New York Short-Term Disability (DBL) for Mental Health Conditions

Yes. New York's statutory short-term disability program, usually called DBL, pays partial wages when an illness or injury that did not come from your job keeps you from working, and a mental health condition such as major depression or an anxiety disorder can qualify when a treating clinician certifies it. The benefit is 50 percent of your average weekly wage over the last eight weeks worked, up to a maximum that the Workers' Compensation Board lists as $170 per week, for up to 26 weeks in any 52-week period.

DBL replaces some income; it does not hold your job. Many people on a mental health leave in New York pair it with FMLA, which provides job protection if you are eligible. This article walks through who is covered, the claim form (DB-450) and its deadlines, what the clinician's section asks, and how DBL interacts with Paid Family Leave and FMLA. It is general information, not legal advice; your employer's insurance carrier and the Workers' Compensation Board make the actual decisions on a claim.

What DBL is, in plain terms

New York is one of a handful of states that require employers to carry disability benefits coverage for off-the-job injury or illness. The coverage is insurance: your employer buys a policy from a carrier or, if it is large enough, self-insures, and the carrier pays claims. Medical care is not part of it. DBL is a cash benefit only, and your treatment is paid through your health insurance as usual.

Your employer may take a small payroll contribution toward the cost: one half of one percent of your wages, but no more than 60 cents a week, unless you are in an accepted plan that requires more by agreement. That last clause matters. Some employers offer plans that pay more than the statutory minimum, and many also offer separate long-term disability insurance. Ask human resources which plan you are actually in before you assume the statutory amount applies.

Who is covered and when benefits start

A "day of disability" is a day you could not work because of the disability and for which you were not paid regular wages. If your employer keeps paying you through sick time, those days generally do not count as unpaid disability days, although the employer may ask the carrier for reimbursement where it continued your salary.

Does DBL cover depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions?

The law covers "illnesses" and injuries that do not arise out of employment, and the Workers' Compensation Board's pages do not exclude mental health conditions. The Board specifically notes that physical and mental health conditions related to pregnancy or postpartum recovery may be eligible. In practice, the question for a mental health claim is the same as for any other: does a qualifying clinician certify that you cannot work, starting on a specific date, with an estimated return date?

Examples of conditions that may lead to a claim include a major depressive episode, a severe anxiety or panic disorder, a manic or mixed episode in bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress, and recovery after a psychiatric hospitalization. A condition caused by your job, such as an injury or an occupational illness, belongs in workers' compensation instead, and the claim form asks the clinician to say whether that is the case.

The claim form, DB-450, step by step

The claim form is the Notice and Proof of Claim for Disability Benefits, Form DB-450. It has three parts: yours, your health care provider's and your employer's. The deadlines are short, so it helps to know them before you start.

1. Wait until you are actually disabled. The form says not to submit it before your first day of disability.
2. Complete Part A (your section) and keep a copy. It asks for a description of the disability, the date it began, your wages for the last eight weeks and whether you are receiving other benefits such as Paid Family Leave or unemployment.
3. Give the form to your treating clinician for Part B. The provider is required to return it to you within seven days of receiving it.
4. Give the form to your employer for Part C. The employer must return it within three business days; if it does not, you can send the form to the carrier anyway, and the carrier cannot deny the claim solely because the employer section is missing.
5. Submit it to your employer or its carrier within 30 days of your first day of disability to avoid losing benefits. You can look up your employer's carrier with the Board's Employer Coverage Search.
6. Expect a response within 18 days of your first day of disability or the carrier's receipt of the completed claim, whichever is later.

Your employer must give you a Statement of Rights (Form DB-271S) within five days of learning you have been disabled more than seven days. If your claim is rejected, the carrier sends a denial notice (Form DB-DEN) or a notice of total or partial rejection (Form DB-451). If you hear nothing, call the carrier, or the Board's Disability Benefits Bureau for general questions.

What the clinician's section asks

Part B is short, but every item matters, and the form warns that incomplete answers may delay payment.

Who signs is a real issue for mental health claims. The certification line on the current form lists physicians, chiropractors, dentists, podiatrists, psychologists and nurse-midwives. Psychiatric nurse practitioners and licensed clinical social workers are not on that list, even though both can certify federal FMLA leave. If your main clinician is a nurse practitioner or a therapist who is not a psychologist, ask the carrier before you file whether it will accept that clinician's statement, or whether a physician or psychologist on the same team should complete Part B.

The carrier may also have you examined by a health care provider it chooses, no more than once a week, at no cost to you and at a reasonable time and place; refusing can put benefits at risk.

A worked example

Consider a hypothetical employee at a Brooklyn company who has been treated for depression for a year. Her symptoms worsen, her psychiatrist advises time off, and her last day at work is a Friday. Her first day of disability is the following Monday.

