Originally published February 24, 2021. Updated October 5, 2026.
Many employees don’t think about short-term disability insurance until they get sick, injured, need surgery, or are preparing for childbirth and suddenly need to know exactly how their coverage works.
Approximately half of employees have access to short-term disability insurance. (In March 2026, 44% of private-industry workers had access to short-term disability insurance, according to the BLS. Among full-time private-industry workers, that figure was 52%). Folks just don’t often want to think about, or prepare for, injury or disability. Especially when it’s not for a planned life event like childbirth.
But disability is more common than many people may realize. The Social Security Administration estimates that an insured worker who turned 20 in 2025 has a 24% chance of becoming disabled before reaching normal retirement age.
For HR teams, offering short-term disability benefits is only one small part of the job. But employees need to understand what their coverage pays, how long it lasts, when benefits begin, what happens during pregnancy, and how to actually use it.
Here are straightforward answers to some of the most common questions about short-term disability insurance.
What is short-term disability insurance?
Short-term disability insurance replaces a portion of an employee’s income when a qualifying medical condition temporarily prevents them from working.
Depending on the plan, that can include illnesses, injuries, surgery, mental health conditions, pregnancy, childbirth, and recovery from childbirth. Exactly what qualifies, and how much an employee receives, depends on the terms of the specific policy.
That distinction matters: short-term disability is income-replacement insurance, not the same thing as a leave program or job protection. An employee may use short-term disability benefits at the same time as leave protected by another law or employer policy.
How does short-term disability work?
While the details vary by plan, short-term disability generally works like this:
- An employee experiences a qualifying illness, injury, pregnancy-related condition, or other covered disability that prevents them from working.
- The employee submits a claim and any required medical documentation.
- They complete the plan’s short-term disability elimination period, or waiting period.
- If the claim is approved, the plan replaces a percentage of the employee’s income for the covered period, up to the plan’s limits.
- Benefits end when the employee is able to return to work or reaches the plan’s maximum benefit period.
Eligibility can vary, too. Some employees may be eligible for coverage when they’re hired, while others may need to complete a service waiting period first.
That’s why the most useful short-term disability communication is specific: employees should know whether they’re covered, what qualifies, how much their plan pays, and where to file a claim.
What are short-term disability benefits?
The primary short-term disability benefit is partial income replacement while an employee is temporarily unable to work because of a covered medical condition.
Coverage varies considerably from plan to plan. Employers may pay the premium, employees may pay it, or they may share the cost. Plans can also differ in their definitions of disability, benefit amounts, waiting periods, maximum benefit periods, and exclusions.
And access isn’t universal. As of March 2026, 44% of private-industry workers had access to employer-provided short-term disability plans, compared with 37% who had access to long-term disability plans.
For HR teams, that makes plan-specific information especially important. A generic definition can explain short-term disability. It can’t tell an employee what their coverage actually does.
How much does short-term disability pay?
There isn’t one standard answer to how much short-term disability pays. Most plans replace a percentage of an employee’s pre-disability earnings, subject to the policy’s weekly or monthly maximum.
The exact benefit amount depends on the plan, so employees should check their summary plan description or other benefits materials rather than assume they’ll receive their full paycheck.
Benefits may also interact with other income sources, including paid sick leave or state disability benefits. Employers should clearly explain how their specific plan coordinates with other available benefits and whether short-term disability payments may be taxable.
How long is short-term disability?
How long short-term disability lasts depends on the policy. It’s designed for temporary periods when an employee can’t work and generally provides benefits for a limited number of weeks or months.
Each plan establishes a maximum benefit period, so employees should check their policy for the exact duration.
If an employee remains unable to work when short-term disability benefits end, they may be eligible for long-term disability coverage if they have it and meet that policy’s requirements.
Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI, is different. Social Security does not provide benefits for short-term or partial disability. To meet Social Security’s definition of disability, a condition generally must prevent substantial gainful activity and have lasted—or be expected to last—for at least 12 months or result in death.
What is a short-term disability elimination period?
A short-term disability elimination period is the waiting period between when a qualifying disability begins and when benefit payments can start.
The length varies by plan and may also differ depending on whether the disability is caused by an accident or illness.
Employees may need to use available sick leave, PTO, or another source of income during this period, depending on their employer’s policies. That makes the elimination period an important detail to communicate before someone actually needs the benefit.
Employees should know:
- How long their plan’s elimination period lasts
- When they should file a claim
- Whether PTO or sick leave can or must be used during the waiting period
- When they can expect benefit payments to begin
A waiting period is a small detail during enrollment. It can feel considerably less small when someone is wondering when their next paycheck is coming.
How does short-term disability work for pregnancy?
Short-term disability may cover pregnancy and childbirth when an employee is unable to work because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. Coverage and benefit duration depend on the specific plan’s terms.
It’s also important to distinguish disability benefits from parental or bonding leave. Short-term disability replaces income for a covered medical disability; it isn’t automatically paid parental leave.
