In early December, the Social Security Administration (SSA) proposed amending the regulations that require the agency to consider the impact of older age on the ability to work when defining disability for purposes of eligibility for Social Security Disability...
Rockford Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law Blog
SSDI claimants with ALS may become able to receive benefits faster
Normally, when the Social Security Administration (SSA) approves a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application, the claimant receives their first monthly payment of benefits in the sixth month after the agency found the disability began. This five-month...
Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission’s safety responses to COVID-19
We previously shared information about procedures that the Social Security Administration (SSA) had put into place to make it safer for claimants, the public and their staff during the current pandemic. In that post, we explained that only telephonic administrative...
The path of an Illinois workers’ compensation claim, part 1
In Illinois, when an employee gets a work-related injury or an occupational disease and the impairment is work-related, the exclusive legal remedy. Many people do not know how a workers’ compensation claim begins or the options for review and appeal should the claim...
Illinois workers’ compensation: Misclassifying an employee as a contractor
Imagine the surprise of someone who has worked for an employer under the assumption they were employed in the following situation. The worker suffers an injury on the job, files a workers’ compensation claim and the “employer” refuses to pay the claim because they say...
Takeaways for claimants from a recent Illinois workers’ compensation case
In Gonzalez v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, a March 2020 case from the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, the court agreed with the Commission’s conclusion that the claimant, Hugo Gonzalez, had not proven by a preponderance of the evidence that...
SSDI and SSI: Social Security Administration responds to COVID-19
We recently posted here about the Social Security Administration (SSA) plan to hold administrative hearings before administrative law judges (ALJs) via the remote Internet video platform Microsoft Teams, beginning sometime this fall. As we discussed, in appeals for...
IL high court clarifies when injury arises out of job for workers’ comp
On Sept. 24, the Supreme Court of Illinois released its opinion in McAllister v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC), a case that elaborates on when an injury “arises out of” employment for purposes of workers’ compensation eligibility. The case...
Social Security Administration to start video ALJ hearings this fall
In response to the coronavirus, the Social Security Administration (SSA) shut its doors to walk-in services in mid-March, remaining open for business only via its website, telephone, mail and fax, and allowing in-person appointments with strict controls to prevent...
SSDI and SSI: What is a representative payee?
Anyone eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) meets the federal definition of disability – meaning that they have a severe physical or mental medical impairment or combination of impairments expected to last at...
