what is medical unemployment - NYS Department of Labor options when you can't work due to health issues

There's no specific program called 'medical unemployment' in New York. What people usually mean is either disability benefits or unemployment insurance when you become unable to work due to health issues. For UI through NYS Department of Labor, you have to be able and available to work, which creates complications if you're too sick to work. You might want to look into New York State Disability Benefits instead - that's administered separately from unemployment.

Actually, it depends on your specific situation. If you were laid off or lost your job for reasons unrelated to your health, and then developed health problems while collecting UI, you might still be eligible as long as you were looking for work within your physical limitations. The NYS Department of Labor has provisions for people with temporary disabilities who can do some types of work. But yeah, the 'able and available' requirement is the main hurdle.

ugh this whole system is so frustrating! I went through this last year when I had surgery and couldn't work for 2 months. NYS Department of Labor denied my claim because I wasn't 'available' even though I was actively looking for remote work I could do from home during recovery. Had to fight it and eventually got approved but it took forever

I had a similar situation trying to reach someone at NYS Department of Labor to clarify the medical restrictions policy. The phone lines were impossible - kept getting disconnected after waiting forever. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me through to a real person who could explain my options. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Made such a difference being able to talk to an actual agent instead of guessing from the website.

Don't forget about New York State Disability Insurance if you're temporarily unable to work due to illness or injury. It's separate from unemployment but might provide some income while you're recovering. You pay into it through payroll deductions so you might be eligible even if you don't qualify for UI.

I work in HR and deal with these questions a lot. The key thing to understand is that New York has two separate systems: unemployment insurance (UI) through NYS Department of Labor and temporary disability insurance (TDI). If you can't work due to health issues, TDI is usually the better option - it pays up to 50% of your average weekly wage for up to 26 weeks. You're eligible if you've been paying into the system through payroll deductions. For UI, you'd need to prove you can work within your medical restrictions and are actively seeking jobs you can physically perform. The confusion comes from people calling disability benefits "medical unemployment" when they're really different programs with different eligibility rules.