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Hi all. I need some advice… recently diagnosed with early onset dementia with alzheimers and my doctor advised me to go on disability and also no more driving. I have both Short term and long term disability thru my employer.

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Anonymous

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Hi all. I need some advice… recently diagnosed with early onset dementia with alzheimers and my doctor advised me to go on disability and also no more driving. I have both Short term and long term disability thru my employer.

So last August i completed docs for FMLA and Short term disability which covered my salary and benefits thru mid Feb. After many emails and voicemails to HR they finally submitted docs for LTD to begin. I had also questioned my accrued vacation from 2024 (3 weeks) to have it paid out (an option with our employer), and what type of benefits (medical, dental, life ins, etc) if any, would be available to me once STD transitioned to LTD. I sent the first email regarding these things in early Jan 2025; have since sent several more and also left voicemails, all with no response. The last two emails I sent, i included the vice president since he is HRs direct supervisor - not to “go over her head” or cause trouble, but because I need to determine whether i must seek insurance elsewhere or what my next steps should be. I have always had great relationships with everyone at work, including HR and our vice president. I have been with the company for many years and never experienced any issues, nor “taken advantage” of any company policies. I am now at a loss as to what to do… I have not received a COBRA letter, so i have to guess I still have health insurance. Does anyone have any advice as to next step?

i cannot reach out to president as he works overseas and they have a whole different set of benefits. Thank you.

R Smith (with assistance)

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  1. Anonymous

    Always copy all the way up the chain. You are not asking for help with your benefits from leadership. You want visibility so offline conversations can take place between leaders. What you need is action. HR is being told to pause either to obtain more benefit information or for leadership to obtain leader advice on their responsibilities.

    This doesn't happen often and most likely everyone is waiting for information and advice.

    Copy everyone until you hear back.

  2. Anonymous

    Thank you for responding. Our HR person is the HR Director, and the only person up the chain from her is the Vice President, and I have copied him. Unfortunately, that’s the “top” of our North America chain. It is very frustrating. And I don’t want to reach out to Europe, as I do not know that the president is aware of our benefits in US. I feel very stuck.

  3. Anonymous

    Also, our last Employee Handbook for NA is from 2016

    and has not been updated. The info in the handbook is very limited - altho it does say an employee can request vacation payout.

  4. Anonymous

    No reason to throw up your hands. You need to advocate for yourself. Now is not the time to just accept things.

  5. Anonymous

    Doesn't matter. Again you are not looking for support. HR will handle that. You are looking for visibility. Leadership will insist on VP and then HR to handle their business.

    By raising the profile of the issue you get leadership talking. You are not stuck. You have talked yourself into standing down.

  6. Anonymous

    Thank you for your response. I was checked for UTI and many other illnesses, as well as MRIs, CT scans, EEG, etc. Unfortunately they have not been able to find any other illness, and alzheimers does run in my family. ?

  7. Anonymous

    Are you also applying for Social Security Disability? If not, that should be your next step. Once approved, you will be eligible for Medicare, covering your insurance. Please check out your state's healthcare marketplace before considering COBRA, as COBRA coverage is usually costly - often two or three times what you pay for your medical benefit. You will also be eligible for Medicare supplement plans that are much cheaper than COBRA.Since your company appears to be headquartered overseas, check to see if there is a US HR specialist who works through these issues, as they are unique to each country.

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