Employer-provided disability coverage offers employees a way to insure against short-term spells of disability that prevent work, as well as a way to supplement long-term disability benefits in the case of a health shock. Using administrative data from the State of Wisconsin, we explore the predictors of short-term disability claiming and transitions following exit from short-term benefit receipt. We find that gender, age, earnings, and employment type are significant predictors of short-term claiming as well as return to work following short-term claims. We also examine whether workers who return to work remain employed in years following a claim or make subsequent disability insurance claims. This study offers new evidence on short-term disability and long-term disability claiming behavior among public workers.  Short-term benefits may help workers to return to work by providing financial support during periods of disability, especially among young and middle-aged women. Other workers use use short-term benefits as a `bridge' coverage between disability onset and the award of longer-term benefits such as Social Security Disability, especially men and older workers, as well as workers in lower-paid occupations. These findings offer implications for employer-provided and public disability programs.

Accepted Oral Presentation