HR folks please come in....disability question

One of our employees was severely ill and has been advised he can only do desk work, but my company doesn't have any of this work available. Whats his best option? Applying for SS Disability benefits? Since there is no work available here that he can do, there is no liability on us if he is let go correct? TIA for any info. I've been on hold with NYS for over half hour but figured the board is a good source of info as well.

HR folks please come in....disability question

Ugh, just wanted to update that I am STILL on hold! Going on almost 2 hours. Does anyone know anything? Anything at all? My ear is going to fall off listening to this terrible hold music!

HR folks please come in....disability question

That would be my recommendation!

HR folks please come in....disability question

I am not sure that saying that "the company doesn't have desk work available" settles the matter.
If the man is "disabled" under the ADA or NY law, the er has an obligation to provide a reasonable accommodation, unless doing so would cause an undue hardship (significant difficulty or expense for the employer). Undue hardship means that the accommodation would be too difficult or too expensive to provide, in light of the employer's size, financial resources, and the needs of the business. An employer may not refuse to provide an accommodation just because it involves some cost. An employer does not have to provide the exact accommodation the employee or job applicant wants. If more than one accommodation works, the employer may choose which one to provide.
You need to look at the company and see what reasonable accommodations you might be able to provide-- for instance, could you have another employee switch jobs with him temporarily? Could he do his job differently for some time?
I am not saying that you definitely need to provide an accommodation, but that you should definitely sit down and take a hard look at whether you can.
If not, he should be able to qualify at least for NYS short term disability benefits. Do you provide long term disability? He may wind up qualifying for SS Disability also, but I can't really speak to that...
Good luck! I hope he is able to qualify for something....