Question

short - term disability payroll changes
on july 1, the office of the controller (oc) required all state employees paid through the central payroll system to be paid electronically by direct deposit, unless exempted by the controller. all direct - deposit enrollments for affected employees must be in place by october 1. this requirement includes employees who are receiving short - term disability benefits.
this mandate has resulted in some procedural changes in how the department will pay short - term disability benefits. currently, short - term disability benefits for employees are being paid on a current - month basis via hard - copy check. the checks are received by the short - term disability section in personnel and mailed to the employee at the end of the month, provided the dip - 3 request for payment by employee and certification of disability by physician form has been received. as a result of the oc direct deposit requirement, the department no longer has the option of paying on a current - month basis.
therefore, effective september 1, all employees that are added to the short - term disability payroll roster will be paid in arrears (one month behind). although there will be a delay in receiving the first disability check, this process will provide employees with a monthly benefit check, which is consistently the same amount each month, with the exception of the first and last months payments, which usually generate partial payments.
please note that payments to employees will be made pending the receipt, processing, and approval of the dip - 1 application for short - term disability, the dip - 3 request for payment by employee and certification of disability by physician, and the 7a medical report.
because employees will be waiting a longer period of time before receiving their first disability check, it is imperative that employees submit their short - term disability applications and supporting documentation as soon as they know they will be out of work for an extended period of time even if they are unsure if the disability will last longer than the 60 - day waiting period. the process for short - term disability approval can take up to six (6) weeks or longer depending on when the application is received, the completeness of the application and supporting medical documentation, and the payroll deadline schedule. the procedural changes outlined above could result in a 90 - 120 day delay in employees receiving their first disability check. therefore, it is imperative that employees submit the short - term disability application as soon as possible. this will help ensure that the employee is placed on the payroll in a timely fashion resulting in the least amount of disruption to the employees pay schedule. should an employee be released to return to work prior to meeting the 60 - day waiting period, the application can be cancelled.
you are a transportation agency department chief. based on the information shown, the main task regarding short - term disability payment that your department must complete before october 1 is to
a. cancel the applications of employees who are released to work.
b. document all exemptions from the controller.
c. enroll all employees to be paid by direct deposit.
d. ensure that employees applying for benefits complete their forms.
e. phase out issuance of hard - copy checks.

Explanation:

The Office of the Controller requires all state - employees paid through the Central Payroll System to be paid electronically by direct deposit by October 1, including those on short - term disability. The department's main task is to ensure compliance with this requirement, which means enrolling all employees to be paid by direct deposit.

Answer:

C. enroll all employees to be paid by direct deposit