Disability & Leaves of Absence
Pearson offers a number of Leaves of Absence to give you peace of mind when you need to take time away from work to care for yourself or others.
Disability
Disability provides all or part of your pay if you are unable to perform your job because of a non-work-related illness or injury. Short-term disability and company-provided long-term disability coverage through Pearson requires no enrollment so the coverage is automatic.
Short-term Disability:
- applies to the first 180 days of a disability, benefits end after 26 weeks.
- is automatic and company-paid; no need to enroll.
- coverage begins after the 7-calendar day Elimination Period. The first 5 business days will be charged against the Sick Day Policy or other Paid Time Off.
- pays 100% of your salary for the first 13 weeks, then 66.67% of your salary for the remaining 12 weeks.
Maternity is treated as any other disability and is generally approved for six (6) weeks for a vaginal birth or eight (8) weeks for a C-section birth from the date of delivery.
Read the Short-term Disability Policy and how to file a claim for Short-term Disability (PDF, 192 KB) for more information.
Pearson Long-Term Disability (LTD) Program (PDF, 341 KB):
- is automatic and company-paid; no need to enroll.
- begins after you have been disabled for 180 days.
- pays 50% of your salary, up to a maximum of $20,833 per month.
LTD Buy-Up
You may choose to purchase an additional 10% of LTD insurance to receive a total of 60% of your salary, up to a maximum of $25,000 per month.
The benefit is optional and employee-paid; you must enroll on the Aptia365 website.
Leaves of Absence (LOA)
Pearson’s Parental Leave policy provides employees 100% of pay up to sixteen (16) weeks of paid time off during a 12-month period to care for a child after birth or placement for adoption or foster care, including birth via gestational surrogate. Parental Leave can only be taken as two (2) 8-week increments or as one (1) 16-week increment. Parental Leave that is not taken in the prescribed increments will be forfeited.
PERKY can model your (non-birthing) parental leave and maternity/parental leave and help you understand how Pearson leave policies, federal benefits, and state benefits interact with each other. Just provide a few pieces of information to model what your potential leave would look like.
The Serious Illness in the Family Leave policy provides employees 100% of pay up to four (4) weeks of paid time off during a 12-month period for the care for a seriously ill spouse or domestic partner, child, parent, in-laws, or to make arrangements relative to that care. SIL can only be taken in one-week increments. SIL that is not taken in the prescribed increment will be forfeited.
FMLA or Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) and related state or local statutes provides employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid medical and family leave during a 12-month period, if eligible, for any one or more of the following reasons:
- to care for a child after birth or placement for adoption or foster care;
- to care for a spouse, child or parent (not in-laws) who has a serious health condition;
- where a serious health condition renders you unable to perform the functions of your job;
- for family members of armed services personnel called up to active duty under certain circumstances;
- caregiver leave up to 26 weeks for employees caring for family members injured while on covered active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces (including the National Guard or Reserves), or veterans with serious illnesses or injuries.
In addition, Pearson provides FMLA-like benefits for opposite- and same sex- partners and children of opposite- and same sex- partners. Read the full FMLA policy for more information.
How does FMLA coordinate with Pearson’s paid Leaves of Absences and State Leaves?
When eligible for FMLA, this time will run concurrently for a 12- week period with disability and other paid leaves. When you initiate a claim for disability or parental leave, you will be prompted to open an FMLA claim also.
Read the guides below which help you understand the leave of absence process and your responsibilities during your leave.
Frequently Asked Questions
First, notify your manager. It is imperative that you keep in regular contact with your manager throughout your time away from work.
Next, contact Lincoln Financial by visiting MyLincolnPortal.com or by calling toll-free at 1-800-213-7327. You should initiate your claim thirty (30) days prior to your anticipated leave or as soon as practicable.
If you are initiating a disability claim, complete the Claim Intake Authorization Form (PDF, 165 KB) and give it to your provider. Ensure that the treating physician provides the appropriate medical documentation to Lincoln Financial in a timely manner. Late or missing documentation will result in disability payments being delayed or denied.
If your leave is due to disability, you will have to Submit your PTO for the one-week Short-term Disability Elimination Period on the Leave of Absence Pay Request form.
During your paid leave all benefit deductions remain the same as when you were actively working. During your unpaid leave you’ll receive an invoice advising you how much you owe for benefits — 401(k) deductions cease and will resume once you have returned to work.
If you are on leave due to the birth or adoption of a child, please log into the Aptia365 to add your child to your medical coverage within 31 days of the child’s arrival. If the child is not added within the 31-day period, the child will not be covered under Pearson’s medical plan and you will have to wait until the next annual enrollment period to add the child to coverage.
Yes. you should do the following:
- Obtain a written consent (medical release) from the treating physician prior to returning to work. If no release is provided you will be sent home without pay.
- If you are released to return to work with temporary restrictions or on a part-time basis, contact your manager to determine if restrictions can be accommodated.
- Contact your manager and Lincoln Financial at least three (3) days in advance of your estimated return to work date in order to coordinate the return. The first day you return to work, advise Lincoln Financial so that your claim can be closed and to protect any FMLA coverage, if applicable.
- Create a ticket via myHelp to report your Return-to-Work date (RTW). This ensures your Fusion status is updated and establishes your regular pay. Failure to do so will result in a delay of your pay.