Hello, can you please share any resources about generalized vs workplace-specific mental illness, and what won’t qualify for short/long term leave? I hope to ensure my application is approved and I heard that workplace-specific issues are beyond the scope of insurance. My issues are anxiety, agoraphobia, insomnia. The cause is squarely workplace-specific and I believe may fit under constructive dismissal (employer permitting and covering up harassment, I was a whistleblower). My benefits are with Manulife.
My close friends have suggested that I seek more serious legal action re: retaliation, but I am seeing only positive benefits to my employer’s suggestion that I take STD, whereas actively suing them seems like a scary and crazy venture. I hope you can let me know if there’s anything here I failed to consider.
Thanks for your time and all the great resources on your website.

First, for any questions directly related to your employer-employee relationship, I recommend using our free employment questions website (www.terminationquestions.com), as this is the LTD/insurance branch of the firm.

Regarding your STD-/LTD-related questions, under most policies it would not matter whether your disability was caused by a workplace incident or not, but there are certain policies that have terms excluding workplace disabilities, so unfortunately I would have to see your specific policy before providing an opinion on that.

In addition, if your disability is caused by a workplace incident, it may trigger WSIB, if you satisfy the test (which you can read online), and if your employer has WSIB coverage. (Even if you do ostensibly qualify for WSIB though, you should still apply for STD/LTD as well. Just make sure that if you're approved for both, they know about each other, so that there is no double-payment/double-recovery.)

If your STD/LTD is denied for any reason, please contact us right away so we can connect you with a lawyer for a free consultation.