A plan to raise the benefit provided for temporary incapacity when an individual is unable to work is included in Governor Hochul’s 2017 state budget. Pregnancy-related conditions are covered. Short-term disabilities are not tied to one’s job; instead, they are covered by workers’ compensation benefits. Short-term impairment frequently necessitates regular progress reports from the doctor.
Since 1989, the maximum weekly rate has remained constant at $170.00 per week. Not much is left behind once social security and taxes are taken out. For the majority of the state, the current minimum wage in New York is $15 per hour, or $600 per week for a 40-hour workweek.
The majority of workers are unaware of the benefit’s meager compensation until they actually need it. The disability amount that is currently available is much insufficient. “The temporary disability payments are far lower than the more recently enacted paid family leave program, which pays a maximum of over $1000.00 a week.”
To preserve parity, ideally there would be a tie-in to the rate of inflation going forward. Employers’ and employees’ payroll deduction payments fund the weekly benefits.
