Help Wanted: How to file for job-related stress benefits

DEAR CARRIE: I have a high-stress job managing large-business accounts for my employer, and lately it has been making me physically sick. My stomach is in knots, I have heart palpitations, and I am unable to fall asleep most nights. As a result I feel I am no longer able to do my job competently because I lack focus and have trouble remembering important information. I'm going through cardiac and neurological testing to determine if I have developed any physical ailments. But I really believe I am just suffering from stress more than anything else. I resigned this job once, but the company needed me back so I returned, based on the company's promise of less stressful work. That did not happen. If I resign again because of stress-related health issues, would I qualify for unemployment benefits? Finding a position at another company seems unlikely because my field doesn't have many jobs. -- Stressed Out

DEAR STRESSED OUT: Generally when employees resign they aren't eligible for unemployment benefits. But the state Labor Department's response below indicates that your health-related problems could give you shot at benefits, particularly if you have the right documentation:

"When a claimant files for unemployment indicating that they had to leave their job due to health-job-related stress, DOL must investigate to determine if they had good cause to leave. Medical documentation is usually requested along with other fact-finding documents such as a leave of absence or change in job duties. As with any claim involving health-related issues, the availability and capability of the claimant to seek and accept employment is reviewed."

The best strategy is to apply for benefits and see what happens. The state Labor Department stresses that it evaluates unemployment benefit claims on a case-by-case basis. You can call the department's unemployment telephone claims center at 888-209-8124.

DEAR CARRIE: I work in a Long Island hospital. When we register new patients by phone, we now must ask them for their race, ethnicity and the language they prefer. I find this to be extremely offensive, as do the other people answering the phones. The patients seem to resent the questions, too, because they become verbally abusive. I thought these types of questions were discriminatory and illegal. The hospital hasn't explained to us why we have to do this. The response is that we just have to do it. -- Uneasy Queries

DEAR UNEASY: In certain situations, queries about race and ethnicity would certainly seem inappropriate, such as on a job application. But your circumstances are different because the questions are most likely related to data-keeping requirements of health care reform, or the Affordable Care Act, some of which began taking effect last year. As part of that law, health-care providers collect such data. The government also plans to include health data on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

"Both efforts aim to help researchers, policy makers, health providers and advocates to identify and address health disparities afflicting these communities," according to a U.S. Department of Health & Human Services news release.

It's a shame your supervisors couldn't have explained the reasons for the queries. Now that you know the reasons, perhaps the question will seem less offensive. And perhaps you can convey the information to patients as you talk to them. Maybe that will calm them down.