During a disability crisis, employers can lend a helping hand

Most people have a fairly standard Monday-Friday schedule: Arrive at work somewhere between 8-9:30 a.m., take lunch around noon and make their way home between 5-6 p.m. In many ways, the workforce operates like a well-oiled machine.

Thankfully, people power our workforce (for now) and of the many things humans hold over machinery, one quality is compassion. Demonstrating just that, the CEO and co-founder of &pizza made headlines recently for giving away more than 30,000 free pizzas to furloughed government employees. Chef Jose Andres, another restaurateur, gave Washington, D.C., furloughed workers free meals. Cell phone companies (T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon) and banks (Citi, Chase, American Express, Capital One) also showed they care by waiving late fees and making payment plan exceptions.

Related: Shutdown throws a wrench in federal workers’ health care

In the subheading of the Inc. article he authored, &pizza’s Michael Lastoria wrote, “Your business should always lend a helping hand during a crisis.” Large-scale crises that affect multiple people are certainly serious. But when crises occur on an individual, smaller scale—such as when someone acquires a disability—they are no less devastating.

If someone is injured or is diagnosed with a medical condition that prevents them from being able to work, they could go weeks or months without any income. Fifty-one percent of adults don’t have money set aside in case of an emergency, reports the Federal Reserve Board’s 2017 survey on household economics, forcing a majority of American workers in this situation to sell their assets, tap into retirement savings and even face foreclosure.

Not all business owners have the financial flexibility to be as bold as Lastoria, but every employer can potentially help their employees during their time of need through programs like SSDI Extended Benefits, which help employees access Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) at no cost to employers. If employees experience a debilitating disability, providing them with this assistance could be the lifesaver they need to keep their head above water and avoid poverty.

SSDI is a federal safety net available to all U.S. workers who have contributed FICA payroll or self-employment taxes for five out of the last 10 years—and meet certain work, education, age and health criteria. By giving employees more information about SSDI and access to resources, employers can help workers with disabilities take full advantage of this important benefit. This can be an excellent alternative to completely skipping over disability protection in benefits offerings, and can also supplement employer-provided short- and long-term disability plans, which about one in three American workers have.

For those wondering whether employees (current or prospective) really need disability protection, here’s your answer: if they don’t yet, they might. Disabilities happen on a daily basis, and the most common ones—musculoskeletal disorders, cancer, pregnancy, mental health issues and other injuries—aren’t that unheard of. According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), of today’s 20-year-olds, more than one in four will acquire a disability before their 67th birthday.

Employers can’t afford to ignore disability coverage, not only because their employees need it, but because they do, too. The consistently low unemployment rate gives job seekers the upper hand—many are getting the quality benefits they’re demanding. To remain competitive, employers must continue to enhance their benefits offerings while also paying attention to costs, and SSDI Extended Benefits is one path toward this objective.

By simply informing their employees about SSDI and pointing them to people who can provide further assistance, employers have everything to gain—talented employees, monetary savings—and nothing to lose. During what may be the darkest, most challenging time in an employee’s life, an employer’s recognition and compassion may be the light at the end of the tunnel. As Lastoria also says, “It’s what a decent person would do.”

Read more: 

• How employer support affects an employee’s return to work after disability leave
• The value of disability insurance for all generations
• 10 top causes of disability claims

John McGrath is director of business services at Allsup, LLC. McGrath assists employers and self-insured businesses with the process of evaluating their benefits programs in coordination with federal programs that their employees can access when and if needed.