A 51-year-old man of New York City, Thomas Parkin, faces up to 83 years in prison for collecting his deceased mothers Social Security benefits for six years after her death.  After his mother died, Parkin changed her death certificate in 2003 to appear as though she was still living.  He then dressed up as his mother to renew her driver’s license at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Parkin’s mother deeded her house to him, but he did not keep up with the payments and the house sold at foreclosure.  Parkin decided to sue the new owners of the house in his mother’s name, for alleged real estate fraud – which called attention to the situation and ultimately lead to him being caught.

Parkin is convicted of grand larceny, perjury and forgery.

“Dispelling Myths The Social Security Disability Program”

Join Disability lawyer Scott Daniels as he breaks down the real truth about whether there is any money left in our nation’s Social Security fund. More importantly, Scott will address the status of the current disability backlog and it’s effect on the Social Security Administration’s funds.

Politicians across the country are using the Social Security Program as an easy target to promote themselves. And by doing so, they are spreading negative implications about the Social Security Program that are simply not true. The disability program has been dragged through the mud over the last few months and the truth has been twisted.

You can listen live to disability lawyer Scott Daniels by CLICKING HERE. You can also listen to the archived broadcast by visiting www.markhofflaw.com and clicking on the blogtalkradio jukebox on the right side of the homepage.

A 59-year-old woman who lives on South Pearl Street, Yvonne Brown, has walked to the center twice a week for 26 years to enjoy dinner and time to catch up with dozens of familiar faces with familiar stories of difficult times.  Brown depends on her Social Security benefits to make ends meet, and the bare tables of the center on April 10^th were a shock.

Deacon Ray Sullivan oversees the center and said it will cost about $8,000 to tap into the water line on Franklin Avenue.  The church doesn’t have the money available and will need to rely on donations to reopen the pantry.   Mayor Jennings instructed the head of the water department to help get the pantry up and running with whatever was needed.

• Enlist the help of one of your disabled employees when creating your emergency plan. This individual offers a unique perspective that ensures you take the needs of your disabled workers into consideration as you draft your plan.

• Ensure that all your emergency preparedness information is accessible to all of your employees. Keep the needs of your cognitive-impaired employees in mind by including pictures or color coding with your instructions.

• When installing signs and emergency alert mechanisms, consider the needs of your sensory impaired by including both auditory and visual alarms.

• Install evacuation devices for those with physical disabilities. Train staff on how to use the devices properly.

• Include all of your employees in emergency drills, especially those with disabilities. The only way you know you can get everyone out of your workplace safely is by having every person participate in the drill.

An ounce of prevention goes a long way when it comes to keeping your employees safe. In the case of an emergency, the right preparedness plan that accommodates all of your workers is an essential component to a safe work environment.

The new agreement was announced on the website for the U.S. Department of Labor. The alliance will build momentum for the promotion of hiring disabled workers, at a time when the Department of Labor is considering a rule that requires federal contractors and subcontractors to set a goal of hiring workers with disabilities so that they make up at least seven percent of the total workforce.

The new rule, endorsed by numerous disability advocates, with some pushing the Department of Labor to raise that percentage from seven to 10, in light of the fact that up to 20 percent of today’s population has some kind of disability. Businesses might be encouraged to meet that goal through outreach measures, recruitment strategies and workplace initiatives.

New Agreement May be First Step

This new agreement may be the first step in additional action by the Department of Labor. For now, many are lauding the new alliance, including those directly involved with the process.
“I am thrilled to sign this agreement today with the National Industry Liason Group,” Kathleen Martinez, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment, stated in the press release. “The Office of Disability Employment Policy looks forward to partnering with this association to promote disability employment practices among all members. Together we can build workplace equality that includes those of us with disabilities.”

The new law is the result of 2010 regulations involving the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibited discrimination against individuals based on disabilities.  New York hotels were required to have the lifts installed by the deadline or submit a plan to show they would be installing them as soon as possible. Hotels that do not comply with the new regulations could be subject to large fines of as much as $55,000.

Thousands of Hotels Involved

The American Hotel and Lodging Association estimates that there are approximately 51,000 hotels nationwide, and the large majority of those businesses have pools on the premises. The organization has asked the federal government to allow businesses more time to become compliant. However, an extension is not likely at this time.

“They’ve had quite a bit of time to do their planning,” Eve Hill, deputy chief of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told USA Today. “If they have legitimate reasons in good faith that they can’t comply, then that will be taken into account.”

Pool lifts cost between $4,000 and $5,000 to install. Hotels who cannot afford the permanent lifts have the option of installing portable lifts, or offering a plan for purchasing one in the future.

According to Disability Action, a rule change went into effect this month that increased the number of working hours parents needed to be eligible for Working Tax Credits – from 16 to 24 hours per week. Those who did not increase their working hours could stand to lose up to 74£ a week. For parents with disabled children, this increase was significant, since many of these parents would have trouble increasing working hours while caring for their children.

Relief for Families Comes on Heels of Changes

Fortunately, another change was announced that allowed working individuals with 16 hours to keep their Working Tax Credits, as long as their partners were entitled to a Carer’s Allowance. The change also allows families to include the cost of childcare on a tax credit claim, in a similar situation where one partner works at least 16 hours and the other receives a Carer’s Allowance.

“We are delighted the government has seen sense on this issue,” Srabani Sen, chief executive of Contact a Family, told Nursery World. “The concession will ensure that hard working families, working in paid employment and caring for a disabled child at home, won’t be worse off.”

If you believe your child should be receiving Social Security Disability, contact an experienced NY Disability Attorney.

The Treasury assistance secretary, Richard Gregg, says the Social Security checks cost $1 each to print and mail, compared to about ten cents for an electronic payment.  Over ten years, the government will save $1 billion once everyone receives their payments electronically.  At this time, almost 85% of Social Security beneficiaries already receive payments via direct deposit.

Nearly 9 million homes don’t have a credit union or bank account.  What if they receive Social Security or federal government benefits?  They can receive their payment on a prepaid debit card through the Treasury and Comerica bank (or they can go open a bank account in order to receive their payments if they choose).

On April 11^th, fifty two (52) new Compassionate Allowances conditions were announced.  This brought the list of Compassionate Allowances to a total of 165, with conditions such as various cancers, immune system problems and neurological conditions among them.

Certain conditions or illnesses make their way onto the Compassionate Allowances list through research from the National Institutes of Health input, information from experts in the medical and science fields, and public outreach hearings as well as medical conditions which are likely to meet the definition of a disability as described by Social Security.

The program manager of the Disability Determination Process Small Grant program, Policy Research Inc., will receive approximately a million and a half dollars over the next five years.  The funds will be used as stipends to graduate students so that they can research improvements to Social Security Disability, including Compassionate Allowances.  Details of the grant program are available online: http://www.policyresearchinc.org/projects/ddp_grant.shtml.