• She asks HR for FMLA leave the same day and receives an FMLA certification form plus a DB-450.
• Her psychiatrist completes Part B within the week, giving an estimated return date eight weeks out.
• HR completes Part C and she sends the full DB-450 to the carrier well within the 30-day deadline.
• No DBL benefit is paid for the first seven days; payment starts on day eight. She uses accrued sick time for that first week.
• Her employer designates the absence as FMLA leave, so her job and health coverage are protected while the DBL benefit runs.

If she needs more time, she asks her psychiatrist for updated medical evidence before the estimated return date passes. The Board says that if you have received fewer than 26 weeks of benefits, are still disabled and have not received a notice of rejection, you should submit further medical evidence to request additional benefits.

DBL, Paid Family Leave and FMLA together

You cannot collect DBL and Paid Family Leave at the same time, and the two combined cannot exceed 26 weeks in any 52-week period. If you used Paid Family Leave to care for a parent within the same 52-week period, for example, that time counts against the 26 weeks available for your own disability. Paid Family Leave is still useful in a mental health context when a family member is in crisis: it covers care for a family member with a serious health condition, which includes a mental health condition.

For eligibility, certification and intermittent leave under the federal law, see FMLA leave for mental health. If your employer is not covered by FMLA, a leave of absence may still be available as a disability accommodation, covered in workplace accommodations for anxiety, depression and ADHD.

Common mistakes that delay or reduce benefits

• Missing the 30-day filing deadline while waiting to "see if it gets better."
• Mismatched dates between Part A and Part B.
• A Part B with "unknown" as the return date instead of an estimate.
• Doing paid work during the claim, including freelance work from home.
• Having Part B signed by a clinician the carrier does not accept, without checking first.
• Assuming DBL protects your job. Arrange FMLA or another leave at the same time.

Once you are ready to go back, returning to work after a mental health leave covers phased returns and fitness-for-duty notes. If an insurer is involved, what insurers and employers see when you file a mental health claim explains what information travels where.

How this practice fits in

Dr. Lewis's team includes psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychotherapists and a health and wellness coach, and ongoing care includes psychiatric evaluation, medication management and psychotherapy. If you expect to need a DB-450 or other leave paperwork, raise it on the free discovery call so the team can tell you what to expect. The practice's depression treatment page and medication management page describe the care itself, and the guide to choosing psychiatric care covers how to start.

If you are thinking about suicide or are in crisis, call or text 988 (the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or go to the nearest emergency room.

Frequently asked questions

Is the $170 weekly maximum really still the limit in 2026?

The Workers' Compensation Board's disability benefits pages, checked in October 2026, still list the maximum as $170 per week. Check the Board's site or ask your carrier before you budget, in case it changes. Some employers offer plans that pay more than the statutory benefit.

Can my therapist fill out the DB-450?

Only if they are one of the clinicians named on the form's certification line, which lists physicians, chiropractors, dentists, podiatrists, psychologists and nurse-midwives. A psychologist can sign. A licensed clinical social worker or nurse practitioner is not on that list, so ask the carrier before filing.

Do I have to tell my employer my diagnosis?

Part B, which includes the diagnosis, is completed by your clinician. Ask HR or the carrier whether you can send the completed form directly to the carrier rather than passing it through your manager. The employer's own section asks about wages and dates, not your condition.

Does DBL pay for my therapy or medication?

No. Disability benefits are cash benefits that replace part of your wages. The Workers' Compensation Board says medical care is the employee's responsibility, so treatment is billed to your health insurance or paid out of pocket as usual.

Can I get DBL while I am collecting unemployment?

You cannot collect both for the same period. If you become disabled while unemployed and collecting unemployment benefits, and more than four weeks have passed since your last job, the Board's Special Fund for Disability Benefits pays instead, and you file the DB-450 with the Board.

My claim was denied. What now?

The carrier must send a written denial (Form DB-DEN) or a notice of total or partial rejection (Form DB-451). Read the reason, ask your clinician whether updated medical evidence would address it, and contact the carrier or the Board's Disability Benefits Bureau about your options.

Sources

1. Disability Benefits: Workers (overview, benefits, eligibility, file a claim). New York State Workers' Compensation Board, 2026. wcb.ny.gov
2. Employee Eligibility / Benefits (Disability Benefits). New York State Workers' Compensation Board, 2026. wcb.ny.gov
3. Notice and Proof of Claim for Disability Benefits (Form DB-450, rev. 10-23) and instructions. New York State Workers' Compensation Board, 2023. wcb.ny.gov
4. Understanding employee benefits: Workers' Compensation, Disability Benefits, Paid Family Leave. New York State Workers' Compensation Board, 2026. wcb.ny.gov
5. 29 CFR 825.125 Definition of health care provider (FMLA). Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 2026. ecfr.gov
6. 29 CFR 825.207 Substitution of paid leave. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 2026. ecfr.gov
7. Paid Family Leave: A guide for employees (webinar slides, September 2023). New York State Workers' Compensation Board, 2023. wcb.ny.gov

Educational information, not medical, tax or legal advice. Decisions about diagnosis, medication and treatment belong with a clinician who knows your history.