Long Term Disability Benefit In the event an employee, while covered under this plan, becomes totally disabled as a result of an accident or a sickness, then, after the employee has been totally disabled for six (6) months, including periods approved in Section 1.3(a) and (c), he shall be eligible to receive a monthly benefit as follows: (a) While the employee has a sick bank balance to be used on a day-for-day basis, full monthly earnings will continue until the sick bank is exhausted, and Section 2.6 will not apply. (b) When an employee has no sick bank, or after it is exhausted, the employee shall receive a monthly benefit equal to the sum of: (1) Effective upon ratification sixty-eight and three-tenths (68.3) percent of the first twenty-two hundred (2200) dollars of monthly earnings and (2) Fifty (50) percent of the monthly earnings above twenty-two hundred (2200) dollars. For the purposes of the above, earnings shall mean basic monthly earnings as at the date of disability as determined by the Employer. The basic monthly earnings as at the date of disability shall be the salary in effect for the last month of the Short Term Plan period, or equivalent six (6) month period, taking into consideration any retroactive adjustments. The date of disability for determining the commencement of the first two years of disability shall be the day following the last month of the Short Term Plan period, or an equivalent six (6) month period. (c) The Long Term Disability benefit payment will be made so long as an employee remains totally disabled in accordance with Section 2.3, and will cease on the date the employee recovers, or at the end of the month in which the employee reaches age 65, or dies or otherwise loses his employment status, whichever occurs first. (d) An employee in receipt of Long Term Disability Benefits will be considered an employee and will continue to be covered by group life (at the amount in effect when the disability commenced), extended health, dental and medical plans. Employees will not be covered by any other portion of the Collective Agreement, but will retain the right of access to the Joint Committee pursuant to Article 7 and will retain seniority rights should they return to employment within six (6) months following cessation of benefits. (e) When an employee is in receipt of the benefit described in (b) above, contributions required for benefit plans in (d) above and contributions to the Pension Plan will be waived by the Employer. (f) An employee engaged in rehabilitative employment with the Employer and who is receiving partial Long Term Disability benefit payments will have contributions required for benefit plans in (d) above waived by the Employer, except that Pension Plan contributions shall be deducted from any salary received from the Employer to cover the period of rehabilitative employment.
Total Disability a) Total disability, as used in this Plan, means the complete inability because of an accident or sickness of a covered employee to perform all the duties of his/her own occupation for the first two (2) years of disability. Thereafter, employees able by reason of education, training or experience to perform the duties of a gainful occupation for which the rate of pay is not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the current rate of pay of their regular occupation at date of disability will not be considered totally disabled and will therefore not be eligible for benefits under this Long Term Disability Plan. b) Total disabilities resulting from mental or nervous disorders are covered by the Plan in the same manner as total disabilities resulting from accidents or other sicknesses, except that an employee who is totally disabled as a result of a mental or nervous disorder and who has received twenty-four (24) months of Long Term Disability Plan benefit payments must be confined to a hospital or mental institution or where they are at home, under the direct care and supervision of a medical doctor, in order to continue to be eligible for benefit payment. During a period of total disability an employee must be under the regular and personal care of a legally qualified doctor of medicine. c) i) If an employee becomes totally disabled and during this period of total disability engages in rehabilitative employment, the regular monthly benefit from this plan will be reduced by twenty-five percent (25%) of the employee's earnings from such rehabilitative employment. In the event that income from rehabilitative employment and the benefit paid under this Plan exceeds eighty-five percent (85%) of the employee's earnings at date of disability, the benefit from this Plan will be further reduced by the excess amount.