As a business owner, keeping informed about the finer points of employment law is important. If you're getting ready to hire your first employees, you need to be sure that you understand exactly what you can and cannot do. Don't risk getting yourself into legal trouble by asking the wrong question at the interview or making an off-hand comment that's considered legally unacceptable. I created this site to give you the basics of employment law expectations. I hope that the information here helps you to understand what you should and shouldn't do as you're interviewing and hiring your first staff members.
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Three Things To Avoid During Questioning At A Disability Hearing
Irene Robertson
Once you've filed the appropriate papers for your disability suit, you might think the hard part is over and that you'll soon be notified about when you'll be receiving your SSDI benefits. However, you still need to talk to an administrative judge at a hearing specifically designed to learn more about you and your particular needs. This can make you uncomfortable, but if you can manage to steer clear of the following errors, your hearing should go well.
Repeating Information in Your File
Because you are nervous, you might want to just repeat what your doctor's notes say, especially if you've spent time looking through your medical records. You may think that way, you won't say anything that could jeopardize your claim. However, the administrative judge has likely already looked at everything in your file in preparation for your hearing, so they don't need that information again. What they need is to have information from you about how your disability is manifesting in your life. Speak plainly about what you're dealing with.
Not Giving Examples
Your plan might be to answer direct questions and nothing more during your questioning. However, before your hearing, think about specific examples you can share to show what life is like for you. Do your muscles ache throughout the day? Are you having seizures more often? Are you unable to think clearly? Offering specific instances that detail how your health interferes with tasks and work can bolster your claims. The judge will be better able to understand why you cannot continue to work as you have been.
Making Things Seem Worse Than They Are
It can be very easy to start trying to earn sympathy from the judge who is asking you questions. You may start to think that you'll make things better for yourself if you overstate your disability and stress how awful life is as a result. This is exceedingly risky; remember that the judge hears these kinds of cases all the time and can make a reasonably accurate assessment of whether someone is being truthful. Not only that, but you could make statements that directly contradict what your physician's remarks say. If that happens, you could be in real danger of losing any benefits you thought you'd receive.
It can be nerve-wracking to talk to a judge about your disability. Using the advice in this article can help. Think about consulting a lawyer from a law firm like Bruce K Billman to get more guidance for your testimony and to oversee your entire case so that you have a better chance of earning benefits.
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