Al Ke -

Sorry to be getting in late here, but I should clarify something that was said earlier. I believe that suggestion that you not apply for disability immediately was meant as a reference to the FEDERAL SSDI program.

You don't say what state you live in. But if - for instance - you live in California there is a state disability program that will pay you for one year (which dovetails nicely with SSDI) 95% of what you were making in the quarter immediately before you became disabled, commonly defined as when you became to sick to work. So if you live in California, and file the moment you are terminated because you have become too sick to work (and note there is also a question of not conceding the point prematurely if your employer has not made an effort to "reasonably accommodate" your illness under the Americans with Disabilities Act) you would be paid 95% of what you were averaging on a monthly basis in the quarter before you left your employment, for each of the next 12 months! (This is, of course, something I learned the hard way, not understanding that it had been available - even while I was still technically "working" - until my income had long since dropped to close to nothing.)

But if you wait to file until all you got in the last quarter was unemployment insurance - for which, at least in California, you can't get in the first place unless you are fired - the state disability payments would be limited to 95% of unemployment insurance, if in fact that counts as income in the first place: otherwise you would be eligible for 95% of nothing, which is where I basically wound up. (And just so we're clear, at least in CA, it's common knowledge that if the employer can show that you voluntarily resigned or otherwise "abandoned" your position, there is no unemployment insurance. Period.)

Now, you haven't said what state you live in, but any applicable state disability program is something you should be looking into NOW. Ditto your rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). And in that regard, my suggestion is that you get a consultation with a reputable attorney who represents plaintiffs in employment litigation ASAP, i.e., before you do ANYTHING. That's who can best advise you of your rights under the ADA.

Mike