Can NY unemployment cover time off work due to COVID in 2025?

Unfortunately, regular NY unemployment doesn't typically cover short-term illness like COVID. Unemployment is designed for people who lost their job or had hours reduced through no fault of their own and are able to work. Since you're temporarily unable to work due to illness, regular UI probably won't apply. However, you might qualify for NY Paid Sick Leave or NY Disability Benefits (DB) during your isolation period. Have you checked with your HR about these options?

I had COVID back in January and was out for a week. UI definitely won't cover it. My company didn't have sick leave either. Super annoying!! I ended up just not getting paid for those days. The whole system is so unfair to workers.

Look into New York State Disability Benefits (DB). It covers off-the-job injuries and illnesses, including COVID. Even small employers are required to provide this coverage in NY. The weekly benefit is 50% of your average weekly wage up to a maximum of $170/week. Not a lot, but better than nothing! You'll need to get a medical certification form completed by your doctor. The waiting period is 7 days though, so if you're only out 5 days, you might not qualify.

have you tried calling the NY DOL to ask them directly? thats what i did last time i had a weird unemployment question

When I had COVID in November, I discovered you can apply for NY Paid Family Leave (PFL) if you're caring for a family member with COVID, but not for your own illness - that would fall under disability benefits as someone mentioned. However, I had the same problem trying to reach someone at DOL to confirm eligibility. After wasting hours on hold, I tried Claimyr.com to get through to an agent quickly. They have a service that connects you directly to unemployment agents - saved me hours of frustration. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE Once I got through, the agent confirmed disability benefits was the right option, not unemployment. But there's that 7-day waiting period which is a pain for shorter illnesses.

@nyworkerguy Yeah, it does work - I was skeptical too but was desperate after trying for 3 days to get through. Got connected in about 20 minutes. The agent walked me through exactly what I needed for the disability claim, which forms to submit, etc.

Not to get off topic but this is why we all need UNIONS!!! My unionized workplace negotiated 10 paid COVID days that don't count against our regular sick time. The system is rigged against workers without union protection. Maybe instead of trying to navigate all these complicated benefit systems you should talk to your coworkers about organizing!

Something else to consider - check if your employer is required to provide NY Paid Sick Leave. As of 2025, even small employers (4-99 employees) must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave annually. Very small employers (1-4 employees) must provide unpaid sick leave unless they had a net income over $1M. Your restaurant with 6 employees should be providing some form of paid sick leave - this might be worth mentioning to your boss if they're unaware.

i work as a bartender and got COVID last year. my friend told me to just apply for unemployment anyway and say i was laid off temporarily but i think thats fraud?? i ended up just eating the lost income and it SUCKED. Couldn't pay my full rent that month. The whole system needs fixing!!!

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I'm going to: 1) Talk to my boss about the NY Paid Sick Leave law they might not know about, 2) Look into disability benefits even though the 7-day waiting period might make it impractical, and 3) Use Claimyr to reach someone at DOL if I can't get through on my own tomorrow. I really appreciate all the guidance - this community is amazing!