Can I receive unemployment and disability at the same time from NYS Department of Labor?

This is actually a really important question and the answer isn't straightforward. Generally speaking, you cannot receive both unemployment and disability benefits simultaneously because they have conflicting eligibility requirements. For unemployment, you must be able and available for work, actively seeking employment. For disability, you're typically unable to work due to a medical condition. The NYS Department of Labor requires you to certify each week that you're able to work when filing your weekly claim.

I went through this exact situation last year. You need to be really careful because if you're found to be collecting both benefits when you shouldn't be, you could face an overpayment notice from NYS Department of Labor. I had to choose between continuing my UI claim or applying for short-term disability through my former employer. Ended up going with disability because my condition was going to last longer than my remaining unemployment weeks.

wait this is confusing me too because my neighbor said she got both at the same time last year?? maybe she was lying idk but she definitely said she was getting disability AND unemployment. maybe there's some exception?

If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to discuss your specific situation, you might want to check out claimyr.com - they help people get connected to actual agents instead of sitting on hold forever. I used them last month when I had questions about my claim status and actually got to talk to someone within an hour. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. For something this important where you need official guidance, it's worth talking to an actual person rather than guessing.

The whole system is just designed to confuse people and make it harder to get help when you need it most. Of course they don't make it clear what you can and can't do - they want you to make mistakes so they can demand overpayments later. I swear NYS Department of Labor makes these rules deliberately complicated.

From what I understand, the key issue is the 'able and available' requirement for unemployment. If you're medically unable to work, you can't truthfully certify that you're able and available each week. I'd recommend contacting NYS Department of Labor directly to explain your medical situation and get official guidance before making any decisions about stopping or continuing your weekly claims.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now and wanted to share what I learned from talking to a case worker. The timing of when you stop unemployment versus when you apply for disability matters a lot. You should stop certifying for unemployment benefits as soon as you know you're unable to work, not wait until disability is approved (which can take months). If there's any overlap period where you collected UI while unable to work, NYS Department of Labor can require you to pay it back even if it wasn't intentional. Also, make sure to keep documentation from your doctor about when your condition started affecting your ability to work - this helps establish the exact date you should have stopped claiming UI benefits.