Personal Disability

First, follow the steps to request leave for a personal disability:

1. Notify your leader of your intent to take a leave.

2. Call The Hartford at 1-888-924-4155 or log in/create an account at MyBenefits.TheHartford.com to submit your request for a leave. You must call 30 days in advance of the leave, if possible.

3. Provide proper documentation to The Hartford within 15 business days of the leave request. If documentation is not provided within 15 days, the leave may be denied. Be prepared to supply the following information:

• Name, last four digits of your social security number, date of birth, date last worked and date of hire
• Physician’s name, phone number and fax number
• Leader’s name and phone number Description of your occupation Preferred method of communication while on leave The Hartford will let you know if the request has been approved or denied within five business days, after receiving all necessary documentation. This decision will be based on your hours, length of service and remaining leave time available. If you do not meet the eligibility requirements for an FMLA personal leave of absence or need an at-work accommodation, the same process outlined above should be followed. The Hartford will refer your accommodation request to the LOA Accommodations team who will follow up accordingly.

Leave of Absence - The Hartford

• 1-888-924-4155
• Visit Website
• HMH Policy Number: GRH – 402125



Leave of Absence - LOA Accommodations Team

• HMHRTW@hmhn.org
• Email or fax at 1-848-245-8453 to process your return to work



Leave of Absence - Team Member Service Center

• 1-551-996-2877
• Open an HR inquiry via the Team Member Service Center tile in MyWay.

PTO Policy

Resources:

• Paid Time Off

• Earned Sick Leave

I am on an approved leave for a Personal Disability. How will I be paid?

Timeline For Pay:

Earned Sick Leave - see image below for reference

ESL Carry Over Balance (first until exhausted)

then go to...

ESL Current Balance (until exhausted)

then go to...

ESL Historic  Sick Bank/HIB

Note: The above items are 100% pay from HMH. When exhausted go to...

 

Short Term Disability (STD) + Paid Time Off (PTO)  - see image below for reference

The Hartford (Short Term Disability) 85% of pay up to $903 *** per week - not to exceed 26 weeks

Plus (+)

The Wrap : For Wrap eligibility: Team members who are benefit eligible and have 2/3 of pay over $903 each week. Difference between $903 cap and 2/3 of pay from HMH.

Plus (+)

PTO* True Balance: This cannot go below 80 hours. If the PTO true balance is exhausted the team member will go to PTO Draw Down Bank. (Pay from HMH to 100% of base weekly wages.)

Note: The above pay is from Hartford and HMH.

 

Long Term Disability (LTD) - see image below for reference

After 180 days **, LTD will take affect if the team member meets eligibility requirements. Duration of LTD payments depend on age according to summary plan descriptions.

Note: 50% pay from The Hartford ****

 

* When available, PTO time will draw from the FT Status Bank first, followed by True Balance and Drawdown.
**The STD benefit will be paid for a full 26 weeks, regardless of how much ESL time you have to use. Once the STD benefit ends, the LTD benefit will then be paid. There is no action required on
the part of the team member for the transition from short term to long term disability. Please see summary plan description for details.
***$903 is the current New Jersey cap (effective 1/1/21) and subject to change on a yearly basis.
****Medical certification is required. There is a six-month elimination period; payments will begin once qualified by The Hartford. Benefit is 50% of pay, not to exceed $5,000 per month.
Remember, team members have the option to do an LTD buy-up (in other words, to purchase a greater level of LTD coverage) once a year during Open Enrollment. Does not apply to directors
and above on the untracked PTO program.

 

Circle of Compassion

Employee Assistance Program

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

Life Plan

Medical Plan 

Dental Plan

Vision Plan

It is very important to follow these steps when returning to work to avoid delays in your pay and system access. 

1. E-mail the LOA Accommodations team at HMHRTW@hmhn.org or fax at 1-848-245-8453 to notify them of your return to work date and provide a contact number. The LOA Accommodations team will then update your status in MyWay-PeopleSoft and confirm your return to work date with your leader. Please note: Failure to submit this information to the LOA Accommodations team well in advance of your planned return could result in a delay in pay and system access.

2. Call The Hartford at 1-888-924-4155 or log in/create an account at MyBenefits.TheHartford.com to report your return to work date.

3. Call your leader to coordinate your return to work.

You will continue to accrue Paid Time Off (PTO), Earned Sick Leave (ESL) and Holiday time if you are in a benefit-eligible status for 30 days. After 30 days, your accruals will stop and will resume when you return from your LOA.

Medical, Family, Intermittent, Domestic Violence, and Military leaves are all handled by The Hartford and should be reported to them through the proper channels. Jury Duty and Bereavement are handled in-house by your leader.

• If the team member is eligible for Short Term Disability (STD), it will begin once the team member has exhausted their ESL.
• Temporary disability benefits are paid up to a maximum of 26 weeks as required by NJ state law and are administered by The Hartford. This payment will be sent to the team member directly from The Hartford. Team members should ask for the “Statutory Claim Payment" when they call The Hartford about the payment.
• For team members with salaries above the maximum NJ weekly benefit amount of $903 (effective 1/1/21), HMH will provide an additional benefit that will bring the payment to a full 2/3 of their base weekly salary. This amount can be supplemented to a full 100% with time from the team member's PTO True Balance and PTO Drawdown Bank, as available. Payment is made through Payroll on a biweekly basis.

• Long Term Disability (LTD) is a benefit that HMH provides to eligible team members. The LTD Plan is designed to replace a portion of your income should you remain disabled after exhausting the 26 weeks of Short Term Disability. These benefits are administered by The Hartford.
• Eligible team members have the opportunity to purchase additional LTD coverage as a buy-up option during the annual Open Enrollment period or within 31 days of the date a team member has a change in family status.
• Evidence of Insurability is required for team members who do not enroll within 31 days after first becoming eligible for the buy-up option.

If you need to change leave dates, you should first notify your leader and then The Hartford.

As long as you are receiving a paycheck from HMH, your medical deductions will be taken out of your paycheck. Once you are no longer receiving a paycheck from HMH, you will be billed for your medical deductions directly by Baker Tilly.

Long Term Disability is simply a different insurance plan. As long as you are on an approved leave, there should be no change to your benefits, employee status, etc.

Because HMH’s PTO policy is more generous than and exceeds what is required by law – allowing team members to accrue more hours than required – it is HMH’s policy, under certain circumstances, for team members to draw from their PTO balance, if available, before drawing from their ESL bank. NJ state law protects team members’ ability to take time off under certain circumstances, without penalty. It does not, however, necessarily require the employer to designate that time as “ESL time.” The employer is not required to provide additional time designated for earned sick leave if PTO days may be used for earned sick leave and the employer’s PTO policy meets all requirements of the law.