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New York State Disability (NYSD)
What is New York State Disability?
A worker who has recently left his or her job due to ill health
may be eligible for New York State Disability (NYSD). Most employers
are required by state law to provide for payment of Disability
Benefits. Federal, State and City government employees are not
covered by this law. Some teachers in private institutions are
covered by agreement with their schools. Board of Education employees
are not covered.
NYSD pays 50% of your average weekly wages to a maximum of $170.00
a week for 26 weeks, counted from the first day of disability (which
is usually the eighth day from when you stopped working). The amount
paid is based on your average weekly wage during the last 8 weeks
of employment. No more than $170 can be paid per week, no matter
what you earned. You will receive only money. NYSD does not include
any medical benefits. Benefits are payable for
any non-work related injury or illness beginning with the eighth
consecutive day (1 waiting week) of disability.
How will I be paid?
Benefits are paid directly to you by the employer's insurance
company. Checks are usually mailed every two weeks. The checks
should start 4 to 6 weeks after filing the application. If you
don't get the checks, call the insurance company. If they don't
answer your inquiry satisfactorily, then call the Disability Benefits
Infoline: 718/802-6964, 6965 or 6966.
If you are a client, call the GMHC Advocacy Helpline to follow
up for you: 212/367-1125.
How do I apply for benefits?
To claim benefits, an application needs to be filed. The white
form, DB-450, is used if you became sick or disabled WHILE EMPLOYED,
or WITHIN four weeks of stopping work. Your application must be
filed within 30 days from the last day worked. The 26 weeks counts
from the last day worked.
The green form, DB-300, is used only when you became
sick or disabled after four weeks of being unemployed and have
been collecting unemployment insurance.
If you are receiving Unemployment Insurance, the 26 weeks of disability
benefits is counted from the first day of disability, so long as
you have not signed for your unemployment checks. There is no waiting
week. The application must be filed within 26 weeks of the last
day of work. You cannot wait for the unemployment insurance to
run out. You must file for NYSD within 26 weeks of the last day
you actually worked. You will not be eligible if your first day
of disability occurs more than 4 weeks from the last day worked
and you were not collecting unemployment insurance. (This information
still applies even though unemployment can be extended to one year.)
To file, you complete the Claimant's Statement. Ask your physician
to complete the Doctor's Statement.
Note: Keep a photocopy of the completed forms for your
records.
Both forms are sent directly to your employer's or your former
employer's disability insurance carrier. This is usually a different
company than the one that supplies the company's health insurance.
Your employer's personnel office will have this information.
How do I find out what insurance carrier my employers
uses?
There are two alternatives for finding out who your employer's
insurance carrier is. The application can be sent to the Worker's
Compensation Board in Albany, which will forward it to the insurance
carrier, even if you don't know which company it is. It will take
longer to get the benefits this way. The address is:
Worker's Compensation Board
Disability Benefits Board
100 Broadway — Menands
Albany, New York 12241
Or you can call the Disability Benefits Infoline
and ask them to find out who the carrier is. If the information
is on file it will not take very long to find out. This number
can also be called to ask questions: 718/802-6964, 6965 or 6966.
What if I have a family?
The procedures and benefits are the same for single individuals
and people with spouses and/or children. The payment rate is also
the same.
What else do I need to know?
Although it rarely happens, the employer's insurance carrier has
the right by law to require weekly recertification of disability.
IF you are asked to recertify your continued disability, it is
likely that a letter from your doctor on his/her letterhead stationary
will be good enough, or the insurance carrier may have a form that
must be filled out by your doctor. They can also ask that you be
examined by their physicians. If the insurance company requires
this examination, they should pay for it. However, the insurance
companies RARELY ask for this kind of recertification. This almost
never happens with an AIDS diagnosis. Keep a copy of the application.
To follow up for a decision, call the insurance company, which
is required to notify you within 45 days of the filing of the application.
What if my application is rejected?
If you are rejected by the insurance company, you have the right
to a hearing before a law judge. Write:
Worker's Compensation Board
Disability Benefits Board
100 Broadway — Menands
Albany, New York 12241
Questions?
Call: Worker's Compensation Board, 800.353.3092, Disability Benefits
Infoline, 718.802.6964, 6965, 6966.
The Client Advocacy Unit at GMHC is available to assist
you. For more information, please call our Helpline: 212.367.1125,
Wednesdays 2 pm to 5:30 pm. Walk-in services are availableTuesdays and Thursdays, 10 am to 1 pm.
Revised 3/07
© 2007 Gay Men's Health Crisis
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