Fresno SSD and Work Lawyers
One of the questions that our firm receives quite often is, "Will I reduce my chances of getting my Social Security disability claim approved if I try to work?" It is a valid one. After all, if you do try to go back to work and the Social Security Administration (SSA) decides to cut off your benefits, which could have a significantly negative impact on you and your family.
It is an important question. People who have applied for Social Security disability (SSD) benefits, as well as those who are currently receiving benefits, may work up to a certain limit. Work activity can either help or hurt your claim, depending on a number of variables. At Milam Law, we are familiar with those limits and can answer any questions you have about going to work. We can also help you protect your rights if you are worried that the SSA will take away your benefits once they learn you have been earning income.
The issues involved with work periods after your original disability date is alleged are among the most complex ones we deal with. We have a two-page handout for our clients just on this issue.
Information on this website is provided as a service of Milam Law. Contact us regarding Social Security disability claims and denials.
Sacramento Social Security Disability Attorneys
Even if it only amounts to a few hours of work a day, or a small amount of money each month, going to work can be beneficial for someone with a disability. Working not only provides a financial benefit, but also a psychological benefit, as work can bring a sense of purpose and self-respect. Working can show motivation and help credibility in the eyes of the SSA. However, the SSA considers a person to be disabled if there is a disabling medical condition and if that person is unable to perform substantial gainful activity. Substantial gainful activity (SGA) is defined in a gross dollar amount, and if you earn that amount or more, you cannot be considered disabled under SSA rules. Given this definition, if your work approaches full-time work, or substantial money is made, your case can be denied for ongoing benefits (even though you could get a "closed period" for the time before you returned to work — if you were disabled at least 12 months).
Social Security will generally consider any work attempt that does not last three months to be a failed work attempt (FWA). This type of effort usually does not hurt, but helps, your case. There are exceptions to this general rule: If the work ends after three months, but before six months, due to your disability (i.e., the boss fires you because you cannot keep up the pace of the work), the SSA will usually find that it is also an FWA and it will not hurt you.
Work for more than six months, if done OVER the SGA level discussed above, is very tricky. Certain laws dealing with "trial work periods" come into play. Or there could be two separate periods of disability under one application due to extended work.
ALL these rules are difficult without considered evaluation by an attorney, based on your own set of facts. At Milam Law, we deal with these issues on a weekly basis. We try to help you attempt to work where you think you can, as that is the eventual goal for all of us, if health allows it. We also carefully plan how to package and present work efforts to the SSA on your behalf, while advising you of possible pitfalls from work or work training.
If you have been off work for a continuous 12-month period, your claim continues even if you return to full-time work successfully. The season you were off work due to your condition is called a "closed period" of disability. Many clients wrongly believe that when one returns to work, the case is over; we correct and encourage many clients who do not understand this part of the law. In fact, several times people have given up due to this misunderstanding, and Milam Law attorneys have gone to a hearing for them and won with the clients not attending the hearing (signing a "waiver of hearing" because they had to stay on the job). Simply put: We do not give up on you or your claim at Milam Law — even when you feel it is dead. We keep your legal rights protected for you, wherever there is a basis to do so and you allow us to do so.
Contact Our Firm to Schedule an Appointment
At Milam Law, we offer free, initial consultations. For more information about returning to work, contact us at one of our offices in Fresno, Sacramento or Modesto. Schedule an appointment by calling us toll free at 877-840-3508.
