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For the first time ever, the U.S. Department of Labor released employment data related to people with disabilities earlier this month. It found that for January 2009, the unemployment rate for those with disabilities was 13.2 percent compared to 8.3 percent for persons with no disability.
There is also thought to be an increase in the segment of the working population known as the “working wounded.”
According to Edward Swierczek, an Allsup senior claimant representative and former state Disability Determination Services employee, “These individuals have been working and want to hold on to their job as long as they can, but they are suffering from a chronic disease or condition. In some cases, they are enduring significant pain or difficulty, but continue to work because they still have to feed their families and pay their bills.”
According to Allsup, eligibility for SSDI is based on the inability to work, as determined by the SSA. Generally, a person is …
