Friday, July 13, 2007

How to Deal With Social Security Overpayment

One of the worst nightmares that you may encounter when you're receiving social security is an overpayment notice. Now you might be thinking how anyone can incur his / her overpayment from social security. In most situations, it works like this. A man, while receiving disability checks, would work part time to supplement his income. He reported it to the Social Security Administration (SSA) that he's working part time so that any adjustments on the amount he's receiving for disability benefits would be adjusted (or stop disability checks from coming altogether). For some reason, the disability checks keeps coming, although there's no confirmation from the local social security office that they're going to stop giving disability benefits. After a while you will receive a notice from the mail informing him that you owed X thousands of dollars to SSA.

Given the circumstance, the recipient was diligent enough to inform SSA that he's receiving income from other sources, so SSA should have stopped sending him checks from that point. So clearly it's not his fault that SSA is still giving him benefits. So what should one do when he receives an overpayment claim?

Usually if the SSA determines that an overpayment has been made, they will demand restitution, even in cases where the error is their own. However, you can file a "request for waiver of overpayment" (Form SSA-632-bk). The form can be used to explain why the overpayment is not the recipient’s fault and why paying it back would either be unfair or would place undue hardship to the claimant.

You can get the request for waiver form from your local social security office, then complete it and return to SSA. You should receive a reply from the SSA regarding your request (usually via mail). However if the waiver request is denied, the waiver situation can be granted consideration through the appeals process. You may have to bring the appeal before an administrative law judge - the same judge who decides on social security and SSI disability claims.

If, after the appeal process the administrative law judge deemed the overpayment notice justified, you can make a payment arrangement. SSA usually accepts repayment arrangements that involve fairly small monthly payments (repayments are usually are done in about ten or twenty dollars per month).

Of course, appealing for waiver for overpayment is usually inconvenient and also time-consuming and can be very frustrating if you end up having to repay. The best way for you to win the case of your overpayment is to get a social security disability lawyer who will arrange everything in terms of appealing before the ALJ and proving you not liable for SSI overpayment.

John Luke Matthews is a regular contributor of relevant articles about the jurisprudence of businesses. He is part of the Mesriani Law Group and is currently taking information technology studies as well.

To know more about social security overpayment you can log on to http://www.socialsecuritylawattorney.com

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A Baby and Its Repercussions

Pregnancy has always been given importance, particularly when the one bearing a child is an employee. Such delicate is the period of nursing a child, that even our laws provide ample protection to the mother. The Fair Employment and Housing Act of California provides, in a detailed fashion the protection afforded to an employee for disability accustomed as a result of pregnancy, even childbirth, and other related medical conditions. As a consequence thereof, they may be transferred to duties that would require less effort and less strain, all these protection if it would be medically advisable.

Discrimination on account of pregnancy is manifested in multiple forms. Labor laws enshrined in California provide a mandatory pregnancy leave to be given by employers to erring employees. The paid-leave afforded to the pregnant employee would consist four months, equating to 88 complete workdays for a full-time employee per pregnancy. The important innovation about it is that it can be taken on an as-needed basis, not necessarily in one continuous period of time. This could cover all that is necessary for parental care, severe and often times recurring morning sickness, compulsory doctor-ordered bed rest, chid rearing, and the much needed recovery from childbirth. Consequently therefore, if these rights are not in any way afforded to a disabled employee then discrimination on account of pregnancy sets in.

The utilization of pregnancy disability leave under the whims and caprices of the employer that is when an employer compels a woman to go on leave at a predetermined period without any regard to whether a disability is forthcoming is another form of discrimination on account of pregnancy. The pregnancy disability leave is afforded to the pregnant employee for her advantage and not for the benefit of the employer. Hence, it must not be utilized by the employer as a scheme to lessen their expenses.

In the advent the employee utilizes her PDL, the employer is obligated to preserve his or her employee’s position in the same vein that other positions are kept open for employee’s who are out on leave. Hence, once the pregnancy leave has expired, the employee must be reinstated to her original office. Remedies which are available to one who experienced discrimination on account of her pregnancy includes, back pay, reinstatement or front pay, injunctive relief, reasonable attorneys fees and court litigation costs, this also covers compensatory damages for suffering and pain, and punitive damages.

John Luke Matthews is a regular contributor of relevant articles about the jurisprudence of businesses. He is part of the Mesriani Law Group and is currently taking information technology studies as well.

Our Los Angeles Attorneys specialize in all fields of personal injury, business law, social security, and employment cases

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Luke_Matthews