Jul 9, 2024

Infection would drastically impact a personals ability to work and make income. Besides considering whether to buy disability insurance to protect against the coronavirus, the main question that arises is – Will you receive health benefits or a salary while you are under any of them and how will you support your financial needs?

The answer to this mostly depends on where you live and work, but the general laws that apply to this are the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).

According to the FMLA in someStates, you’re allowed up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for medical reasons, including serious health conditions. Most States do not have this option. The question here arises if a coronavirus quarantine is considered a medical emergency or a danger to one’s health. If the quarantine includes regular medical visits and check-ups, this may be considered as inpatient care.

On the other hand, the ADA protects against discrimination of people with disabilities and requires them to provide accommodation to employees who are disabled. The dilemma with the ADA regulation is if infection from the coronavirus would be considered a disability. However, as a disability according to the ADA is something that limits a person from doing major life activities such as walking, breathing, sitting, reading, and talking, so a coronavirus would be considered a disability under it. More then likely the ADA will not provide any monthly income to you if you are sick and can not work.

Both laws are debatable, so we can never be sure if an employee is fully protected against a potential sickness. The best form of protection, however, is disability insurance. By having disability insurance to protect yourself from the coronavirus, you’re protecting your income. It means that if you’re unable to keep going to work becauseyou are sick you will still have a source of income you can rely on.