The Social Security Administration has filed a statement in an Alameda County Superior Court lawsuit that says California's furloughs of state Disability Determination Services Division hamper the state's obligations and responsibilities under the Social Security Act.
The law requires states to provide an adequate number of qualified staff to determine disability applications and, "to the best of its ability, facilitate the processing of disability claims by avoiding personnel freezes, restrictions against overtime work, or curtailment of facilities or activities."
California's furlough of DDSD employees costs the state $849,000 per furlough day in administrative funding and causes delays that cost disabled Californians over $420,000 in Social Security benefits, according to this press release.
The federal statement was filed in Union of American Physicians and Dentists v. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California. The case is scheduled for hearing on Nov. 16.
Click the link below to view the union's complaint, the Social Security Administration's filing in the case and what Vice President Joe Biden has said about DDSD.
Click here to read the petition filed by Union of American Physicians and Dentists v. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, filed in Alameda County Superior Court in June.
This link will open the Social Security Administration's statement of interest. Clicking here will open the fed's press release.
The DDSD matter has been simmering for months. In July, Vice President Joe Biden sent a letter to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Chairman of the National Governor's Association, calling on states to exempt federally-funded state DDSD 
employees from furloughs or other budget cuts. You can read our post about Biden's letter by clicking here.
IMAGE: Vice President Joe Biden / www.whitehouse.gov
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