Family Medical Leave Icon
Get Connected

The Hartford:
1-888-301-5615 (M–F, 8 am to 8 pm)

ARHS Benefits:
828-262-4161

ARHS Employee Assistance Program: 
828-268-9049

Learn More
Submitting a Claim
Documents

Leave of Absence

During this life-changing event, you will have a lot of details to take care of. This communication is intended to provide you with some information about how your benefits might be affected by this change, and what resources Appalachian Regional Healthcare System has to offer you. We know that during this time it might be easy to overlook some important details, so please review this communication and share with others in your household.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the Human Resources Department if you have additional questions or need clarification.

Paid Time Off

If you are a full time employee you will need to use PTO for the first week of absence. Full time employees may supplement short term disability income with remaining PTO balances after the first week of absence. The amount employees may use is determined by HR. Part time employees without Short-Term Disability policy will need to use normal scheduled hours of PTO while on leave. Full time employees with Disability Leave Banks must exhaust all DLB hours prior to receiving short term disability income replacement funds.

Leave of Absence

If you have been employed at least twelve months and actually worked at least 1250 hours during the past 12-month period, you may be eligible for Family/Medical Leave (FML).

FML allows you to take up to 12-weeks of paid and/or unpaid time off from work and maintain your same job and benefit levels when you return. If the leave is unplanned please contact Human Resources as soon as possible or within 2 business days. If the leave is a planned leave you need to notify Human Resources and your manager 30 days prior to the start of your leave or your leave request may be denied. A FML Packet is posted on the Employee Hub under the Human Resources Documents Section. The packet includes forms and policies related to FML.

If you do not qualify for Family/Medical Leave, you may still be eligible for an Unpaid Leave of Absence. Medical, Personal, and Military Leaves are available. Contact Human Resources, LOA Transaction Specialist at 828-262-4116 for additional information and eligibility requirements.

Disability Income

If you are a full time employee you are enrolled in the group short term disability plan. You will be eligible for income replacement once your claim is approved on the 8th day of illness or injury. You can start your short term disability claim by calling The Hartford at 1-888-301-5615 to initiate a short term disability claim. The Short-Term Disability policy number for ARHS is 803500.

Employees with remaining Disability Leave Benefit balances (from previous paid time off programs) must exhaust their balance before Short-Term Disability or Long-Term Disability benefit can commence. Maximum benefit period is 12 weeks for illness/ injury or 8 weeks for pregnancy using a combination of either disability hours or Short-Term Disability from The Hartford. Any remaining Short-Term Disability benefits will begin after all Disability Bank hours have been depleted or until a total 12/8 weeks have been used. i.e., employees with 80 hours (2 weeks) in their disability bank will have 10 weeks of Short-Term Disability benefits remaining for a total of 12 weeks of eligibility or employees using the 8 weeks of Short-Term Disability benefits for pregnancy will have 6 weeks of benefits remaining.

 

Health Insurance & Other Voluntary Benefits

You may continue your health insurance and other benefits while on FML or approved other leave. If you choose not to supplement STD income with PTO you will need to make arrangements to self pay for your benefits while on leave in order for your benefits to continue. You will need contact Human Resources at 828-262-4116 to make self pay arrangements if needed.

Future Concerns

Once you have been disabled for three months or more you may be eligible to apply for Long Term Disability if you are a full time employee. You will be eligible for income replacement for 50% of your current monthly income (maximum benefit amounts apply). Employees who purchased the additional buy up option will have 60% income replacement. Please contact Human Resources at 828-262-4116 for more information. If you have already filed a short term disability claim The Hartford will assist you with transitioning to a Long Term Disability Claim.