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Social Security Administration SSI Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Social Security Administration
- What: The Social Security Administration is accused of wrongly docking the supplemental security income of people who relied on the benefits, including parents of foster children and the elderly.
- Where: Nationwide
The Social Security Administration wrongly reduced the benefits of some of society’s most vulnerable people during the pandemic, including people with disabilities, parents of young foster children and the elderly, a new nationwide class action lawsuit alleges.
The class action complaint was filed by multiple plaintiffs against Acting Commissioner of Social Security Kilolo Kijakazi on Sept. 15 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of the constitution and the laws governing federal agencies.
According to the lawsuit, thousands of very low income older adults and people with disabilities were harmed by an “arbitrary and capricious rule change” by the Social Security Administration (SSA) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That conduct caused, and is continuing to cause, injury to plaintiffs and the proposed class by wrongfully imposing penalties that have the effect of reducing their benefits, risking harm to their health and safety.”
The lawsuit alleges that on March 17, 2020, SSA closed its offices across the country and suspended some operations, like determining eligibility of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients.
Social Security Offices Closed During the Pandemic Made it Difficult for People to Update and Access Their Social Security Benefits, a New Class Action Claims
Before the pandemic, millions of SSI recipients reported changes in their finances to SSA in person at local field offices, the lawsuit stated. But since offices closed, these SSI recipients have instead been required to report financial changes to SSA solely by phone, fax or mail.
The lawsuit claims this is difficult for many, and even for those who were able to report their financial changes easily, SSA often did not process the updated information for many months.
“As a result of this failure, when SSA later identifies that the recipient was ‘overpaid’ during each of those many months, the recipient faces recoupment going forward—resulting in a meaningful reduction of each month’s benefits,” the class action lawsuit states.
The agency issued an interim rule to deal with the issue, through a no-fault waiver of certain overpayments, however the implementation of the rule is flawed, the lawsuit alleges.
“The arbitrary limitations on the [rules] applicability have resulted in many SSI recipients being assessed overpayments and thus experiencing unfair and improper benefit reductions, causing substantial harm.”
The class action lawsuit alleged the agency has violated the Social Security Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Due Process and Equal Protection guarantees of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Plaintiff LaQuana Campos, who lives in Brooklyn with her husband and three children, was told she was overpaid by thousands of dollars by the SSA and had her benefits cut, even though she says the payments should have been covered under the new waiver.
Campos says, as a result, her phone service was cut off, causing her to worry that her children would be unable to reach her in case of an emergency. She says she had panic attacks and struggled to provide even the basics for the family.
Plaintiff Tosha Adams, a 60 year old who looks after two foster children in New York, says she has not received SSI benefits since November 2020.
“Ms. Adams has no money to support herself other than a small amount of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to pay for her food,” the lawsuit says. “She must rely on her adult daughter, who provides Ms. Adams a couple hundred dollars per month to pay for rent and other expenses.”
The plaintiffs are seeking to represent all current and future recipients of Supplemental Security Income who were assessed an overpayment debt between March 2020 and the end of the pandemic.
They’re seeking certification of the class action, an injunction preventing the agency from trying to recoup overpayments, an order forcing the agency to reassess overpayments, plus fees, costs and a jury trial.
Meanwhile, Social Security disability insurance benefits are hugely important to millions of Americans. Indeed, approximately 8.5 million Americans receive disabled-worker benefits from Social Security, along with 1.5 million children of disabled workers and 117,000 spouses. For a comprehensive article on how to apply for social security disability benefits, click here.
What do you think of the allegations in this class action lawsuit? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP.
The Social Security COVID-19 Class Action Lawsuit is Campos, et al. v. Kill Kijakazi, Case No. 1:21-cv-05143, in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York.
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75 thoughts onSocial Security Agency Wrongly Reduced Benefits During Pandemic, Harming the Most Vulnerable, New Class Action Alleges
Add my name to the class action lawsuit
I am a recipient of of SSDI and like many have suffered the same penalties for “being overpaid “. My benefits were greatly reduced but what impacted me more is the allowable monthly resource (s) of 2000.00 a month! That in itself is a condemnation to poverty for me and my family! This yolk that enslaves my family to poverty is an impediment, a bulwark against the “pursuit of happiness “and thus I request your assistance?
Agree with a recent commenter. I won’t comment on my case on this post, except that I have been waiting for 4 years now to have a ALJ hearing, my disability attorneys office has also made a lot of mistakes. Please include me in this suit. I’m not sure if I qualify to join, as I reside in Texas.
Not about to post my issues here. But, please add me to this suit. SSA/SSI has royally screwed me over. I lostan aweful lot because of them.
They are saying I owe them 30,000 in a Overpayment add me to the list please
The ssi gives certain people thousands but we get JACK SHIT
They allow my abusive father to take my money!!!!! They are enablers,and leabe us little people femd for ourselves!! Add me to the list please!!
I have been on ssdi for several years and work part time. I was an essential worker during the pandemic and made 2.00 extra an hour for hazardous pay and social security wants 16,406 dollars back in over payments and decided my benefits ended. It’s been a year this monthvive been waiting to get reinstated and have to go to their physician for exam and wait another 3 months til they decide if I get my benefits back. I owe them money til I turn 89 years of age. Is there a pandemic suit I can research? None of this would have happened if I didn’t work the pandemic.
I want to get my name on this list so I can get the money that I need to provide for my family and myself to be able to be provided my social security after the events that led to my disability that were in direct connection to the abuse of mental trauma by the hands of my care provider for the first 15 years of my life and I have no way to get a job you cause the pain and suffering from nit removing Mr from my abusive Mother that’s is currently a prisoner of New Mexico Dtate corrections
please add me to the class action lawsuit. Social security, state of Wisconsin (ssi) telling me I owe them thousands of dollars in overpayment. !!! they withheld checks on me and now want to reduce my disability checks to pay the money back. I DO NOT OWE THEM ANY MONEY IN OVERPAYMENTS. WHY ARE THEY HURTING THE DISABLED??!!. I cant even go back to my part time job ( of 20 years ) because of covid -19 . I’m under doctor care. I can’t even collect unemployment they told me and they won’t extend my ppu payment. NOW THEY WANT TO REDUCE MY DISABILITY CHECKS BECAUSE OF OVERPAYMENTS. I NEVER GOT OVERPAYED !!!!! WHERE ARE THEY COMING UP WITH THIS CRAP ????? AND NOW THEY EVEN WANT ME TO PAY FOR MY HEALTH INSURANCE ( MEDICARE AND MEDICAID IS WHAT I HAVE ) THEY ARE TAKING MONEY AWAY FROM ME AND THEY NOW WANT ME TO PAY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE ????? HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSE TO SURVIVE. ???? WHY ARE THE DISABLED BEING DISCRIMINATED AGAINST !!!! NOT FAIR !!!!!!! PLEASE HELP
WELL SAID!!
YEP,these wicked government turds are abuse enablers!! I tell them about my abusive father taking my money,and theu have the audacity to ask him like he’s gonna tell on himself!!
How can I be added to this class action lawsuit? My father died this past Sunday due to his benefits being cutoff over four months ago and therefore was unable to see his doctor. SSA is saying he has an overpayment of over $3000. He died because of their negligence!!!!