Hi everyone! Looking for some advice and for you to share some of your stories, to help me gain some perspective & understanding.

I have a full time salaried job. After a year with my employer, in Feb, in was a passenger in a car accident and as a result, I now have post concussion syndrome. Since then, I've been using intermittent FMLA to reduce my work hours to 20-30 per week (averaging in the low 20s) based on how I feel. I've been gradually getting better overall, but I haven't been able to work noticeably longer hours at work, possibly because the environment there is stressful & overstimulating. I HAVE gotten more effective & efficient while I'm at the office, though.

Anyway. My FMLA hours are about up, and my employer just informed me that they won't be able to offer me a part time position, and I certainly can't magically go back to working full time. The brain heals at its own (super slow) pace. What I may be able to do is qualify for the company's long term disability insurance, which would require my neurologist to state that I need to take some period of time entirely off work. (Which would probably aid my healing; I'm consulting with him in a few days about this.)

I should note, there was no short term disability insurance plan that I was eligible for. I haven't yet applied for SSDI, though I understand I'll need to do that as part of applying for LTD.

My questions are:
1. What advice do you have for getting qualified for LTD?
2. My employer has stated that they only want me there full time, and I don't know if/when THAT will be feasible. Will that impact the qualification process? Or the return-to-work process assuming I get qualified?
3. Once I'm on LTD, because the plan is through my employer, will they want or require me to return to that same employer if I become healthy enough to work again? Or could I work elsewhere if that seems more feasible or preferable? (Given all of this, not only might I like to work someplace less stressful, but I might also like to relocate closer to family, which would prevent me from working for this employer.)

I'd love to hear your similar stories, as illustrations of how this can all happen, things not to do, lessons learned, successes, etc!

Thank you so much!

My questions are:
1. What advice do you have for getting qualified for LTD?
2. My employer has stated that they only want me there full time, and I don't know if/when THAT will be feasible. Will that impact the qualification process? Or the return-to-work process assuming I get qualified?
3. Once I'm on LTD, because the plan is through my employer, will they want or require me to return to that same employer if I become healthy enough to work again? Or could I work elsewhere if that seems more feasible or preferable? (Given all of this, not only might I like to work someplace less stressful, but I might also like to relocate closer to family, which would prevent me from working for this employer.)

#1 That is a good question for your HR person at work. Policies vary.

#2 That would be up to your employer. Some employers terminate after a set time period because they have to fill positions and can not keep them open indefinitely.

#3 Again, you will need to sit down with HR, review the LTD plan you qualify for, and find out what it covers and how it works. It is my understanding, however, that if you can work, your LTD ceases . . . which seems to mean logically that if you can work it matters not where or with whom.

Best of luck to you.