Just Ask

Remember that old adage "it never hurts to ask"?   Well, it works.  If you don't ask, people can't help you.

I got the idea late last night to contact my friend that is high up in HR and tell her my plight and what I needed.  This is based on a tactic I learned in a "Dealing with Difficult People" seminar that I attended years ago.  If you very clearly lay out what you need and why, more often than not you will get what you want or close to it.

So, at about 1am in the morning, I composed an email to my HR friend.  I told her that I had been denied LTD.  I told her that I was appealing the denial.  I told her that I was the sole provider of health insurance for my whole family (husband and son).   I told her that I had doctor appointments pending.  And then I asked her the following questions:

1. What is my status at work?  (employed/not employed)
2. What is the status of my health insurance? (exact date of cancellation)
3. Can my sick leave be extended to include the period of time of the LTD appeal?

I got a very nice response today.  After six months if an employee is still unable to work then they are terminated.  Sick leave can not be extended during the appeal process.  However, they can tinker with my termination date so that I have health coverage during December which will give me enough time to arrange for insurance to start on January 1st.  This means I won't have a lapse in coverage!  Yay!  I thought this was a great compromise.  And, as a bonus they are going to help me with the appeal process!  How cool is that!?!

I knew I stayed at that company for a reason.  The benefits are fantastic!  And the people in HR are great to work with.