• People with disabilities are eligible for benefits under the Americans with Disabilities Act.handicapped parking image by rikkidegraz from Fotolia.com
  
  If you are temporarily incapacitated and unable to perform your usual activities due to an injury, illness, or pregnancy, you may be eligible to apply for temporary disability. Temporary disability may grant you certain privileges, compensation, and other benefits. In the state of Washington, you'll need documented proof that you meet state requirements for temporary disability to receive the benefits.
  
  

Requirements for Temporary Disability Parking

• Washington law lists specific requirements for temporary disability that requires use of a disabled parking space. A temporary disability in this case is one that is expected to last fewer than six months. To qualify for disabled parking, you must be able to meet one of the following requirements:
  
  -- You cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest,
  
  -- An arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition limits your ability to walk,
  
  -- You cannot walk without the use of a brace, cane, prosthetic, wheelchair, or other assistive device,
  
  -- You use portable oxygen,
  
  -- Your respiratory volume is less than one liter per second due to lung disease,
  
  -- You have functional limitations from a cardiac condition that are classified as class III or IV under the American Heart Association,
  
  -- You are legally blind and have limited mobility,
  
  -- You are restricted by poryphria, an extreme sensitivity to light.
  
  

Temporary Total Disability Requirements

• People with a temporary total disability, as defined by the state of Washington, are eligible for certain benefits such as full-time loss compensation. Washington law defines a temporary total disability as "an injury or illness, lasting thirteen or more consecutive calendar weeks, during which an individual is unable to follow continuously a substantially gainful occupation without seriously risking his or her health, as determined by a physician." To receive benefits, you must apply for temporary total disability within 26 weeks of the date the total temporary disability began.
  
  

Temporary Disability Leave

• In Washington, employers may grant temporary disability leave due to illness, surgery, or pregnancy. In cases of pregnancy-related leave for women, employers are required to treat the time off as they would for any other employee on temporary disability. In other words, women receive paid leave if the employer provides paid leave for temporary disability, but if the employer does not provide paid leave for temporary disability, women cannot be granted a pregnancy-related leave.