“We have rights”: Workers with disabilities file federal lawsuit against Wisconsin for denial of unemployment benefits

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to revise the number of Wisconsinites who receive disability benefits and are also employed.
The complaint was filed Tuesday by a group of nine residents who have been denied unemployment benefits since 2015 because they are receiving
Lawyers
More than 3,500 people with disabilities in Wisconsin are also employed, said Forberger. About 185.00 people in the state get
“In the current state of affairs, workers who receive
At the time, the ministry estimated that the change would only impact around 50 people, but over the years it has become clear that it has in fact impacted thousands of people.
“Essentially, we’re taking a very large chunk of the state’s workforce and saying they’re not entitled to unemployment benefits,” Forberger said.
A law aimed at preventing “double deductions”
When the law was passed, it was to prevent people from “doubling” and getting both unemployment and disability benefits without working. But residents receiving both benefits weren’t really doing it, Forberger said, because those beneficiaries actually depend on funds from both disability and employment.
“It’s a complete myth,” he said. “They have to work to make ends meet. But now they can’t get unemployment benefits when they lose their jobs, that’s how unemployment is supposed to work.”
Forberger said those he spoke with who received disability checks were from anywhere
“Even if you are in the high end, you have to pay rent, you have to eat, you have to pay bills, you have to pay your cell phone, and
“We have rights”
She receives
“It’s very difficult in the summer because I have a hard time with the money,” Fintz said.
Fintz said other cafeteria workers who do not perceive a disability have no problem accessing their unemployment benefits.
“They shouldn’t discriminate against us (against us. We have rights, we are human. They should be able to give us unemployment regardless of the disability,” she said. judge people. “
Fintz said she was even more worried for the coming months, now that federal unemployment benefits have also ended. Her boss recently informed her that her hours were going to be further reduced due to COVID-19.
“I could have about 10 hours a week, and it’s still not a lot to pay the bills and make ends meet,” she said. “It’s going to be difficult, you know.”
“The money is there”
Forberger hopes the lawsuit will help bring relief to those who have been denied unemployment benefits since 2015. The lawsuit calls for back pay for all claims that have been denied under the law since it came into effect.
“What we want to do is reverse the discrimination that prevented access to regular unemployment,” said Forberger. “And for the future, overturn this discriminatory eligibility ban, so that when you are fired from your job, you can get unemployment benefits.”
Forberger and Kinne have been working on the lawsuit for six months, they said, and are first seeking a preliminary injunction from federal courts to stop
Forberger said if the pursuit was successful, the
“The money is already there, it’s already in the trust fund,” he said.
Forberger did not have an estimate of how much might be owed, but said the amount would likely be significant.
The ministry did not return a request for comment on Tuesday afternoon.
The lawsuit will not affect payments made by the federal government during the coronavirus pandemic, as those payments have already been made. The lawsuit will only deal with regular benefits denied within the past six years.
The problem caused by the lack of benefits for residents with disabilities came to the fore for Forberger and Kinne at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. As thousands of people were made redundant and businesses across the state closed, those receiving disability benefits in
Eventually, the state allowed residents with disabilities to apply for federal benefits, after
He said that in
At that time, the Department of Labor also decided that the amount of federal aid would not be deducted from disability benefits either.
Forberger hopes to see swift action on the case, so people with disabilities don’t have to go without the income that helps them pay for food, rent or bills.
“Before you debate or say anything on this issue, you need to explain how this ban on eligibility can exist. More disabled workers in the state are working every year,” he said. “There is no rational explanation for this ban, other than to discriminate against people with disabilities.”