How to File for Short Term Disability in California

If you are a California worker who is suffering from an illness or injury that has left you temporarily disabled, you may qualify for short-term disability benefits. California's State Disability Insurance program is designed to partially replace the income that you would have earned prior to becoming disabled and is funded by deductions taken from your wages. Furthermore, if you are self-employed, you may also participate in California's Disability Insurance Elective Coverage program. For either program, California's maximum benefit period is 52 weeks, which is one year.

Instructions

• 1

  Determine your eligibility for benefits. For an employee to qualify for SDI, you must be incapacitated to the point where you are unable to perform your regular job. The illness or injury must be to a degree that it is costing you a loss of your normal wages, or it is hampering your ability to look for work. You must either have a job when you become disabled or be in the process of looking for one. You also are required to be under the care of a doctor for the first eight days of your disability, and he must agree that your condition is such that you are unable to perform work. To qualify for DIEC, you must be self-employed or a business owner, engaged in and make most of your money from your business, and contribute premiums for at least two calendar years.

• 2

  Fill out the necessary paperwork. Go to the California Employment Development Department website and type “How to File Disability” in the search box at the top of the page. In the search results click the “Disability Insurance-How to File a Claim” link (see References). Complete your form online. Take into careful consideration the date you wish your disability claim to start, as this has an effect on the amount of your weekly benefits

• 3

  Print out the "DE 2501 Claim for Disability Insurance Benefits – Claim Statement of Employee" form (see Resources) and have your doctor sign the Doctor's Certificate paperwork on the third page of the claim.

• 4

  Mail your claim to the nearest SDI office (see Resources). You must include both the Doctor's Certificate and the Claim Statement of Employee form. Mail them to SDI no earlier than nine days after becoming disabled and no later than 49 days. You will receive a Notice of Computation in the mail, which will let you know that your claim for benefits has been received and what your potential weekly benefits are. If further information is required, it will be documented on this form, including what steps that you will need to take before your claim can take effect. If no further questions need to be answered, your first check should arrive within two weeks of receiving the notice in the mail.