We are pleased to announce that Human Resources has partnered with Unum to administer our disability, state, and federal leave benefits. This includes short-term disability claims, long-term disability claims, as well as college family and parental leaves. Unum will ensure compliance with Massachusetts state leave laws and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Engaging Unum to administer these leave benefits means you will no longer share sensitive personal health information with Human Resources. We have chosen Unum because they have a dedicated team of highly trained specialists who are well-versed in disability claims management, FMLA regulations, and state leave laws. Unum is committed to excellent customer service and makes the process of reporting a claim simple, online, and by phone. We believe this service will ensure your leave requests are managed efficiently and equitably.
You may also recall, Massachusetts Paid Family Leave laws go into effective January 2021. Given the crucial nature of paid leave benefits in these precarious times, we have decided to roll out these enhanced leave benefits sooner and make the new policies effective September 1, 2020.
Our paid leave policies have been updated as follows:
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Short Term Disability Leave continues at up to 26 weeks per benefit year. The waiting period has been reduced to 7 calendar days.
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Paid Parental Leave has been extended from 8 weeks to 12 weeks.
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The new Paid Family Leave allows employees to care for an ailing relative. Paid Family Leave will be capped at 12 weeks per benefit year (or 26 weeks per year for illness relating to the family member’s military service), with a 7 calendar day waiting period. We have expanded the list of qualifying relatives beyond those eligible for unpaid FMLA leave.
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We have also added provisions to the leave policies specifically for temporary workers, to be effective January 1st, 2021.
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When any support staff, administrative staff, or faculty member goes out on Short Term Disability Leave, Paid Parental Leave, or Paid Family Leave, the college will pay them 100% of their base earnings.
See the links below for more detailed information on how to report a leave by calling 866-779-1054 or online at www.unum.com/claims. We will highlight more about this during open enrollment this fall.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me or Megan Childers at [email protected].
Thank you,
Danielle
How to Flyers:
UNUM STD Telephonic Flyer
UNUM STD Telephonic Flyer – Spanish
Online Claim Filing Flyer