State Disability Insurance Benefits
State disability insurance benefits are also called temporary
disability insurance benefits and short-term disability
insurance benefits.
That's because they provide workers with partial wage replacement
for disabling, nonoccupational illnesses and injuries that
aren't expected to last for long.
Workers'
compensation insurance typically covers both short-
and long-term, disabling, occupational illnesses
and injuries. Occupational illnesses and injuries occur
in the course of employment.
At this writing, only the five states listed below and the
Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico provide or require employers to provide short-term
disability insurance benefits. The name of each state disability
insurance program is included.
All of the state disability insurance
programs listed above pay maternity disability insurance
benefits for pregnancy,
childbirth and related disabling medical conditions. At
this writing, only California pays benefits for paternity
leave (father). The Federal Family
and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) covers paternity leave
for eligible fathers, but it doesn't make sick
pay mandatory.
If your state is listed above, then your employee rights
might entitle you to collect state disability insurance benefits,
even if you're unemployed at the time your disabling, nonoccupational
illness or injury occurs. However, your employee rights likely
do not entitle you to collect state disability insurance
benefits and unemployment
benefits at the same time.
If you disagree with a determination made about you after
you've filed a claim for benefits from state disability insurance,
then your employee rights entitle you to appeal the determination,
file a lawsuit in court or both.
If you are to appear in a hearing before an appeals board
or administrative
law judge, then it might be a good idea to have
an attorney represent you. (The same goes for filing a lawsuit
in court.) In fact, the appeals board or judge might recommend
it. Many attorneys specialize
in representing people who appeal state benefit denials and
might take such cases on contingency.
If your state doesn't have a disability insurance program,
then your employer might provide one among its employee
benefits, for free or at group rates. (Check with your
employer's human resources department or equivalent.) If
neither your employer nor state provides disability insurance,
you can
purchase (affiliate
link) it on your own to protect your wages.
Regardless, your state might at least offer free "back-to-work"
assistance programs, such as food stamps, vocational rehabilitation,
job-searching help, work aids and self-employment assistance.
State back-to-work disability assistance programs are typically
administered by divisions of state labor
departments, such as unemployment
offices. State workers'
compensation boards and welfare-related offices might
administer same.
See also Disability
Info, a Federal Government Web site designed to help
disabled people.
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