geez!
L
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Lita,
This is how it is for all ss disability folks, even 30 year olds. Mc a is free. Mc b is 134 a mo premium for not only seniors but everyone on ss disability. Another bonus for us on disabilty.. you have up to 6 mo to get a supp if you want it. Once you get it, you can only go down in coverage, not up, until you are 65 and you get transferred to regular social security benefits.
So at age 52 I had to figure i have a long way till 65 assuming I'm still here. So I got the highest supp coverage to mc, aarp plan f. We on disability pay the same for part b but supps are higher premiums than seniors because disableds see docs and hospitals in general than them.
I haven't heard of stage 4 getting out of paying premiums. You can ask on the forum i linked here under mc and find out. The mods and people there know a ton.
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I filled out my form myself. If you are denied then you seek a lawyer, but not before. And it can take a year or 2 if you aren't one who can be rushed through to get before a judge. I laugh when the republicans say we need to tighten who gets ss disability. Only 20% get through on first try. I'd say it's tight enough!
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candy-678, people can surely successfully obtain benefits without the use of an attorney. But the Social Security Administration may deny claims improperly. And, believe me, the people sitting behind these governmental desks can make mistakes.
I hope you are successful with your claim and you probably will be. But, if not, I'd rather fight than switch.
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Try an advocacy group... I don’t believe they charge 30% and they handle Everything, if you have disability through your company from work they usually pay for it. My group was called Allsup. They streamlined the entire process for me and knows exactly what they are looking for. To get you approved... they were fantastic. I would call them before ever trusting a lawyer with 30% of my money. Try them. They are amazing. Good luck. But start applying soon. There is a waiting period to where you can’t have any gainful employment on record for the past at least 6 mons to year. Look them up!!! They got me approved! I paid nothing. My old employer had to pay for it because I was employed with them at time of injury. And I also paid into the disability coverage when I was working. Look into every avenue. The problem usually turns outto be health coverage. Cobra is too expensive and that is part of the waiting period. When the insurance kicks in. But contact them immediately! ~M~
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Government crap !!!!
Lita 57- Sorry for your problems with SSD. I hope you get it figured out, but I bet you will now be $134 poorer each month.
I hope I can continue to work, because I cannot afford to go on SSD. Especially with having to find a way to pay for health insurance.
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Lita, I sort of remember when I applied for SSD that there was a way to opt out of getting Medicare automatically after two years. Most people on SSD WANT Medicare since they are not working. What you are supposed to do for two years, I have no idea. I was on DH's insurance at his work. You probably are, too. For people not in that position, it is a very deep black hole. Cobra is prohibitively expensive. When my Medicare came through after two years, I choose to take that since it was less expensive than my part of DH's work insurance. They encourage you to take Medicare saying that if you don't, they will charge you more for it later. This is what I remember from 14 years ago. My memory could certainly be defective.
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Both my DH and my DS23 are fully disabled. DH in 2007 and DS23 in 2013, when he turned 18. Both of them were automatically put on Medicaid 24 months after qualifying for SSI (DH) and SSDI (DS).
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