Document p2m70geKm5yaj2DaXQExdrD27

Disability Benefits Insurance Under the unemployment insurance laws of the country, most workers are afforded some income protection during periods of unemployment However, to be eligible for these benefits the worker must be ready, willing, and able to work Therefore, he cannot receive these benefits if disabled If a disability arose out of the and dunng the course of his employment, he may be entitled to workmen's compensation benefits, but no protection extends to off-the-job disability except under laws in four states or as may be provided under private insurance plans or employee welfare plans Aside from compulsory plans in effect in the four states, an increasing number of em ployers in recent years have installed private plans that give their employees some in demnity for loss of time due to nonoccupational disability Such plans are completely voluntary on the part of the employer or are entered into as a result of collective bargain ing between employers and employees or their trade union Where such group disability plans are in effect, they, together with state unemploy ment and workmen's compensation laws, af ford the worker with some protection against such major threats to his income-producing power as inability to work because he is disabled on the job or off it Although there have been extensive dis cussions in most states concerning compul sory plans covering employees against nonoccupational illnesses and accidents, to date only four states have enacted such legisla tion These states are New York, New Jer sey, Rhode Island, and California In California and Rhode Island, the em ployee pays all the costs of such plans In New York and New Jersey, the employer and the employee share the costs Three of these four states treat this insurance as a function of unemployment Only one. New York, treats it as a function of employment In Rhode Island, California, and New Jersey, the agency that administers unem ployment compensation also administers the nonoccupational disability insurance A sep arate agency administers workmen's com pensation In New York, the workmen's compensation board administers both Although the employer does not contribute toward the cost of the plan in California and Rhode Island, he is required to deduct cer tain amounts from the wages of each eligible employee and to remit these deductions with his regular unemployment taxes In New Jersey, the employer must contri bute toward the cost of the plan The rate vanes with the employer's loss expenence and the status of the state's disability fund The employee must also contribute to the cost of the plan The employer deducts this contribution directly from the wages of his employee and forwards it with the state un employment taxes In New York, the employer may deduct from each employee's wages up to a maxi mum amount per week The employer is required to pay the excess of the cost of the plan over this allowable deduction per person on his payroll References Ackerman, S B Insurance New York, Ronald Press Company, 1956 Amencan College of Surgeons, 40 East Ene St, Chicago, 111 "Essential Features of Workmen's Compensation Laws and Insurance Systems and Comments " Medical Service in Industry and Workmen's Compensation Laws, 1946, Chapter IX Amencan Insurance Association, 85 John St, New York, N Y 10038 Digest ofWorkmen's Com pensation Laws in the V S and Territories Status Affecting Liability Insurance Senes of pamphlets published by states, 1962 Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Washington, D C Analysis of Workmen's Com pensation Laws January 1966, with 1967 Supplement Cordis, Philip Property and Casualty Insurance Indianapolis, Ind , The Rough Notes Com pany, Inc , 1963 309