Key takeaway
You need income while you cannot do your job, and you do not know whether a disability check exists where you work. Six jurisdictions run temporary disability insurance for illness that is not a work injury. Everywhere else, the policy exists if someone bought it. Tonight, ask human resources which plan you have and how to file.
Last updated: Mon Oct 05 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
You need a paycheck while you cannot do the job. You also need to know whether that check is the same thing as keeping the job. The check replaces wages. Holding the job is a separate question.
If withdrawal has become a seizure, a collapse, or trouble breathing, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988. Do not stop a prescribed medicine, or stop alcohol or a benzodiazepine suddenly, to make a claim form look simpler.
Ask human resources which plan you are on
The Labor Department's 2022 comparison describes temporary disability insurance in six jurisdictions: California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island. It replaces wages when illness or injury is not from the job. Workers' compensation covers a work injury. Unemployment insurance is for people who are able to work and do not have a job.
Outside those six, a short-term disability policy exists when an employer, a union, or you bought one. Tonight, ask human resources which plan you have, who the carrier is, and how a claim is filed. Ask for the certificate. That document is the one that says what you would be paid.
Whether the employer has to hold the job is in workplace leave.
Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you want help finding care while you sort the claim with human resources.
Additional Resources
Sources cited on this page:
- U.S. DOL: Comparison of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, 2022, Chapter 8, Temporary Disability Insurance
- New Jersey Department of Labor: Temporary Disability Insurance for workers
- eCFR: 29 CFR 825.207, substitution of paid leave
- SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov
- SAMHSA National Helpline
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- SmarterRecovery about page (referral disclosure)
Common Questions
What does New Jersey pay, and for how long?
In [New Jersey](https://www.nj.gov/labor/myleavebenefits/worker/tdi/), this is cash when a health problem that is not from the job makes you stop working. A clinician says how long recovery should take. The maximum is 26 weeks. Most employers there have to offer it, either the state plan or a private plan that follows the state rules. Federal workers are outside it. It is optional for local government employers. If you are properly classified as an independent contractor, you are not in it. If your plan is private, say so when you file.
Are the six programs the same?
They are close, not copies. You generally qualify when a physical or mental condition keeps you from your usual work, and a clinician has to say so. New Jersey wants you unable to do your own job the whole time. New York and Puerto Rico look at whether you could do other work that fits your training. Some places pay from a state fund. Others make the employer buy a policy. Your certificate is the one that names yours.
What might keep a claim from being paid?
An injury you caused on purpose is left out in Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Puerto Rico. A disability that came from an illegal act is left out in California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Puerto Rico. California and Puerto Rico also stop payment while someone is locked up for a criminal case, including in a treatment center. Read the exclusions on your certificate, because a private plan can add limits of its own.
Can this time off also count as family leave?
If the weeks also qualify as family and medical leave, [the federal rule](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-C/part-825/subpart-B/section-825.207) lets the employer count them against that leave. Because this check is pay, they cannot make you use vacation or sick days instead. You can agree to use that paid time to top up the check, where state law allows. One example in the rule is a plan that replaces two-thirds of your pay. Ask what yours pays. If nothing is paying, [unpaid leave](/guides/unpaid-leave-for-rehab/) is time off without a check.
What if I am afraid HR will judge me?
Ask only for the name of the plan and the claim form. You can do that without telling the story of your drinking or drug use. Plenty of people dread that conversation. The paper is about whether you can do the job, and a clinician signs the medical part. Social Security disability is a different program and a longer wait. A supplemental policy pays under its own rules, so ask for that paper too.