Laid Off During COVID-19: Can I Claim Disability Benefits?

Laid Off During Covid-19

Being laid off at any time can be stressful. Being laid off during Covid-19, a pandemic was unthinkable only a few months ago. But, these days we are grappling with layoffs, unemployment, and uncertainty. An employer cannot simply lay you off. The government of Canada has made changes to Employment Insurance benefits to help Canadians who may be impacted by the Coronavirus.

Claiming the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit or “CERB”

Regardless of whether or not a laid-off employee can make a disability claim, they are eligible to receive benefits under the Canadian Emergency response benefit “CERB” of $2,000.00 per month from March 15, 2020- October 3, 2020. All applications for unemployment insurance benefits have been transitioned into CERB. There is no need to prove a disability from working to claim CERB.

CERB is generally considered relief from temporary unemployment. Learn more about applying for CERB.

However, if you have a disability or become disabled due to Covid-19 or not, there are things you can do.

Disability Benefits Available

If you have coverage for Short-Term C (“STD”) and/or Long-Term Disability benefits (“LTD”), employers have an obligation to extend the eligibility for these benefits after lay off for a certain period of time.

STD benefits are usually available within a short period of time after developing a disability. These types of benefits are considered relief from a temporary disability from working. Should you develop a prolonged disabling condition during this period of extension of benefits, you may apply for an LTD claim.

Should a person’s condition become severe and their doctor believes they will not return to gainful employment, then a disability claim may be appropriate.

Disability Due to Coronavirus

However, a person may become psychologically distraught following lay off. They may develop a serious psychological condition that would prevent them from working even if they weren’t laid off.

You may have group coverage through your employer or individual coverage for short-term and long-term disability benefits (“STD”/”LTD”). The policy will define “partial” or “total” disability. In most cases, the policy will require continuous rehabilitation efforts by the claimant.

Although the most common type of disability policy wording requires complete or “total” disability from working, some policies allow “partial” disability. In those policies which allow claims for partial disability, a claimant may have a persistent, reduced capacity to work or decreased productivity.

In policies that require complete disability from working, there is usually a waiting period for LTD, where the claimant must demonstrate continuous time off work for several weeks or months. Sometimes the waiting period or elimination period is equal to the EI sickness benefit period of 17 weeks. During the COVID-19 crisis, in most cases, EI benefits have been converted into CERB. The duration of the waiting period may also depend on the qualifying period for STD under the policy. Once the STD benefits are exhausted, the claimant may qualify for LTD.

Denied Disability

Insurers or the government may deny disability claims due to insufficient medical records. The claimant should see their doctor regularly, at least every two weeks to demonstrate that they are receiving appropriate treatment. In addition, claims are often denied for failure to cooperate with medical practitioners or follow an appropriate treatment plan.

The insurer or government will expect the claimant to at least see a family doctor. However, further steps are often required. The family doctor should make referrals to specialists. The claimant must follow the advice of his or her doctor and take advantage of all available treatments.

A claimant should also apply to the federal government for CPP Disability Benefits. This is a separate application process. There is a Physician Statement portion of the application. Should you qualify for the CPP benefit, it may be easier to establish your claim for LTD benefits. In addition, CPP disability benefits are usually deductible from the LTD benefit. Therefore, the insurer will expect the claimant to at least make the application to CPP.

Get Help

Disability benefits lawyers have the expertise to guide you through these critical early stages of your disability claim after lay off from your employment. We will help you build a strong case to present to the insurance companies or government. We have the experience to recognize what the insurance companies are looking for in distinguishing a winning or losing case.