Can you collect unemployment and disability at the same time in nj

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Disability Insurance (DI) provides short-term wage replacement benefits to eligible California workers.

You may be eligible for DI if you are unable to work and are losing wages because of your own non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy.

Note: Citizenship and immigration status do not affect eligibility.

Get answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) to know if you are eligible for DI.

Can I opt out of the Disability Insurance program?

No. The State Disability Insurance (SDI) program and contributions are mandatory under the California Unemployment Insurance Code.

There are two exceptions:

• If your employer or a majority of employees in your company apply for approval of a Voluntary Plan in place of SDI coverage. For more information visit: Voluntary Plan Information.
• If you adhere to the faith or teaching of a bona fide religious sect, denomination, or organization whose creed, tenets, or principles require dependence on prayer for healing you may request an exemption. Complete and mail the Religious Exemption Certificate (DE 5067) to the address on the form. If you are granted this exemption, you will not be eligible to receive SDI benefits.

Are government workers eligible for disability benefits?

Some government workers, including school employees, may be eligible for Disability Insurance benefits. To find out, review your collective bargaining contract. If you have wages from another employer in your base period, you may be eligible even though your current employer doesn’t participate in State Disability Insurance. If you aren’t sure if you’re eligible, file a claim anyway.

Are school employees eligible for Disability Insurance benefits during school breaks?

School employees are not eligible for Disability Insurance benefits if:

• Full wages were or will be paid to the employee during the contract period when services were performed.
• A period of disability overlaps with a school break and the employee is not scheduled to work, does not have a history of working during the break, or does not have an additional employer.
• The disability period extends through the school break period.

However, if the employee is not receiving wages but would have been working for extra income if not disabled (such as teaching summer school classes, tutoring, or other secondary job), then the employee may be eligible for benefits to replace the additional income.

Can I receive benefits if my employer is going to pay me vacation, sick, or holiday pay during my claim?

Vacation Pay: Yes, you can receive Disability Insurance (DI) benefits at the same time.

Sick Pay: You cannot receive DI benefits for any period that you also receive sick leave wages that are equal to your full salary. If you receive only partial sick leave wages, you may be eligible for full or partial DI benefits. The first seven days of your DI claim is a non-payable waiting period. Any type of wages paid by the employer during the waiting period do not conflict with DI benefits.

Other Pay: All other pay, including holiday pay, must be reported to confirm your eligibility. The first seven days of your DI claim is a non-payable waiting period. Any type of wages paid by the employer during the waiting period do not conflict with DI benefits.

Can I get benefits if I am living in a residential alcohol rehabilitation facility?

You may qualify for up to 30 days of Disability Insurance benefits if you are living at an approved residential alcohol rehabilitation facility that a licensed health professional recommends. The facility must be licensed and certified by the state in which the facility is located.

An additional 60 days may be paid if you remain a resident of the facility and your licensed health professional continues to certify to your need for continuing residential services.

Para ver este artículo en español por favor visite aquí. (To view this article in Spanish, visit here.)

A person is allowed to receive unemployment benefits and federal disability benefits at the same time, but as discussed below, receiving unemployment benefits could affect a person’s disability benefits in negative ways. 

If you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, any unemployment benefits you receive (other than the first $20) will reduce your SSI payment dollar-for-dollar. You have a duty to report income to the Social Security Administration if you are an SSI recipient. If the money received in a month is not spent before the first day of the next month, then it will count toward the $2,000 SSI resource limit ($3,000 for eligible couples).

If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), unemployment benefits will not affect the amount of the SSDI payment.

It is important to remember that for both SSI and SSDI, the Social Security Administration is allowed to consider a person’s unemployment benefits when deciding whether or not that person is disabled. When a person receives unemployment benefits, the person is certifying he or she is “ready, willing, and able to work.” This certification could be considered as evidence that a person is not disabled. On the other hand, a person can qualify for disability benefits even though he or she is capable of performing a certain amount of part-time work, so receiving unemployment benefits would not automatically disqualify a person from receiving disability benefits.  Because receiving unemployment benefits may negatively impact your eligibility for disability benefits, it is wise to speak to an attorney if you plan on receiving both.

When you are receiving disability benefits, the Social Security Administration will periodically conduct a review of your condition to make sure you still qualify for disability benefits. If you received unemployment benefits since the last review, that may be considered in a continuing disability review.

Finally, people living in New York who received unemployment between March 2020 and September 6, 2021 will not have that money count as income or a resource for SSI purposes. However, if you received unemployment during that time period, it could still be considered in deciding whether you are disabled. Any unemployment received after September 6, 2021 is subject to the regular pre-pandemic income and resource rules. 

Click here for our article on unemployment benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic.

(c) Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. ®

This article provides general information about this subject. Laws affecting this subject may have changed since this article was written. For specific legal advice about a problem you are having, get the advice of a lawyer.  Receiving this information does not make you a client of our office.

Last Review Date: October 28, 2021

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