Employees have a number of options regarding returning to work. First, there is a certain amount of departmental discretion regarding your work assignment; the short term disability benefit applies to the leave for medical reasons only. Accommodations can be made regarding release time, a partial return to work, working from an alternate location, or using your annual leave, as long as these accommodations are consistently applied regardless of the reason for the absence. Another option is FMLA, which is automatically triggered by the claim and runs concurrent to the short-term disability, allowing for 12 amount of weeks unpaid leave.