What can you do if you injure yourself or you become otherwise disabled and can’t work, but you have no benefits or you’ve used all of your sick time? In California, there is a state sponsored disability insurance program that provides income for you while you’re disabled, but not injured on the job. Work injuries are handled by Worker’s Compensation. State disability insurance is good for those people who are employed or looking for work and have paid into the program. You must have earned at least $300 that will be counted toward your total salary for benefits. While it doesn’t give you your entire salary, it does give you something. You will need to have a legitimate injury, surgery or other disability to qualify, however, and be under a doctor’s care. Your doctor will need to complete and sign a section of the disability request form, so be sure to obtain this before submitting the form.
State disability also covers time off for pregnancy related issues or when you need to care for an ill relative or care for a newborn child. The state disability or SDI is handled by the Employment Development Department. Another qualification is that you must miss more than seven days of work and be under the care of a physician for that time period. To get your benefit, you need to complete the claim form. There is a time limit for filing the form and the instructions state that it’s between 9 and 49 days of the disability. If you wait too long, you’ll need to write a letter explaining why you missed the deadline. Once you’ve completed the form with the doctor’s part filled out and signed, you should receive your first check within about 2 weeks.
The benefit you’ll receive is only 55% of your salary, but it’s better than not receiving anything. The Employment Development Department has worked out a system to figure your benefit amount. They use your salary for the past year. Then they divide the months into quarters and take the highest earning quarter to determine the benefit amount. They work out the weekly rate of pay and then take 55% of that for your benefit amount. Your benefits will generally be paid for as long as your doctor says you are disabled. If, however, you are still disabled beyond what your doctor said, you can get your doctor to request an extension. The full term of disability insurance is for 52 weeks, but it can be longer if you have been working part time. If you work part time, your benefit amount will be reduced. It’s worked out so that you receive the 55% of your weekly wages for 52 weeks, so if you worked part time and didn’t receive the full amount of SDI, then it can exceed the 52 week rule. Your benefit can also be reduced if you have available sick time or vacation time, earn commissions or any other type of earnings.
