New York State Disability Insurance

New York state disability insurance provides temporary cash benefits to an eligible worker who is disabled because of a non work-related illness or injury. Like other state disability insurance, New York's is meant to replace only a portion of the lost wages of a disabled employee. Unlike California, New York employers are allowed to collect contributions to offset the cost of providing benefits.

Medical care is not included in these benefits, as the program is solely for income protection, and so cash benefits are the only assistance for the worker. These cash benefits are paid only for 26 weeks of disability during 52 consecutive weeks. As in California, there is only a seven-day wait period before benefits begin.

Who Is Covered?

First, an employee must work for a "covered" employer, one who has employed one or more persons on each of 30 days in any calendar year. That employer then becomes a "covered" employer four weeks after that 30th day! New York state disability insurance is filled with these technicalities, as every aspect of this coverage is spelled out.

Disability insurance is not mandatory in this state, but if an employee changes jobs from one "covered" employer to another, that employee is still insured. Another similarity to California is coverage of disability because of pregnancy, with no restrictions on when during the pregnancy the disability occurs. It is also possible for the pregnant employee to collect disability benefits while on maternity leave under certain circumstances.