Other protections may apply at the same time. Eligible employees may use FMLA leave for prenatal care, incapacity related to pregnancy, recovery from childbirth, and bonding with a newborn. FMLA provides eligible employees of covered employers with up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for qualifying family and medical reasons.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) may also require covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. Those accommodations can include leave in some circumstances.
For HR teams, this is an especially important place to connect the dots between the short-term disability plan, FMLA, paid parental leave, state programs, and other applicable policies.
Short-term disability vs. long-term disability: What’s the difference?
Short-term disability and long-term disability insurance both replace income when an employee can’t work because of a covered disability, but they’re designed for different timeframes.
Short-term disability generally begins sooner and covers temporary disabilities for a limited period. Long-term disability typically has a longer elimination period and is intended for disabilities that keep someone from working for an extended period.
Employees who have both types of coverage may transition from short-term to long-term disability if their condition continues and they meet the long-term disability policy’s definition of disability and other requirements.
For a deeper explanation, check out our long-term disability insurance guide.
What isn’t covered by short-term disability insurance?
There’s no universal list of exclusions because short-term disability policies vary. Employees should review their specific plan documents for details.
A few distinctions are particularly important:
- Work-related injuries and illnesses: These may fall under workers’ compensation rather than an employer’s short-term disability plan, depending on the circumstances and applicable state law.
- Longer-term disabilities: Once an employee reaches the maximum benefit period under a short-term disability policy, long-term disability coverage may apply if the employee is enrolled and eligible.
- Social Security disability: SSDI isn’t a substitute for short-term disability. Social Security uses its own eligibility requirements and does not pay short-term disability benefits.
How to apply for short-term disability
The short-term disability application process varies by employer and insurance carrier, so employees should start with their employer’s benefits information, HR team, or disability insurance provider.
Typically, the process may include:
- Review the plan. Confirm that the employee has short-term disability coverage and understand the elimination period, benefit amount, and claim requirements.
- Notify the appropriate contact. Depending on the employer, that might be HR, a leave administrator, or the insurance carrier.
- Complete the claim paperwork. Employees may need to provide information about their condition and expected time away from work.
- Provide medical documentation. The insurer or employer may require certification from a healthcare provider.
- Coordinate other leave. Determine whether FMLA, state leave, PTO, sick leave, workers’ compensation, or another program applies at the same time.
- Keep track of next steps. Employees should know who will provide updates, when benefits are expected to begin, and what’s required before returning to work.
Clear instructions can make a big difference here. Someone filing a disability claim is already dealing with an illness, injury, pregnancy, or recovery. This is not an ideal moment to introduce them to a scavenger hunt across five benefits portals.
For more information on how different types of leave can work together, see our guide to leave of absence definitions for employees. Jellyvision also partners with industry-leading leave of absence organizations to provide support for leave management.
Is short-term disability the same as short-term disability leave?
Not exactly.
Short-term disability insurance provides income replacement. Short-term disability leave refers to the employee’s time away from work. Those two things can overlap, but they aren’t interchangeable.
An employee receiving short-term disability benefits may also be taking FMLA leave, using PTO or paid sick leave, receiving leave as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA or PWFA, or receiving protections under applicable state law.
For example, eligible employees can receive up to 12 workweeks of job-protected FMLA leave for qualifying family and medical reasons. FMLA leave may be unpaid or run at the same time as employer-provided paid leave.
The ADA can also require employers to consider leave as a reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability, as long as it doesn’t create an undue hardship.
In other words, determining whether an employee’s job is protected requires looking beyond the short-term disability policy itself.
Can you contact an employee while they’re on short-term disability leave?
Employers may need to communicate with an employee during a leave of absence about benefits, required documentation, return-to-work plans, or other administrative matters.
But HR teams should be thoughtful about both the frequency and substance of that communication, particularly when an employee is also on protected leave. Avoid asking employees to work while they’re on leave, and ensure any communication complies with applicable leave and disability laws and company policies.
Employees on FMLA leave, for example, generally have the right to return to the same or a virtually identical position when their protected leave ends.
Because FMLA, the ADA, the PWFA, state laws, employer policies, and disability benefits can overlap, employers should evaluate an employee’s specific circumstances rather than treating short-term disability status alone as the answer.
Help employees understand their disability benefits before they need them
Short-term disability insurance is a good example of why benefits guidance needs to be an ongoing process and available on demand. An employee might choose disability coverage in November and not have a question about it until surgery, an injury, or a pregnancy puts that decision into very real context months later.
That’s exactly where ALEX can help.
ALEX benefits decision support helps employees understand their coverage and benefits during enrollment, so they can make more informed choices about the plans available to them.
Then ALEX Home gives employees one place to return throughout the year for benefits guidance, reminders, resources, and support. Instead of digging through old PDFs or wondering which portal has the answer, employees can ask questions about the benefits their employer provides when those questions actually come up. Most importantly, they’ll receive personalized responses specific to their benefits and programs.
Because “What disability coverage should I choose?” and “How do I use the coverage I already have?” are different questions. Employees deserve useful answers to both.
