I'm on Christmas break right now, but I'm not doing well mentally. My therapist is concerned about my mental state right now; she says I'm experiencing psychosis.

If this keeps up, I'm going to have some kind of mental breakdown at work. Or I'm going to completely lose touch with reality, if I am indeed experiencing psychosis.

What are my rights for taking sick leave? Can I bring in a dr's note for short-term disability? How does short-term disability work when it comes to this stuff? Does it cover chronic conditions like BP?

Also, I'm not talking about FMLA. I want paid sick leave, if at all possible. Sorry for not specifying.

Just wondering if I can do short-term disability instead

[Moreta]

To my knowledge the only way to get STD is to go out on FMLA. Unless you want to take vacation/sick days. For FMLA and STD there's forms your dr needs to fill out and give a date when you can return to work. You get 12 weeks of FMLA a year (Not calendar year, from the time you first take it) and after that they can fire you. That's how I got fired from my first job. The rules might've changed though, I haven't worked since 2015 so not up with all the working laws. Yes BP is covered under the ADA and is an illness you can take time off work for.

[UpDownAround]

I thought this was going to be an insurance question; with my employer's plan you can elect to get STD, LTD, both or neither. The idea is that if you have an emergency savings account, you can forego STD and most likely come out ahead (payments for STD usually exceed the payout, if any, that you get if you ever have to use it). If you live paycheck to paycheck, STD keeps an extended illness from wrecking your credit report and LTD keeps you from losing your house. The reason this is relevant to your question is that employer plan STD insurance would not even exist if employers had an obligation to pay you for more days than your sick days allotment. They have no such obligation.

[BlessedRhiannon]

It depends on the your company's insurance benefits. When I took STD, I had to fill out some forms, have my p-doc fill out some forms, fax it all in to the administration company (not my place of work, but the third party that administers the STD program) and get it approved. My p-doc has done enough of these forms for his patients that he knew all the right things to put down to get my leave approved. Then, I shot my manager an email and let her know that I was taking 2 weeks off for STD. She also received notice from the adminstrators that I was out on approved leave. Once that happened, my pay was managed through the STD program and I received full pay for the two weeks I was out. It was a pretty painless process, but I did have to start with my HR department to get going in the right direction.

Your best bet for figuring this out is going to be to talk to someone in HR. Ask about the company's Short Term Disability benefits and then if you do have that option, ask how to go about using it. Some companies don't offer it and some only offer it after you've been employed for a certain amount of time. You don't have to explain to anyone why you need to be out on leave, just that you need it.

[UpDownAround]

Rhi,
You have a great package. Mine has to be paid for by payroll deduction and then only pays 60%. The unfortunate result of this is that the people who need it most can scarcely afford it and usually don't have it. On top of that, HR will only get involved if you have trouble getting the benefit from the insurance company. Being able to get the time off and still have the job is up to supervisors if it isn't FMLA.

[~Christina]

Does your employer know you have Bipolar ?

[bioChE]

Short term disability and FMLA are separate entities. FMLA is designed to protect your job in case you need time off for a medical reason that goes longer than your PTO. Usually a company will have you take the PTO you have accrued, then there’s a waiting period (usually a week, unpaid), then your STD benefits kick in. Typical STD benefits pay out 60% of your salary for up to three months off, although I work for a kick @ss employer who pays 100%. That time is also the limit of your FMLA eligibility, a time when your employer must keep your job open or be willing to place you in another job at the same level with the same pay.

I’ve been on STD two times during my working career. Both times were pretty seamless as far as employment and pay were concerned. Your doctor fills out forms for each benefit, and your HR and the STD Insurance company take care of the rest.

If you need the time off, then take it. There’s very little risk/harm to doing so, and it can be tremendously helpful for your mental health.