"Employees often are denied LTD benefits if they did not receive STD benefits during the LTD policy's exhaustion period, so the importance of applying for both PFML and STD benefits when a need for medical leave arises cannot be overstated.... [If] an employee applies for PFML and STD benefits at different times, it may result in the employee receiving PFML and STD benefits consecutively, rather than concurrently, which in turn may lead to requests for longer leaves of absence from work.... Another way to simplify the medical leave benefit process is to offer combination PFML-STD policies that provide one medical income replacement benefit to employees that equals or exceeds the state-required PFML benefit."  MORE >>