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Unemployment while under a doctors care

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allison46350

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana

My husband had a major surgery and must be laid off for a while. He was told he is not eligible for unemployment because he is under a doctors care. Is this true and if so, is there another agency to look to for temporary financial assistance? Disability will not apply in his situation because he will not be disabled for more than 6 months.
 


ecmst12

Senior Member
He can only claim unemployment if he is physically able to work. He would need a short term disability policy and it's too late to get one now if he doesn't already have it.
 

commentator

Senior Member
This is a huge ugly hole in our safety net for workers in many states. If you are not out of work through no fault of your own and ABLE and AVAILABLE and actively seeking other work, you are not eligible for unemployment insurance. Unemployment insurance is not designed to be disability insurance.

If you were released by your doctor to return to work and your employer did not have a job available for you to return to, then you could qualify for unemployment benefits.

Some states have a short term disability insurance program. Some companies provide this insurance for their employees. There's always the 'duck stuff' sort of insurance they advertise on t.v., which you take out privately or through your company.

But otherwise, there's nothing for you if you become ill, have an automobile accident, fall and break a leg...the next level of help in states without disability insurance programs is when your income falls to the point you can get "needs based" assistance, in other words EBT (food stamps)coupons or Medicaid.

And Social Security disability is not for those who are temporarily disabled, as you know, it is not even available unless you have been disabled for a long period of time and are not able to go back to work anytime soon.

I hope your husband will qualify for FMLA through his work. This is a huge blessing if it is the case. This means you will be able to keep your insurance and hold his job for a certain period, though he may be on leave without pay.

You may need to contact your creditors if this is the need, to see if they will allow you to defer or lower payments until your husband is back to work. It's best to be proactive in these situations. Best wishes, I hope he recovers quickly.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
While he would not qualify for any Federal disability programs due to the length of the disability, and Indiana is not one of the states that has a state program, does his employer offer any short term disability benefits?
 

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