Can Office Workers Get Disability Benefits?

Office workers can get disability benefits, but it’s difficult and they might need to hire a lawyer to get them. More people work in office jobs than any other job in the United States. Although office workers usually do a sedentary job, that doesn’t mean that they can’t become disabled. You never know when a medical condition will strike and keep someone from working full-time, or from working at all. What is an office worker supposed to do when they can’t work due to a medical condition? Most are not being paid very well and can barely get by, so living off of savings is usually not an option. That’s where Social Security benefits come into play, like Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Even if you haven’t filed for benefits yet, you can get a free consultation from a Baltimore Social Security Lawyer by clicking here. Just a reminder that we are based in Baltimore but serve clients up and down the East Coast.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

Office workers who have worked full-time 5 out of the last 10 years are technically eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance, better known as SSDI. But it’s not enough to be technically eligible, someone also needs to be medically eligible to get SSDI benefits. A person needs to be expected to be unable to work or actually be unable to work full-time for 12 months or more due to a severe medical condition. For a more complete definition of Social Security’s disability definition click here.

It’s pretty difficult to prove disability when you’re an office worker because it’s a sedentary job. Under Social Security’s rules, a claimant has to prove that they are limited to less than a full day’s work because of a physical or mental condition or the combination of the two. Almost every office worker filing for SSDI will be denied because of the difficulty proving the case. If you’ve been denied, contact Baltimore Social Security Disability Lawyer Emmett B. Irwin.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

SSI medical disability rules are the same as SSDI, but the technical rules are different. SSI doesn’t require working 5 out of the last 10 years, but it does require very low income and very low assets (below $2,000). So it’s not for everyone, but sometimes office workers who have no other choice must file for SSI. If you file for both SSI and SSDI, your cases will be made “concurrent”, which means the medical disability will be determined for both at the same time.

Employer Sponsored Short Term Disability Insurance (STD)

Most office workers are employees of small or medium sized businesses like law firms or accountants. These kinds of businesses almost never have employer-sponsored STD benefits. If you work for a large company, however, you are likely to have these benefits. If you are covered, STD usually is 90-180 days of 50-60% salary and is usually pretty easy to get if you are under care of a physician.

Private Long Term Disability Insurance (LTD)

Employer-sponsored LTD benefits are usually not an option for the same reason as STD. If you work for a large company then you will usually have the option for an LTD policy that you have to pay for through a payroll deduction. Otherwise you’d have to purchase a policy on the open market, and people almost never do that because of the extra cost. If you are covered, the insurance company is sure to fight you every step of the way. Unlike STD benefits, LTD benefits are very expensive to the insurance company because they can last for years. Insurance companies don’t want to pay you, they’d rather just collect your money.

How a Lawyer Can Help

The SSA’s disability rules severely penalize office workers because of the (usually) sedentary nature of their work. This is not to say that someone with ALS, on Dialysis, etc. won’t be approved. Very serious and terminal illness cases will still be approved, but all others will probably need a lawyer. The same goes for LTD claims. A lawyer can win cases that are impossible for someone proceeding pro se (Latin term for without a lawyer). If you have questions or need representation don’t hesitate to call Baltimore Social Security Disability Attorney Emmett B. Irwin by clicking here.