For those living with chronic diseases, CT Paid Leave is a support that allows workers to take the time they need to receive treatment for or recover from those serious health conditions. A serious health condition is defined as an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment. Chronic conditions requiring treatment refer to any period of incapacity due to or treatment for a chronic serious health condition. The chronic serious health condition must both require periodic visits for treatment by a healthcare provider at least two times per year and recur over an extended period of time. It may cause episodic rather than a continuing period of incapacity, resulting in the need for intermittent leave instead of continuous leave.

There are two ways a worker might use CT Paid Leave for their own chronic serious health conditions. One would be for appointments with the healthcare provider for treatment of the health condition. The other would be for flare-ups of the condition which cause incapacity. For example, a person who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis may experience flare-ups resulting in severe pain that makes it impossible for them to work through the flare-up. It is also possible for a worker who has a family member with a chronic serious health condition to apply for caregiver leave to bring that family member to their doctor’s appointments or to care for them in the event of a flare-up.

For a worker who suffers from a serious chronic health condition, or cares for a family member who does, the individual should start an application for CT Paid Leave benefits at ctpaidleave.org or by calling 877-499-8606. They will specify that they are applying for intermittent leave due to their own serious health condition or for caregiver leave. Once the intake process is complete, the applicant will receive a few documents that need to be completed and returned so that the application is ready to be reviewed for an approval or denial decision. One of these documents is a Certification of a Serious Health Condition form, which the individual’s (or their family member’s) healthcare provider will fill out with relevant details about the condition and the expected frequency of absences due to the patient’s medical history. Once the claim is approved, the individual can receive benefits for missed work due to flare-ups or treatment appointments for themselves or their loved ones. The worker needs to report their absence to CT Paid Leave within two business days after the absence occurs. When they miss work, they will need to follow their company’s procedures for calling out and should also consult with their employer about applying for job-protected leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Acts or other laws. Remember, CT Paid Leave can provide partial income replacement for missed work due to qualifying reasons, but it does NOT provide job-protected leave.

For more information on CT Paid Leave and the application process, visit ctpaidleave.org.

This article was written by Jessica Vargas, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at CT Paid Leave.