New York
NEW YORK DBL BASICS
New York Disability Benefits Law (DBL) is a state mandated short term disability insurance program designed to provide employees with some level of income replacement for all non job related disabilities. “DBL” became Law in NY State in 1949. The law allows great flexibility to establish individual disability benefit plans, and provides protection for workers against economic hardships of wage loss from non-occupational accident or illness.
Waiting Period: 7 days, benefits commence on the eighth consecutive day of disability
Period of Disability: 26 weeks of payment during a 52 week period
Weekly Benefit: 50% of average weekly salary, Maximum benefit is currently $170.00 per week – Minimum is $20.00 per week. It is also possible for carriers to offer benefits that extend beyond the statutory DBL coverage known as "enhanced" or "enriched" DBL. This extended coverage usually takes the form of a higher maximum benefit, but can also include shorter waiting periods or a longer maximum duration. Carriers take these factors into account when underwriting DBL coverage, and therefore enriched DBL is more costly than statutory DBL coverage.
Employee Cost: ½ of 1% of salary (.5% or .005) to a maximum of $.60 per week.
Employer Cost: Balance of cost
Providing Coverage: Private Insurance Carrier, State Fund or Self Insured.
Covered Employees: Employees or recent employees of a “covered” employer who have worked at least four consecutive weeks. Employees of an exempt employer who elects to provide benefits by filing an application for Voluntary Coverage.
Employees who change jobs from one “covered” employer to another “covered” employer are protected from the first day on the new job (providing they didn’t go out of eligibility).
Domestic or personal employees who work 40 or more hours per week for one employer.
Corporate Officers may exclude themselves by filling out a form as long as there are no more than 2 Corporate Officers.
Who is Excluded: A minor of the employer;
-Government, Railroad, Maritime or Farm Workers, Ministers, Priests, Rabbis, members of religious orders, Sextons, Christian Science readers.
-Persons engaged in a professional or teaching capacity in or for a religious, charitable or educational institution of a Non-Profit Character.
-One or two Corporate Officers who either singly or jointly own all the stock and hold all the officers of a corporation that employs no other employees.
-Golf Caddies
-Daytime students in elementary or secondary school, who work part-time during the school year during their regular vacation period.
-Employees who change to jobs in exempt employment or with a “non-covered” employer and work in such for more than four weeks, lose protection until they work four consecutive weeks for a “covered” employer.
-*A “non-covered” employer may elect at any time to provide disability coverage by filing an application for Voluntary Coverage with the Chairman of the Worker’s Compensation Board.
Out of State Coverage: An employer who has NY employees may opt to cover employees that work in another State as long as that State doesn’t provide Statutory coverage of their own.
The following states are Statutory: California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. Additionally, the Territory of Puerto Rico mandates Statutory disability insurance for their employees.