My firm has employees of a legal staffing agency doing onsite scanning for us. The staffing agency says they are hearing that those doing scanning have been considered essential personnel and exempt from stay at home orders in other states. We are expecting a stay at home order in the near future. Has anyone already under a stay at home order faced this issue? Were scanning personnel considered essential and exempted from the stay at home order?
11 comments:
That sounds like a stretch. Here in California all the courts (including SSA) have been shut down since last week.
In Ohio, Professional Services, which includes legal services, are exempt from our Stay at Home Order. If these individuals are involved in performing services, then one would assume they would be exempt based on our language.
However, our Governor has asked businesses to attempt to comply with the order to the extent possible even if exempt.
Our office has asked a few staff members to stay home and is working to allow others to work from home as much as possible going forward.
NYS
From Empire State Dev Corp FAQs:
13. QUESTION: What if my business is not essential, but a person must pick up the mail or perform a similar routine function each day?
ANSWER: A single person attending a non-essential closed business temporarily to perform a specific task is permitted so long as they will not be in contact with other people.
Illinois order exempts law firms and support personnel.
Also businesses which services an essential services are themselves essential. SSA in upstate NY has not stopped doing hearings officially. Federal Court has not stopped. Deadlines and statutes of limitations have not been stayed or extended. SSA considers itself essential. Law firms which represent SSA claimants are therefore able to stay open under restrictions. At least in NYS
Maryland exempts liquor stores. Not all scanning of medical records is for legal purposes. Some is to transmit records to other medical facilities which under the circumstances would easily be considered essential
Here in Southern Illinois it looks like about everything is "essential" as a lot of business is still open and people are working in manufacturing electrical panels and shipping LED lights. More people are "working" at home, for our office that is people staying home and letting us know the internet is down or slow because everyone is home streaming movies and video games.
In Delaware County PA my scanning support has one person going in twice a week to open and scan mail. They do, however, also service other professions which are still considered essential. Law firms are not considered essential unless they are participating in court functions deemed essential.
Forward your damn mail to the employees house, buy them a scanner, and perhaps chip in for their internet. Is that so hard?
You lawyers and your mail.
"Forward your damn mail to the employees house, buy them a scanner, and perhaps chip in for their internet. Is that so hard?
You lawyers and your mail."
Have you *lived* through such attorney mail forwarding and mail changes?
I still get *new* SSA denials by mail sent to my law firm of two law firms ago (over ten years ago) that has to be forwarded. Regardless of 1699, 1696, 1695 or any other 16xx form in existence.
Once SSA (or DDS, or the state courts) gets their hands on an alternate mailing (or e-mail) address, it's locked into their systems until the end of time.
I briefly used my home address and gmail address as an "official" legal destination several years ago. Never again. Never.
So, no.
5:51, you talk like SSDI lawyers are made of money. I checked into business mail forwarding today. It's $21 per week. A good scanner (like my ScanSnap) is $500+. Internet in my neck of the woods is $80/mo. If the feds sent me my fees, maybe I could afford this stuff.
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