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Frequently Asked Questions
About Disability Law
- Who is eligible for Social Security Disability Benefits?
- How can I apply or submit a claim for Social Security disability
benefits or SSI?
- Can I work at all and receive Social Security Disability
Benefits?
- What about my family? Are they entitled to social security
disability benefits?
- How do I know whether I am covered by workers' compensation?
- If an employee is receiving workers' compensation benefits,
but returns to work, does the employee still get to receive
workers' compensation benefits?
- Can an employee recover workers' compensation
benefits, no matter what he or she did, because it is a "no-fault" system?
- Can an employee recover workers' compensation benefits,
even if he or she was not actually at the workplace when
injured?
- Who pays workers' compensation benefits?
- What is the ADA?
- Why do we need it?
- Who does the ADA cover?
1) Who is eligible for Social Security Disability Benefits?
If you work long enough at a job which is covered under the
provisions of the Social Security Act, and become disabled,
you are probably eligible for disability benefits.
According to the Social Security Administration, a "Disability" can
be physical, or emotional, or some combination of both. In
order to win benefits, you must have a disability severe enough
to keep you from working in any regular paying job for at least
12 consecutive months.
The test for eligibility is not whether you can go back to
a job you've lost. Nor is it whether you've been able to find
a job recently. The test is whether you are physically and
emotionally CAPABLE of doing a job that is generally available
in the every day work place.
Furthermore, to obtain Social Security Disability benefits,
you must have a doctor state that you are disabled "by
medically acceptable clinical and laboratory findings".
Unfortunately, many genuinely disabling conditions are difficult
to diagnose by objective testing. In cases like that, it's
up to your representative or legal help to present your doctor's
reports properly, and to convince the government that you deserve
your benefits.
TOP OF THE PAGE 2) How can I apply or submit a claim for Social Security
disability benefits or SSI?
By law, anyone may file for his or her own Social Security
Disability benefits. But statistics clearly show that claimants
who have representation win their benefits much more often
than those who apply on their own.
The government makes the process very difficult. Waiting lines
are long. Forms are complicated. Benefits are often denied
to people who have legitimate claims. And not just once; frequently
twice. Sometimes more often. As a result, many people who apply
on their own become discouraged and intimidated. So they simply
back off, give up, and go away, even when they are genuinely
entitled to their benefits.
TOP OF THE PAGE 3) Can I work at all and receive Social Security Disability
Benefits?
You can work at a much-reduced schedule.
4) What about my family?
Are they entitled to social security disability benefits?
Generally dependent children under 18, and those who
still attend high school are entitled to social security
disability
benefits.
TOP OF THE PAGE 5) How do I know whether I am covered by workers'
compensation?
Determining whether or not you are covered by workers' compensation
can sometimes be quite complicated. Generally, however,
there are two main factors that determine your status:
first, whether
you are an employee, and second, whether your injury occurred
as a result of your employment. It should be noted that
neither of these factors is an absolute guarantee that
you will be
covered by workers' compensation. For example, depending
on the state, some employees (for example, agricultural
workers) are not covered by workers' compensation. Also,
if you were
intoxicated at work or intentionally injured yourself,
you might not be covered by workers' compensation. When
in doubt,
you should contact an experienced workers' compensation
attorney, who can advise you of your rights.
TOP OF THE PAGE 6) If an employee is receiving workers'
compensation benefits, but returns to work, does the employee
still get to receive
workers' compensation benefits?
The answer to this question is "maybe." If the return
to work enables the employee to receive wages equal to or greater
than he or she was earning prior to the injury, then it is
likely benefits will be stopped. If, however, the employee
is still experiencing a wage loss due to his or her injury,
he or she may continue to receive wage loss benefits, although
the benefits will most likely be for a lesser amount.
TOP OF THE PAGE 7) Can an employee recover workers'
compensation benefits, no matter what he or she did, because
it is a "no-fault" system?
No. Although most injuries are covered by workers' compensation,
that does not mean that employees have free reign to injure
themselves, or act in any manner in which they choose, and
then collect benefits. Generally, if an employee sustains injures
as a result of intoxication or illegal drug use, benefits may
not be payable.
TOP OF THE PAGE 8) Can an employee recover workers' compensation benefits,
even if he or she was not actually at the workplace when
injured?
The answer to this question will depend on the laws in your
particular state, and the facts of the specific case. Generally
speaking, if the injury "arises out of" and occurs "within
the scope of employment," it is covered. For example,
if an employee is a traveling salesperson and is injured in
the hotel where he or she is staying for business purposes,
compensation may be appropriately paid.
Similarly, if an employee is running an errand that takes
him or her outside of the workplace, at the request of the
employer, compensation benefits may be payable if an injury
occurs in the course of running that errand. If the employee
is on a business errand, but has stopped or deviated from that
errand for personal reasons, then a closer examination of the
rules and facts is necessary.
Finally, employees injured while attending an employer-sponsored
recreational event, like a company picnic or outing, may be
able to receive workers' compensation benefits even though
they were not physically on the employer's premises at the
time of the injury.
TOP OF THE PAGE 9) Who pays workers' compensation benefits?
In most states, employers are required to purchase insurance
for their employees from a workers' compensation insurance
carrier. In some states, larger employers who are clearly
solvent are allowed to self-insure, or act as their own insurance
companies. When a worker is injured, his or her claim is
filed with the workers' compensation carrier, or the self-insuring
employer, who pays medical and disability benefits according
to a state-approved formula. It is noteworthy that some smaller
companies (with fewer than three or four employees) are not
required to carry workers' compensation insurance at all.
TOP OF THE PAGE 10) What is the ADA?
The ADA is a federal civil rights law for people with disabilities,
comparable to civil rights law passed in the 1960s for other
minorities. It covers employment, state and local government
services, public accommodations, and telecommunications for
the deaf.
TOP OF THE PAGE 11) Why do we need it?
43 million Americans have physical or mental disabilities.
Too often they are excluded from the mainstream of American
life by attitudes and inaccessible environments. 67 percent
of all people with disabilities are unemployed, even among
college graduates. The ADA benefits all of us. Each of
us has a 20 percent chance of becoming a person with a
disability
and a 50 percent chance of having a family member with
a disability.
TOP OF THE PAGE 12) Who does the ADA cover?
All people with disabilities, visible and hidden, including:
·
a person with a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more major life functions (eating, breathing,
caring for oneself, working, walking, etc.), OR
·
a person with a record of such an impairment (even if that
record is inaccurate), OR
·
a person who is regarded as having such an impairment.
Some people are explicitly excluded from coverage, including: ·
current users of illegal drugs (but those with a history of
drug or alcohol abuse are covered, and an employer may continue
to conduct drug tests on employees for illegal drugs.)
·
those with "sexual behavior disorders" such as transvestitism
or transsexualism, AND
·
those who have the conditions of compulsive gambling, kleptomania,
or pyromania.
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