Legal Question in Employment Law in Massachusetts

The shortest answer based only on the information you are providing in my opinion would be that collecting unemployment would not be proper under these circumstances. In order to be eligible to collect unemployment, someone must certify that s/he is ready, willing and available to work during the period of time for which s/he is collecting. If she is taking a leave of absence for medical reasons, then she is by definition not available or able to work and therefore does not qualify for unemployment benefits for that time period. However, there may be a question as to whether she might qualify for some other type of benefit such as short-term disability, depending on the specifics and reasons for her "unavailability" for and inability to work for the limited time period involved. That may be something you wish to investigate further.

Take care & good luck.

Sincerely,

Sue-Ellen Kresh