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Invisible Disabilities Present Added Challenges to New Yorkers
Social Security Disability benefits are supposed to be available to all New Yorkers who are so disabled they cannot work. These benefits may be provided to low-income individuals through Supplemental Security Income (SSI) regardless of work history, or to people who have worked and paid into Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) regardless of income. Social…
Read More »New York Workers Need Strong Workers’ Comp Laws
Throughout New York City and surrounding areas, injured workers depend upon workers' compensation to provide them with necessary financial assistance if they suffer a temporary or a permanent injury while they are doing their jobs. In many cases, a workers' compensation lawyer may need to help workers get the benefits that they are entitled to…
Read More »President’s Proposal to “Save” Social Security Disability Benefits
Social Security Disability benefits continue to be used as political fodder, even as people's lives depend upon being able to receive enough income from SSD to pay for rent, food and other necessary expenses. The Social Security Disability trust fund is, on paper, set to run short as early as 2016, necessitating a benefits cut.…
Read More »How Do OSHA Trends Affect New York Workplace Safety?
Workplace injuries remain a very real concern for employees throughout New York, Brooklyn and the Bronx. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has the responsibility to establish workplace safety regulations, to inspect worksites and to enforce those regulations. However, a workers' compensation lawyer knows that OSHA has many shortcomings. OSHA is very understaffed and…
Read More »Lawmakers Creating an "Artificial Crisis" To Cut SSD Benefits?
Social Security provides both retirement and disability benefits to people throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and surrounding areas. There are separate trust funds for the retirement and the disability insurance program. Although both are funded by payroll taxes, unlike supplemental security income benefits, the money for the retired and disabled is kept separate. Although this…
Read More »Disability Benefits NOT a Shadow Unemployment Program
Of the many attacks made on the federal system designed to provide disability income to residents of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the rest of the nation, one of the most common allegations is that Social Security Disability (SSD) is functioning as a de facto unemployment program. This allegation has been raised yet again by research published…
Read More »Social Security Disability Judges Again Under Attack
Social Security Disability judges have a difficult job to do. They are asked to preside over a huge number of appeals because so many initial applications for benefits are denied even when people have a legitimate need for benefits. Unfortunately, as part of ongoing efforts to undermine an important lifeline providing benefits to the disabled,…
Read More »Could a CEO Be Imprisoned for Worker Deaths?
Criminal prosecution after a workplace injury is very rare. Prosecutors and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are frequently lacking in resources to conduct comprehensive investigations and impose criminal responsibility on companies or employers when workers get hurt. Further, proving the elements of a crime can also be very difficult, even when willful OSHA…
Read More »OSHA Identifies Top Workplace Safety Violations
Workers in New York City and Long Island have the right to a safe workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) established guidelines for worker protection and enforces those guidelines by issuing citations to employers who violate safety rules. OSHA citations may be issued as a result of periodic inspections identifying problems in the…
Read More »A Look at the Social Security Disability Repair Initiative
The Social Security Disability Insurance program (SSDI) is a lifeline for many disabled workers who are not able to have a job because of an injury, illness or other disabling medical condition. Unfortunately, the SSDI trust fund is in very serious financial trouble. The SSDI trust fund is expected to run out of money towards…
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