Social Security Administration during the Covid Crisis

As stated in our last newsletter, Social Security is proceeding with its disability claims by telephone rather than in person. While hardly perfect, we have found this transition to be beneficial to our clientele. The alternative is more delay, on top of the 18 months it typically takes a claimant to get a hearing. We oppose all forms of delay although we note other attorneys prefer in person hearings at all costs. Some estimate these in person attorneys can’t occur for 6-12 more months.

SSA has moved towards some telework but slowly. The process has made the Social Security Administration more available to claimants, and is supported by many SSA employees who help us with our claims. But the SSA employees union has filed a complaint with OSHA accusing the agency of forcing employees to work in an unsafe workplace. The issue of telework has see-sawed back and forth and is still in the air. The Office of Operations or the Office of Hearings Operations, which Commissioner Saul wrote would determine whether to restore telework, is occurring on a regional, case-by-case basis. Not easy questions about return to work issues but, as they say, if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it; we support telework and minimizing exposure of SSA employees to hazards.

Discrimination Law

House Bill 352 is being considered by the business-dominated Ohio legislature concerning employment discrimination changes. This affects only state law and procedures. Included within its provisions is the prerequisite that all claims be filed with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, with a later opportunity to go to court with a right to sue letter. This mirrors federal EEOC claims. The bill eliminates individual liability, even for discriminating supervisors or owners (except for retaliation claims). It decreases the statute of limitations for discrimination claims from six years to two years, following conclusion of any investigation by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, and it reforms the confusing procedures with age discrimination claims. See Proposed legislation

Immunity Legislation Under Covid 19

Senate Bill 308 gives immunity to all essential businesses, from grocery stores to meat packing plants. This would allow businesses to potentially flaunt safety rules and CDC guidelines and force employees to work under unsafe conditions. Workers compensation laws likely offer only weak protection for employees. Moreover the bill is retroactive to early December of 2019, for no apparent reason. The bill is portrayed as being pro business enabiling employers wide protection if they take precautions to insure a safe workplace. The bill recognizes new immunity protections for health care workers but currently has overly broad protections which do not recognize the need to limit immunity to Covid 19 conditions. The bill also has no effective end date and gives immunity to all businesses, regardless of Covid 19 causation.

Work is needed to craft a more balanced bill, designed to meet its overall purposes but still protect consumers.

Find and Contact Your State Senator

Find Your State Representative

Easy Way to Register to Vote and Absentee Ballot Voting Ohio makes it easy to register to vote and to also request to vote by mail (absentee ballot). Here are the easy steps to take.

If you want to register to vote, click here.

If you want to vote by mail (absentee ballot), click here.

You will have to print and mail in the form, but it is far easier – and safer – than standing in line. If you need help, or don’t have a printer, you can call your local board of elections and ask that an application be sent to you.

Phone numbers are:

• Cuyahoga County 216-443-VOTE (8683)
• Franklin County 614-525-3100
• (or for Franklin County click here to have the Board of Elections call you now).
• Hamilton County 513-632-7000
• Mahoning County 330-783-2474
  Summit County 330-643-5200
• Lucas County 419-213-4001

After you get the form, you must fill out the request and mail it back to the board of elections.

The importance of you voting has never been greater. Speak up.

For more information on voting, click here Vote 411

If you have applied for disability, you’ll probably hear a lot from your family and friends about Social Security’s two programs for disabled Americans – Social Security Disability Insurance benefits (“SSDI”) and Supplemental Security Income benefits (“SSI”). But much of what you hear may not be correct – about how easy it is or other myths concerning disability is misleading. Since the best way to dispel the myths is with facts, we’ll discuss some of the common myths:

Myth #1: There are huge numbers of people who are on disability benefits.

Fact: FALSE. As of 2019, there were 8.5 million Americans receiving SSDI benefits, out of a total US population of over 326 million. This represents about 2.6% of the US population, including territories. As of 2019, there were an additional 6.9 million Americans receiving SSI benefits, representing about 2.1% of the US population. Thus, only about 4.7% of the total US population receives either SSDI or SSI benefits.

Myth #2: It is easy to get on disability. Lots of people get benefits who don’t deserve it.

Fact: FALSE: It has been estimated that over 57 million Americans suffer from some form of disability. As noted above, between SSDI and SSI, only about 15.4% of the population receive disability benefits, so many people have some level of disability, but do not receive benefits. An international economic group (“OECD”) found the U.S. system (along with those of Canada, Japan, and South Korea) as having “the most stringent eligibility criteria for a full disability benefit, including the most rigid reference to all jobs available in the labor market.”

As for people receiving benefits who should not be, the Social Security Administration is very proactive in pursuing cases of fraud, and the Administration’s estimates the rate of fraud at well under 1% of the total claims.

Myth #3: Immigrants are draining Social Security benefits.

