Unemployment & benefits · Your right

New York short-term disability benefits for an off-the-job illness, injury or pregnancy

Updated October 30, 2026By The editorial teamNot reviewed by an attorney — based on the official sources below

In short

New York requires most private employers to carry disability benefits insurance (often called DBL). If an illness, injury or pregnancy that is not work-related keeps you from working, it pays 50% of your average weekly wage for your last eight weeks, up to $170 a week, for up to 26 weeks in a 52-week period. Benefits start on the eighth day of disability. You generally become eligible after four consecutive weeks with a covered employer. File Form DB-450 within 30 days after your disability begins. Work injuries are covered by workers' compensation instead.

Read on for the details, the exceptions and the sources.

In plain words

Disability benefits (DBL): New York's short-term cash benefit for off-the-job illness or injury, paid by your employer's insurance carrier.
Covered employer: An employer required to carry New York disability and Paid Family Leave insurance — most private employers.
Waiting period: The first seven days of disability, which are not paid.
Form DB-450: Notice and Proof of Claim for Disability Benefits. You fill in Part A; your health care provider fills in Part B.
Special Fund for Disability Benefits: A state fund that pays benefits in some cases, such as when you become disabled while collecting unemployment.

What is it?

Article 9 of the Workers' Compensation Law requires employers to provide weekly cash benefits that partly replace wages lost to injuries or illnesses that don't arise out of or in the course of work (WCL § 204). "Disability" means you can't do your regular job or other work your employer offers at your regular wages (§ 201(9)(A)), and it expressly includes disability caused by or in connection with pregnancy (§ 201(9)(B)).

The benefit is cash only — it doesn't pay medical bills. It is separate from workers' compensation (for work injuries) and from Paid Family Leave (for caring for others or bonding with a child).

Who qualifies?

Under WCL § 203, you are eligible after four or more consecutive weeks with a covered employer, or on the 25th day of regular work if you work less than the employer's normal week for a single employer. Your eligibility continues for four weeks after the job ends. If you become disabled while collecting unemployment, you can get disability benefits instead; after more than four weeks of unemployment they are paid by the Special Fund.

You must be under the care of a licensed physician, chiropractor, podiatrist, psychologist, dentist or certified nurse midwife (§ 205(1)(b)).

Exceptions

Work-related injuries and illnesses go through workers' compensation, not disability benefits.
No benefits for days you work for pay, even at home.
No benefits for time off because of elective surgery (the Board gives elective sterilization as an example).
You can't receive disability benefits and Paid Family Leave at the same time, and combined they can't exceed 26 weeks in 52 weeks.
You can't collect unemployment and disability benefits for the same period.
If your disability comes from a car accident, the benefit may reduce your no-fault insurance benefit.

How much?

50% of your average weekly wage over your last eight weeks of work, but no more than $170 a week (WCL § 204(2)(b)). If your average weekly wage is under $20, you get your full average wage. Benefits last up to 26 weeks in any 52 consecutive weeks (§ 205(1)(a)). Some employers offer better plans by agreement.

Your employer may deduct a contribution from your pay toward the cost: one-half of one percent of wages, but no more than 60 cents a week, unless a better plan you agreed to costs more.

How is it calculated?

Add up your gross wages for the last eight weeks you worked, divide by eight, and take half. If the result is more than $170, you get $170. Example: average weekly wages of $300 → $150 a week; $600 → $170 (the cap). For a partial week, the weekly amount is divided by your normal number of workdays and multiplied by the disabled workdays (§ 204(2)(b)).

Nothing is paid for the first seven days; benefits begin on the eighth consecutive day of disability (§ 204(1)). For pregnancy, the Workers' Compensation Board says you are generally eligible for four weeks before your due date and six weeks after giving birth (eight after a cesarean), and longer with medical documentation, up to 26 weeks.

What documents do you need?

Form DB-450 (Notice and Proof of Claim for Disability Benefits): Part A signed by you, Part B signed by your health care provider
Form DB-450.1 if the disability came from a car accident or from someone else's wrongdoing
Your pay stubs for the last eight weeks you worked (helpful for checking the amount)
Any Statement of Rights (Form DB-271S) your employer gave you

How do you get it?

Ask for the forms
Get Form DB-450 from your employer, its insurance carrier, your provider, any Board office, or the Board's website. If you've been disabled more than seven days, your employer must give you a Statement of Rights (DB-271S) within five days of learning about it.
Complete Part A, have your provider complete Part B
Sign your part, and ask your provider to fill in and sign the medical part.
Send it to the right place
If your disability began within four weeks of your last day of work, send it to your employer or its carrier. If you're collecting unemployment and became disabled more than four weeks after your last day of work, send it to the Special Fund for Disability Benefits as the form directs.
Respond to requests
The carrier may ask for more medical proof, at most weekly, and may have you examined by a provider it designates, at most once a week (WCL § 217).

What if they refuse?

If your claim is rejected or not paid, the employer, carrier or Special Fund must send you a Notice of Rejection within 45 days of receiving your claim. You can ask the Workers' Compensation Board to review it by completing the back of the notice and mailing it to the Board's Disability Benefits Bureau (the Board lists PO Box 9029, Endicott, NY 13761-9029).

If you are still disabled after benefits stop and you have received less than 26 weeks without a Notice of Rejection, the Board says to submit further medical evidence to request more benefits.

Deadlines

File your claim within 30 days after your disability begins (WCL § 217(1)).
A late claim isn't automatically lost, but generally nothing is paid for any period more than two weeks before you filed, unless it wasn't reasonably possible to file sooner and you filed as soon as you could.
Benefits stop after 26 weeks in a 52-week period.

Figures that change

Weekly benefit: 50% of average weekly wage, up to $170 (as of 2026-10-30; Introduction to the Disability Benefits Law)
Maximum duration: 26 weeks in any 52-week period (as of 2026-10-30; Introduction to the Disability Benefits Law)
Maximum employee contribution (statutory plan): 0.5% of wages, up to 60 cents a week (as of 2026-10-30; Introduction to the Disability Benefits Law)

Frequently asked questions

Is pregnancy covered?

Yes. WCL § 201(9)(B) says disability includes disability caused by or in connection with pregnancy. The Board says benefits are generally available four weeks before the due date and six weeks after birth (eight after a cesarean), and longer if your provider documents it.

Is $170 really the most I can get?

Under the statutory plan, yes: 50% of your average weekly wage, capped at $170 a week (WCL § 204(2)(b)). Some employers offer richer plans, so ask HR whether yours does.

I lost my job and then got sick. Am I covered?

Your eligibility continues for four weeks after employment ends (WCL § 203). If you're collecting unemployment and become disabled later, the Special Fund for Disability Benefits may pay instead.

Is my job protected while I'm on disability?

The disability benefits law pays cash; it doesn't itself guarantee your job. Other laws may help — for example, the Human Rights Law can require your employer to make a reasonable accommodation, such as a modified schedule, for a disability or pregnancy-related condition. Paid Family Leave's job protection covers family leave, not your own illness.

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Official sources

This page was written from the sources below. “Checked” is the date the source was last opened and read.

N.Y. Workers' Compensation Law (opens in a new tab)
New York State Senate — Open Legislation (official text of the Consolidated Laws) · Art. 9: §§ 201(9), 203, 204, 205, 217 · Checked: October 30, 2026
Definition of disability, eligibility, benefit amount and waiting period, limits, notice and proof
Introduction to the Disability Benefits Law (opens in a new tab)
New York State Workers' Compensation Board · Checked: October 30, 2026
Benefit, cap, pregnancy, forms, where to file, rejections