Social Security benefits are designed to supplement your income if you become disabled. You can apply for two types of disability benefits depending on your needs. But even if you follow all the rules and complete every form, you can still receive a denial. You may end up getting more headaches than help.

SSD

You qualify for SSD, or Social Security Disability, if you worked during your life-time and earned income from a place of employment or from self-employment. You must pay into Social Security to receive this benefit. The federal government has specific guidelines regarding the benefit.

Each year you work, you earn up to four credits toward your SS benefits. The Social Security Administration calculates your earned credits by your yearly income. The amount of your disability benefit depends on your age and how long you worked.

If you do not pay or work enough to qualify for SSD, the social security office can deny you. The government can deny you if it feels that you can work at some point in the future, or do not have a condition that affects your ability to work.

SSI

You can apply for your Supplemental Security Income if you become disabled from a medical condition or from serving in the military. If you happen to be a veteran with a disabling injury, you may qualify for benefits from the Veteran’s Administration and the Social Security Administration.

SSI applies to you if your doctor considers you unable to work because of a debilitating medical condition, disease or cancer. The headache arises when you need to prove to the administration that you are disabled and qualify for your benefits. You may spend a great deal of time seeing the administration’s doctors, completing paperwork and calling the Social Security office during the process.

Getting Help

It can take a year or more to receive an answer about your case. If the Social Security Administration does deny your claim, you can obtain help from pro-bono lawyers and advocates who specialize in Social Security claim cases. They can assist you with filing an appeal but you must do so within 60 days of your initial denial.

Your advocates can help you during the appeal hearing. If you still receive a disability denial, make another appeal to the Appeals Council. Keep in mind that the council can uphold the hearing’s decision and refuse this claim as well.

Social Security becoming more of a Headache than Help is a post from: WTVS News

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The United States Congress passed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in 1977.  The Act has been amended in the twenty plus years since then and has served to not only affect American companies and the ways in which they conduct business transactions, but many companies outside of the United States as well.  Foreign corporations are now being held liable for acts of corruption and bribery, for the transactions conducted in the US as well as those foreign companies and officials likewise.  This has served to metaphorically and literally level out the playing field a bit, by putting pressures on the governments to enact their own laws regarding bribery and anti-corruption policies and procedures.

This happened in Korea in 2001 and has been a growing practice in many other countries ever since that time.  The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act just ensures that ethics are followed regarding the administration of the officials and the companies, as well as removing the cloak and making all transactions and record keeping transparent.  Corporate standards of internal government and management have drastically improved and this has resulted in greater cooperation between governments, better coordination within governments, and it has given law enforcement officials something to work with, something more powerful that was not so before FCPA.

The number of prosecutions of such cases of bribery and corruption has gone up, and those attempting to bribe those working, managing and owning American based companies face extremely stiff penalties.  These laws apply not only to any American citizen, but foreign workers who hold American green cards.  Any American citizen and green card holder is held liable, no matter where they work, and regardless of which country the do that work in.  Foreign businesses are only held liable when conducting business with American companies, however with more foreign countries instating their own anti-bribery acts, this is changing the business world for the better.

The Worldwide Effect of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is a post from: WTVS News

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