Facts: FALSE: In answering this, we must first distinguish between legal immigrants and undocumented immigrants. As for legal immigrants, those with a “green card” who are permitted to work in the US, can obtain a Social Security number, and are paying into Social Security out of their paychecks – just as US citizens do. They only become entitled to benefits when they have paid into the system for a sufficient period of time, as with US citizens. Actually, since legal immigrants tend to be younger than the US average, they tend to pay into Social Security for a longer period before drawing benefits, and thus are a financial benefit to the system, not a detriment.

As for undocumented immigrants, they have no path to citizenship and cannot obtain a Social Security number, and are not eligible for SSDI benefits. Often these workers will work under a false Social Security number, meaning that they pay into the system but can never receive benefits-they are therefore providing a financial windfall to Social Security.

As for SSI benefits, undocumented immigrants are ineligible for those benefits as well, excepting a small number of those who are granted asylum or refugee status in the US (per SSA figures, these claims average about 6,000 per year, a tiny fraction of the total refugees and asylees).

Social Security Process: My Doctor Told Me to File for Disability, Why Did Social Security Deny My Claim?? When applying for Social Security disability benefits, the strongest weapon in your toolbox is the support of the doctors that treat your medical conditions. Oftentimes, claimants believe that this, alone, is sufficient to establish they are entitled to disability benefits. This is not the case. [It’s a good start however.].

Historically the Social Security Administration previously gave priority (“deference”) and weight to the opinions of your treating physicians. However, in March 2017, the Social Security Administration jettisoned this deference, known as the Treating Physician Rule instead deciding that all medical opinions – even from Social Security’s physicians that never examine you – will be evaluated based upon persuasiveness, that is the general supportability and consistency, of these opinions with the medical record as a whole. We think this undermines the important relationship between you and your doctor.

As you may know, in this day and age, not giving special treatment to your own doctor’s opinion, may seem counter-intuitive. We find it causes delays, leads to confusion, and is disrespectful to the medical profession. Your personal ‘Dr. Fauci’ takes the time to write a letter on your behalf, and yet the opinions are minimized. Your doctor is in the best position to know your limitations and your work abilities. Their opinion / your doctor is the individual who knows your medical situation best. Their reports need not be given absolute authority, but it is far better than a consultant from the Social Security Administration who has known you for 15 minutes and must render an opinion on your complex health issues.

If you have an opinion, pro or con, let Andrew Saul, the Commissioner of Social Security know or share your opinion on SSA’s Facebook page. Mr. Saul has expressed a focus towards making sure Social Security recipients aren’t being scammed.

In an interview with AARP, Mr. Saul, an Ivy League Business Graduate who President Trump appointed for a six year term, seemed to focus not on best evidence but on toughening up disability standards. Entitled: Changing Eligibility Requirements for Disability Benefits, he says “[ w]e have to modernize our disability operation. Some of our regulations are 40 years, 50 years outdated. We had a workforce 50 years ago that was very different than it is today: many more manual tasks, much more hard labor, for example, many more mining jobs, much more manufacturing. Today, it’s much more office work. Also, don’t forget, health care has completely changed in the last 50 years. Fortunately, some diseases that effect a lot of people today, 50 years ago, if you were diagnosed with that disease, you were finished. Today, a lot of productive people have had serious strokes, heart attacks, cancer. Very, very life-threatening diseases. Today, we have medicine that has really cured the problems and allowed people to go on with very successful lives.

It’s important that the disability plan services those people that really are in need of it, and that are really in bad shape. But it’s also important that the plan reflects the current state of the workforce and health care. I think it’s our duty to be sure that, so that these plans survive, they are up to date and run properly.”

I believe that eligibility requirements should be fair and they should represent a person who’s really disabled and should be available for the benefits. That’s why the laws were passed in the beginning. Unfair claims should not proceed. We will make these things fair and they will represent health care today and represent the labor force today.”

A Focus on Our Wonderful Staff

It is hard to pick who to spotlight as we are surrounded by dedicated, hard working people. Pictured below are Mary Ann, Valerie, Sara and Donna J. (pre-covid 19 and masks). Each have been with the firm for many years now, and have contributed mightily to helping our clients fight their way through litigation and disability issues. Mary Ann (administrative appeals) is known for her smile and wit, Valarie (legal assistant) for her energy, compassion and distinctive laugh (giggle), and Sara (bookkeeping) for her big eyes, work ethic, and family values (her mother also works in the office, 50 feet away). Donna J., who is pretty but not in the mood for a photo that day (see pic below), is lead staff in our litigation and long term disability departments. She is super organized, and truly admirable in so many different ways. She has been with the office for 35 years.

We cherish each member of our team and will introduce you to more of them in future mailings.

Mary Ann

Valerie

Sara

Donna J. (sort of)

Donna J

The Firm

Margolius, Margolius and Associates is comprised of attorneys and staff all dedicated to advocacy on behalf of its clientele. We are very proud of our team and know that you feel like you know many of them already. We can’t be neglectful of the fine work performed by each of our attorneys, Rigel Ariza, Michelle DeBaltzo, Emily Gilbert, Markus Lyytinen, Michelle McFarland, Paul Newendorp, Jennifer Regas Hanselman, and, of course, Marcia and Andrew Margolius.

