What Do Claimants Who Are Still Working Need to Know?

For the most part, if you are currently working, you will not qualify for Social Security disability benefits, but there are some exceptions where you may still be considered disabled under the Social Security guidelines. Your Novi disability attorney will need to consider a range of facts to determine whether you meet these guidelines. Things your attorney will need to know include what kind of employment you have, how much you receive in compensation, and how much you have to spend on expenses related to your impairment.

What kind of work do you do?

A claimant who is currently working at the “substantial gainful activity” level will be deemed ineligible for disability benefits. Regardless of how severe your impairment is, you will not be awarded benefits if you are currently doing work that qualifies as “substantial” and “gainful.” Your Novi disability attorney can tell you if your work qualifies, but the general definitions are:

• “Substantial” means that your job involves significant physical or mental activity. If you need more instructions or supervision to do the job than others usually need to do a commonplace task, or if you only do negligible duties that are of almost no benefit to your employer, it may not qualify as substantial and you may still be eligible for benefits.
• “Gainful” means that your work is a job that is usually done to earn money or make a profit. If you are an employee (and not self-employed), the Administration will examine your earnings to determine whether your work counts as “gainful.”

Usually, your ability to perform substantial work is enough to disqualify you for benefits, even if it is not gainful activity. This means that if you work part-time at a job that requires a significant level of work, you will probably be found not disabled, even if the amount you earn from the job is less than the SGA level. You generally have to prove that you cannot do even sedentary work on a full-time basis. If you are capable of doing part-time heavy work, you are probably able to perform full-time sedentary work, and are therefore not disabled.

Contact us

For more information on whether you will qualify as disabled while working, consult with a Novi disability attorney. Call J.B. Bieske and Jennifer Alfonsi, Attorneys at Law, at 800-331-3530 for a free consultation.