When an employee sustains an injury or becomes ill, they may be unable to perform certain job duties or need time off from work.  The staff of the Work Connect Program will guide and assist Mayo Clinic Rochester employees and their supervisor through the leave process and eventual return to work.  The Work Connect Program is an integrated disability management program comprised of staff from the Claims, Return to Work, and Integrated Disability Coordinator sections in Recovery and Claims Services (RCS), the Nurse Case Managers in Occupational Health Services (OHS), and Human Resources.  The Work Connect Program is applicable to employees who sustain work related injury or illness and non-work related injuries and illness, including maternity and paternity leave requests.

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Work Connect Program staff from Recovery and Claims Services Claims Section are responsible for administration of Workers' Compensation and Short Term Disability (STD) benefits to assist employees with wage loss due to a work-related injury or illness or a non-work related serious health condition.  The assigned Claims staff will help employees understand the benefits they are eligible for.

During a leave, there are four ways of getting paid based on eligibility: 

Paid Time Off (PTO)

  • Employees are encouraged, but not required, to use PTO to provide pay during the required wait period based on whether the injury or illness is work related (Workers' Compensation) or not work related (STD).
  • Employees with an intermittent FMLA leave can utilize PTO to provide pay.
  • If an employee is not eligible for STD or if all available STD hours have been used, PTO can be used to provide pay until the employee can return to their full FTE.

Short Term Disability

  • Upon completion of the required STD wait period, benefit-eligible employees (0.5 FTE or more) may be approved for STD for a continuous leave for a non-work related serious health condition.
  • Employees must have an active FMLA or personal leave to be eligible for STD.
  • All benefit-eligible employees receive 13 weeks of STD per year and STD renews on or around the employee's anniversary date as long as the employee is working their full FTE.
  • STD benefit is included in the regular bi-weekly payroll deposit with the STD benefit amount determined by years of service based on the STD policy schedule (talk with your supervisor about the schedule).
  • An employee's STD balance is available from the Leave Balance link from the left navigation on the HR Connect home page (talk with your supervisor to obtain this information).

Long Term Disability

  • Long Term Disability (LTD) is available to benefit-eligible employees when a single non-work related illness or injury results in an absence of 13 continuous weeks.
  • An employee may be eligible to receive LTD partial wage replacement following a 13-week absence and for a period of up to two years if the employee is unable to perform the duties of their regular occupation.
  • An application for LTD benefits can be requested by contacting Recovery and Claims Services at 507-422-0505.  Completion of the application will initiate the claim evaluation process.
    • If an employee is approaching the 13-weeks of continuous leave, RCS Claims staff will mail the LTD application packet to the employee's home address.

Workers' Compensation

  • Workers' Compensation, which is state-specific, provides benefits to all employees who have a work-related injury/illness and covers:
    • medical care to cure and relieve the effects of a work-related injury/illness.
    • non-taxable compensation or indemnity payments to help replace lost wages once an employee has met the state-based waiting period.
    • vocational rehabilitation services to help in returning to work.
  • Completion of an Employee Incident Report starts the claims review process (can be completed by the employee's supervisor or colleagues).
  • PTO can be used to cover wages during the state-based waiting period or the waiting period can be taken as unpaid time.
  • Checks for the Workers' Compensation income are mailed to the employee's home but direct deposit can be requested by contacting the assigned Claims staff.