Attorneys are available for consultation to discuss your legal matters, your case status, or new legal questions.

Offices are located in both Cleveland and Columbus Ohio.

An important part of disability law – and your own health needs – is reliance upon the advice of your physician. Their medical opinions are vital, both personally and from a legal standpoint. Until recently, your doctor’s medical opinion on your limitations and abilities was given high priority, or a presumption of validity in legal jurisprudence. More recently however, the current administration and the Social Security Administration have reduced the value of your treating physician’s opinions. SSA now can substitute the opinion of a consulting doctor who may examine you once, or perform a simple paper review of your medical records.

The traditional case law is as follows, but will change: “If treating physician opinions are “well supported by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques” and “not inconsistent with the other substantial evidence in [the] case record,” then they must receive “controlling” weight. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(d)(2); Rogers v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. , 486 F.3d 234, 241 (6th Cir. 2007). Good reasons must exist for not affording controlling weight to a treating physician’s opinion in the context of a disability determination. Wilson v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. , 378 F.3d 541, 544 (6th Cir. 2004). If the treating physician opinion is not entitled to controlling weight, the ALJ must determine what weight the opinion should receive consistent with 20 CFR § 404.1527(d)(2); Gayheart v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec ., 710 F.3d 365, 375-377 (2013).” Now, special weight will no longer be accorded to your treating physician’s opinion. Case law is developing about how current treating physician’s opinions are interpreted.

MMA continues to fight the negative effect of this new rule. We feel our clients’ physicians are to be supported, and are in the best position to opine on the health of our clients/their patients.

You are likely entitled to a check from U.S. government. No action needed by most people at this time – IR-2020-61, March 30, 2020

WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service today announced that distribution of economic impact payments will begin in the next three weeks and will be distributed automatically, with no action required for most people…

Who is eligible for the economic impact payment?

Tax filers with adjusted gross income up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns will receive the full payment. For filers with income above those amounts, the payment amount is reduced by $5 for each $100 above the $75,000/$150,000 thresholds. Single filers with income exceeding $99,000 and $198,000 for joint filers with no children are not eligible.

Eligible taxpayers who filed tax returns for either 2019 or 2018 will automatically receive an economic impact payment of up to $1,200 for individuals or $2,400 for married couples. Parents also receive $500 for each qualifying child.

How will the IRS know where to send my payment?

The vast majority of people do not need to take any action. The IRS will calculate and automatically send the economic impact payment to those eligible…

More IRS Payment Info

As this virus hits our world, some segments of our society get hit harder. The unemployed and disabled are at the forefront. Our firm has long been affiliated with the Hunger Network which provides and distributes food to pantries throughout Northeast Ohio. Its Food Rescue Program is more valuable than ever, getting unused food from grocery stores or restaurants (food that would otherwise go to waste) into the hands of those in need. The Food Rescue program is based on volunteer drivers that pick up and drop off food in their cars, Uber style. Looking to help? Volunteer as a Food Rescue Hero, your efforts will go a long way towards helping those in true need.

Update April 2020 : We are glad to report that most all of our client’s legal proceedings are still moving forward, and our office is fully functioning. We recognize how difficult this crisis is for our clientele and are here to help. You, our clients, remain our top priority. We are very grateful for the hard work by our staff and our attorneys.

Social Security disability hearings are now being held by telephone, in Ohio and in many of the other states where we practice. In litigation, civil pretrials and other hearings are also moving forward, although mostly by telephone. We view this as far better than postponing any legal proceeding, as is occurring in other areas of law. Our attorneys are making arrangements for hearings or pretrials, so please make sure we have your current phone number, and perhaps a back up phone number. If we leave a message, please call or email us back. If you see an unknown number calling at your scheduled time, please answer.

We are doing what is necessary, and well beyond, to represent you, and to continue to prepare your case. However, we notice that more events, like scheduled doctor consultations, or depositions, or meetings, are being postponed.

Note that we are frequently calling our clients, and receiving phone calls and answering questions – like always. Contacting us, whether by phone (216-621-2034) or via email, is more important than ever. Email us here .

Look to our web page for more frequent updates. As always, feel free to call us regarding any of your legal questions, needs or concerns, from disability to employment to auto accidents to long term disability.

Food as Medicine is a free produce distribution program through the Greater Cleveland Food Bank in collaboration with health care facilities to improve health and wellbeing by giving access to healthy food. NEON (Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services) has six different locations where produce is distributed. For times and locations of distributions see below.

NEON Food as Medicine 2020 Schedule Flyer

To learn more about the program, visit the Greater Cleveland Food Bank website: https://www.greaterclevelandfoodbank.org/programs/food-as-medicine