NYS Department of Labor unemployment and disability benefits - are they the same thing?
I'm really confused about something and hoping someone can clarify. I got injured at work last month and can't return to my job yet. My coworker told me to file for unemployment but my doctor said something about disability benefits. Are unemployment and disability the same thing? Can I get both from NYS Department of Labor? I don't want to mess anything up by filing for the wrong one. My employer said I should look into workers comp too but that seems like a third thing entirely. This is all so overwhelming and I just need to know what I'm eligible for.
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Zara Mirza
No, unemployment and disability are completely different benefits with different requirements. Unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor require you to be able and available for work, actively searching for employment. Disability benefits are for when you CAN'T work due to medical conditions. You typically cannot receive both at the same time since the eligibility requirements contradict each other.
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Sean Flanagan
•That makes sense! So since I'm injured and can't work right now, I should be looking at disability not unemployment from NYS Department of Labor?
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NebulaNinja
Your coworker gave you bad advice unfortunately. For unemployment benefits, you have to certify each week that you're physically able to work and actively seeking employment. If you're injured and can't work, you'd be lying on your weekly claim certification. Look into NYS Disability Benefits instead - that's administered by the state but it's separate from NYS Department of Labor unemployment.
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Luca Russo
•This is correct. Also workers comp is a third option if the injury happened at work. You might qualify for that instead of or in addition to disability.
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Nia Wilson
OMG I made this same mistake when I hurt my back! I filed for unemployment first and then realized I couldn't honestly answer the weekly questions about being able to work. Had to cancel that claim and apply for disability instead. Don't make my mistake - the requirements are totally different!!
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Sean Flanagan
•Did you get in trouble for filing the wrong one initially? I'm worried about messing something up.
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Nia Wilson
•No trouble at all since I caught it early and never certified any weeks. Just make sure you apply for the right benefit from the start.
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Mateo Sanchez
If you're having trouble figuring out which benefit to apply for or need to talk to someone about your specific situation, I had good luck using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to actually get through to a real person at the various agencies. They helped me connect with the right department instead of getting stuck in phone trees. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Sometimes you just need to talk to a human to sort out these confusing situations.
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Aisha Mahmood
•Interesting, never heard of that before. Did they help you reach NYS Department of Labor specifically or other agencies too?
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Mateo Sanchez
•They work with multiple agencies. In my case I needed to reach both NYS Department of Labor and the disability office to figure out which benefit I qualified for.
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Luca Marino
Just want to add some clarity on the workers comp angle since you mentioned it was a work injury. Workers compensation is administered separately from NYS Department of Labor unemployment and disability benefits - it's usually handled through your employer's insurance carrier. If your injury happened at work, you should definitely explore workers comp first since it typically provides better coverage and protects your job. You can potentially receive workers comp and state disability simultaneously in some cases, but never unemployment while you're unable to work. I'd suggest contacting your HR department about workers comp procedures if you haven't already.
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