From HuffPost:
... [T]he Trump administration is planning a regulation that would essentially redefine full-time work as 30 hours per week, instead of the usual 40, for purposes of determining whether someone is disabled. Fewer people would likely win benefits as a result.
The tighter eligibility standard, which has not been previously reported, is part of a draft rule that, if finalized, would bring sweeping changes to the Social Security Disability Insurance program. It would follow multiple other efforts by the Trump administration to cut social programs that help people afford food, health care and housing. ...
The full draft rule, which has not been formally released yet, is the culmination of years of work by the Social Security Administration to update its data on the U.S. labor market ― and years of grumbling by Republicans and right-wing think tanks about how disability benefits coddle people who supposedly could get jobs. ...
Actuaries in the Social Security Administration are currently reviewing the draft rule to see how many beneficiaries would be affected and how much money the government might save by denying benefits, according to a source. ...
In order to adopt this, they have to send it to the Office of Management and Budget for approval. OMB is likely to take several months to review it. They must then publish it for public comments. That takes a few months. It must then be sent back to a OMB for a second review which normally takes a few months. Could this all be done before the next Inauguration Day? In theory, yes. Remember, though, that this wouldn’t be popular. Is it the sort of proposal that would make progress during an election year? And there’s the Covid-19 thing which may slow down the wheels of government.
7 comments:
This isn't new. The Obama administration did the same thing for health care
So how exactly is this new rule being reconciled with existing employment law and rules on overtime pay?
Will employers be expected to now pay employees overtime for anything over this new 30 hours? If the answer to this is no based on current rules, then will there be an immediate and intense push for changes in laws and regulations to implement changes in overtime pay?
VE cross would be fun. VE: "No jobs at 40 hours, your honor. Between 30-39.9 hours, I estimate that 42.6% of the job market for that occupation could be performed, so there are 13,640 jobs in the nation." Attorney Vinny Gambini on cross: "Uh, everything that guy just said is bulls*@#. Thank you."
I'm sure I'm misreading, or not reading enough into it, but this seems more like a Step 1 issue as opposed to how many jobs are performed in the national economy at Step 5.
@11:27
The official language of the proposed rule change hasn't been released yet, but if full-time work is redefined as 30 hours a week as opposed to 40, it would impact step 1, but also would impact the context of the RFC, which would impact both steps 4 and 5.
For Step 1 the number of hours worked is not the keystone. The amount of gross monthly income is.
Different rules apply for Self-Employment. I have had several self-employment cases with gross earnings of over $100,000 that was not substantial gainful activity. A couple of those cases had to go to the Appeals Council because the ALJs deciding the case did not fully understand the self-employment rules. The Appeals Council Remanded those cases and I won the second time around.
All of this is before the great economic apocalypse. This program is key to getting money down to people on the street. The smart thing would be going back to about a 60 percent approval rate like we had before the Tea Party came to town. I don't mean handing out money to everybody that comes through the door but being reasonable and humane. Otherwise the billionaires can just eat each other. This economy is about to slam to a halt like we haven't seen since the Great Depression. Mass social unrest would not be a good thing. Get money to the street and in circulation. It's called velocity of money folks. Billionaires can't buy enough super yachts, planes and mansions to save us now. 21st Century Great Depression is here baby! The wolf is at the door!
Post a Comment