DREDF Submitted Comments January 31 on Proposed SSA Rule to Increase Continuing Disability Reviews

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February 4, 2020
DREDF submitted comments January 31 advocating against a proposed federal rule that would allow the Social Security Administration to increase how often many who are receiving Social Security disability benefits would have to undergo review for a continuing disability. Currently, people with disabilities have routine disability reviews or at set intervals to maintain their benefit eligibility. Under the proposed rule, SSA would review most people every two years. Not only is this review process extremely stressful and burdensome for people with disabilities, disability policy experts calculate that 2.6 million people, many of whom remain eligible, could be at risk of losing benefits with implementation of this new policy. The proposed rule would disproportionately harm adults nearing retirement age, children, people with serious behavioral health disabilities, and people who have cancer. DREDF urges SSA to withdraw this rule immediately. [...]

Judge Certifies Class of Three Million Visually Impaired Beneficiaries in Social Security Administration Lawsuit

September 12, 2008
San Francisco, California — On Thursday, September 11, 2008, Judge William Alsup of the US District Court for the Northern District of California granted class certification in a disability rights action in which plaintiffs argue that the Social Security Administration (SSA) fails to provide its communications in alternative formats that would enable people with visual impairments to have equal access to SSA programs as required by federal disability civil rights laws and the US Constitution.

Judge Rules Social Security Administration Must Accommodate Blind Beneficiaries

April 24, 2008
San Francisco, California — On Wednesday, April 23, 2008, Judge William Alsup of the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the US Social Security Administration (SSA) must accommodate the real and legitimate needs of people with visual impairments who receive benefits from SSA. The agency is required under the Rehabilitation Act and the due process clause, the ruling states, to provide communications in formats that are accessible to these beneficiaries.

Blind Beneficiaries Sue Social Security Administration

November 16, 2005
SSA Fails to Provide Accessible Communications The American Council of the Blind and a group of individuals who are blind or have vision impairments today filed a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), alleging that the agency fails to provide the most basic accommodations to its blind applicants and beneficiaries.

ACB v. SSA

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November 16, 2005
Over one hundred thousand blind and visually impaired Americans rely on benefits from the Social Security Administration ("SSA") to meet their basic needs. They are among the 48 million Americans who receive benefits from the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance ("OASDI") program based on an earnings history, and the seven million Americans who receive Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") based on financial need and either age, blindness, or other disabilities. Despite the obvious and critical importance of these benefits, SSA regularly communicates with blind and visually impaired persons in standard print format, which they cannot read. SSA regularly suspends the benefits of blind and visually impaired recipients for failing to comply with requirements set forth in standard print documents that they cannot read and for failing to return printed forms that they cannot complete. As a result, many have suffered extreme financial and personal hardship.