Counsel’s Corner

PWDF Files Lawsuit in Federal Court Against the Social Security Administration (SSA) for Discrimination Based on Disability (Schizophrenia)

By Steven Bruce, PWDF Legal Director

In 2019, our client received a fully favorable decision from a US Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), based on a psychiatrist’s testimony that he had acute psychosis (schizophrenia). Most of his life he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and in about a year leading up to the hearing he was hospitalized four times; however, he had to wait nearly two years for his first SSI check. SSI is a poverty program for the basic necessities of life, including food, shelter, and clothing.

When the local SSA field office processed the decision, they falsely found that he owned a million dollars of real estate in Mexico. It took from June 2020, when we started representing him, until January 2022, for him to receive his first check. We had to write approximately ten letters and an administrative discrimination complaint asking for reasonable accommodations. The real estate was an issue at the next ALJ hearing; specifically, if the client was over the $2,000 resource limit for SSI.

He was not over the resource limit, and that ALJ believed, as I said, that he needed reasonable accommodations resulting in “effective communication” so that he would have the required equal, meaningful program access. He probably misspoke, in that when his father died, the property could not go through an inheritance process, but could only be used by someone doing agrarian work on the real estate in Mexico.

Even though that ALJ agreed with me, his attorney, for reasonable accommodations, the decision came back stating that the ALJ had no jurisdiction over reasonable accommodations; the administrative appeal (Appeals Council), by a letter received January 12, 2023, affirmed the decision, stating the agency had no jurisdiction to afford reasonable accommodations.  The issue of whether the Office of Hearing Operations (OHO) has or does not have the authority to provide reasonable accommodations is the issue in the federal court case we filed. The OHO has a manual (HALLEX 1-2-4-30) that states the ALJs and appeals judges must send the accommodations needed to the SSA’s new Center for Accommodations and Disability Services (CADS). For non-standard disabilities, which includes psychosis, they have from 2-6 weeks to provide the accommodation(s) if this was the first time requested.  The ALJ sent the request to the CADS on or about September 22, 2021, after which time, nothing was done.

In March 2020, we received two letters: one from the new Associate General Counsel in charge of Civil Rights Complaints nationwide; the other from CADS. Both letters contradicted each other, one saying they do have authority for reasonable accommodations to have meaningful program access, and the other one not saying that. By this time we had 60 days to file the complaint in US District Court.

It appears that people living with severe mental and developmental disorders are being victimized by the SSA. We have come across many cases where they give a 10-day letter to the Social Security beneficiary stating the beneficiary is being terminated from benefits, either based on work or medical reviews.

Another individual received such a letter on or about June 1, 2021, stating she was being terminated from SSI, while in fact she was trying to work part-time at a local drug store like Walgreens or CVS to make ends meet. Upon receiving the letter, she had to apply for county welfare and an increase in food stamps. She never should have had her SSI checks ceased, nor been charged with an overpayment (the SSA wanted her to pay $9,000). There were two hearings in February and March 2023. We wait for that decision. She also has severe schizophrenia, which one of her doctors stated at the hearing resulted in disorganized thinking and auditory, visual, and olfactory hallucinations.

Regrettably, there are too many cases—especially based in this population—where the individual does not have the capacity to respond to complex programs like work incentive programs, where it is necessary to understand the following incentive programs to offset the amount of money (substantial gainful activity (SGA)) the SSA claims is sufficient evidence to cease their disability benefit checks. They include Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE), income averaging, employer subsidies, unsuccessful work attempts (which are not countable so long as the individual is not working over six months), and special conditions. These are complex work incentive programs, which must be applied correctly.

Starting on or about 2006, all 1,500 SSA field offices (FO) in the United States were put on quotas to do work reviews, which increased each year. They were and are done at the field offices of the SSA; however, FOs do not do any medical analysis. We also requested the same accommodations as we obtained for two individuals after five and half years of litigation on June 19, 2012. See Davis v. Astrue, Commissioner of the SSA, Case No. 3:06-cv-6108, and John Doe v. Michael Astrue, Case No. 3:09-cv-980 (N.D. Cal.).

These cases were the first to get reasonable accommodations for people with psychosis, the most common form of which is schizophrenia. The SSA has been required to comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 since 1978, when Congress amended this statute to apply to federal agencies. Section 504 prevents discrimination on the basis of disability, as does the Americans with Disabilities Act, which does not apply to federal agencies.

PWDF Profile

Who We Are

People With Disabilities Foundation is an operating 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, which focuses on the rights of the mentally and developmentally disabled.

Services

Advocacy: PWDF advocates for Social Security claimant’s disability benefits in eight Bay Area counties. We also provide services in disability rights, on issues regarding returning to work, and in ADA consultations, including areas of employment, health care, and education, among others. There is representation before all levels of federal court and Administrative Law Judges. No one is declined due to their inability to pay, and we offer a sliding scale for attorney’s fees.

Education/Public Awareness: To help eliminate the stigma against people with mental disabilities in society, PWDF’s educational program organizes workshops and public seminars, provides guest speakers with backgrounds in mental health, and produces educational materials such as videos.