How to apply for unemployment disability benefits through NYS Department of Labor?

You're mixing up two different programs. NYS Department of Labor handles regular unemployment insurance (UI) for people who lose their jobs. For disability due to injury or illness, you need New York State Disability Benefits (DBL) which is administered through the Workers' Compensation Board, not NYS Department of Labor. If your injury happened at work, you'd file for workers' comp. If it's a non-work injury, you apply for short-term disability benefits. You can't collect both unemployment and disability at the same time since unemployment requires you to be able and available for work.

Yes exactly! Since it was a work injury you definitely want workers compensation, not unemployment. You'll need to notify your employer immediately if you haven't already and they should help you file the claim. For workers comp you file a C-3 form. Don't wait too long because there are deadlines for reporting workplace injuries.

had the same thing happen to me last year, employer tried to brush it off too. I had to get pretty pushy about getting the forms but eventually they cooperated. The workers comp covered my medical bills and gave me weekly payments while I was out. Much better than trying to figure out unemployment stuff.

Just to be clear - if you ever do need to contact NYS Department of Labor for regular unemployment benefits in the future, I found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you actually get through to speak with an agent. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Super helpful since the NYS Department of Labor phone lines are always jammed. But for your current situation, workers comp is definitely the right path.

wait so you CANT get unemployment if your hurt?? that seems really unfair

The whole system is so confusing!! I went through something similar and it took me weeks to figure out which office to call. Workers comp ended up taking care of everything though once I got the ball rolling. Don't let your employer stall you - you have rights and they know it.

@Javier Cruz - I went through a similar work injury situation a few years ago. Don't let your employer drag their feet on this! You have 30 days from the date of injury to file a workers comp claim, but the sooner the better. If your supervisor isn't being helpful, go directly to HR or whoever handles workers comp at your company. You can also call the Workers' Compensation Board directly at 1-877-632-4996 - they'll walk you through the process and make sure you get the forms you need. The weekly benefits usually cover about 2/3 of your wages while you're recovering, which is way better than what unemployment would give you. Hang in there!