Sacramento, California
Sacramento Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI Claims Assigned to the Arden Way Hearing Office
Social Security's Sacramento hearing office, at 1610 Arden Way, is assigned claims from twelve field offices, from the four Sacramento offices and Roseville, Auburn and Placerville to Yuba City, Oroville, Chico, Redding and Susanville. Downard & Associates represents Sacramento-area claimants in Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims, from the application through reconsideration, a hearing before an administrative law judge and Appeals Council review. We work by phone or video from our office in Lebanon, Tennessee, and there is no fee unless you win.
How we help
What We Handle for Sacramento Claimants
Consultations happen by phone or video, and our attorneys handle hearings from Tennessee by phone or video.
Two Sacramento details can change how a claim is handled: which Northern California hearing office handles your claim, based on where you live, and California's State Disability Insurance, which Social Security says most California workers entitled to SSDI can also receive, and which can reduce SSDI for the weeks both are paid, with a different rule for some state and local government employees.
We handle applications, reconsideration, hearings and Appeals Council review. Our California disability lawyer page covers how claims across the state are routed.
We have no Sacramento office. Consultations happen by phone or video, and our attorneys handle hearings from Tennessee by phone or video. We represent adults age 18 and older. We handle SSDI cases for people who receive VA benefits, but we do not handle VA claims or appeals. We do not take disability cessation or continuing disability review cases, or cases about back pay alone, and we refer federal court appeals to affiliated counsel.
Hearing office
The Sacramento Hearing Office and the Field Offices It Hears
Social Security's hearing office locator, which groups offices by hearings hub, shows one hearing office in the city:
- Sacramento, Suite 250, 1610 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA 95815: the Auburn, Chico, Oroville, Placerville, Redding, Roseville, Sacramento, Sacramento (North), Sacramento (South), Sacramento (West), Susanville and Yuba City field offices.
Some nearby field offices go elsewhere. The locator assigns the Lodi, Manteca, Modesto, Sonora and Stockton field offices to the Stockton hearing office on West March Lane, and the Suisun City and Vallejo field offices to the San Rafael hearing office, along with the Crescent City, Eureka, Lakeport, Napa, San Rafael, Santa Rosa and Ukiah field offices.
Social Security's operations manual says hearing office jurisdiction is determined by the claimant's residence address, though you can ask, in a signed statement giving your reasons, to have a case transferred, and Social Security decides whether to do it. Social Security's hearings manual also lets it reassign some cases to another hearing office to relieve a temporary workload imbalance or increase productivity, only when the other office can hear and decide them more quickly. Social Security generally does not reassign a case this way when you have properly objected in writing to both a phone hearing and an agency video hearing, have not agreed to online video, and have not changed your residence. After a move, it generally still honors that objection when deciding whether to reassign the case for workload reasons, if doing so causes no added delay and nothing else calls for scheduling you another way. That practice is separate from the hearing-format rule, under which Social Security decides how you appear after a move. When Social Security moves a case to another hearing office for workload or productivity reasons, the office that receives it notifies you and your representative. Our hearing office directory lists every office with its field offices. For an in-person or agency video hearing, the Notice of Hearing names the place, so go by that notice for your own case.
State disability insurance
California SDI and an SSDI Claim in Sacramento
California's State Disability Insurance, run by the Employment Development Department, pays part of lost wages when a non-work-related illness, injury or pregnancy keeps you from your regular work. EDD's Disability Insurance page lists between $50 and $1,765 a week for up to 52 weeks for workers who earned at least $300 with SDI taken from their pay during the base period and whose disability a physician or practitioner certifies. Social Security's manual section on California disability benefits says most California workers entitled to SSDI are also entitled to SDI.
Social Security treats SDI as a public disability benefit. Under 20 CFR 404.408, when SSDI and a public disability benefit are paid for the same month and you have not reached full retirement age, Social Security reduces the SSDI, along with any family benefits on your record, by the amount the total exceeds the higher of 80 percent of your average current earnings or the total Social Security benefits paid on your record before the reduction. The manual applies that offset only for the weeks SDI is actually paid, not for periods when EDD disqualified you, and removes it once SDI ends; if SDI that was not used up resumes later, the offset can apply again.
Government work in the capital region can change the answer. The manual says SDI paid to a state or local government employee is not offset when it is based on state or local employment that was all or substantially all, meaning 85 percent or more, covered by Social Security under Section 218. Federal employees do not receive SDI, and some California state employees do not pay into SDI and cannot receive it; the manual calls Non-Industrial Disability Insurance the state employee version of SDI.
Social Security treats you as the primary source of proof of SDI. The documents it accepts include EDD's Notice of Exhaustion of Disability Benefits (DE 2525A or DE 2500CKX) and EDD's SDI payment abstracts, and it does not accept the DE 507 wage and claim abstract. The manual points to EDD's line at (800) 480-3287 for a printout of the SDI payment record and notes that EDD keeps records for only 10 years, so keep your final SDI payment notice.
Local treatment records
Medical Records From UC Davis Health, Sutter Health and the VA at Mather
For California providers, Health and Safety Code section 123110(d) gives a patient one free copy of the relevant portion of the records with a written request and proof that they are needed for an SSDI or SSI claim or appeal. It covers California providers, not VA facilities, and does not apply when a private attorney is paying the costs of the claim or appeal while it is pending, so ask us how records will be requested in your case. Our Los Angeles disability lawyer page explains that rule in more detail.
UC Davis Health: its release of information page takes a written authorization by mail to Health Information Management, 2315 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95817, by fax to 916-734-2126, or by email to hs-roi@health.ucdavis.edu; walk-in service is not available. It lists a possible charge of 25 cents a page plus shipping for patients, no cost for records in MyUCDavisHealth, and processing time of no more than 15 days for a patient's own copies and 30 days for others. Health Information Management answers at 916-734-5205.
Sutter Health: its medical records page takes an online request with a copy of your photo ID, or the Medical Records Authorization form by fax to 916-736-5499 or by mail to Sutter Health System Office, PO Box 619091, Roseville, CA 95661. Sutter says it will tell you in advance if any fees apply, asks you to allow up to 15 calendar days for copies, and uses a separate form for radiology images.
VA at Mather: VA Northern California health care's medical records office has a Release of Information office at 10535 Hospital Way, Mather, CA 95655, main phone 916-843-7000. Bring a signed written request, such as VA Form 10-5345a, and your Veteran Health Identification Card, or mail the form to 10535 Hospital Way, Mather, CA 95655; you can also view and download VA records online. VA says mailed or faxed requests may take up to 20 business days to process. Our veterans page explains how a VA rating and an SSDI claim relate.
Hearings and deadlines
Hearing Format and Appeal Deadlines for a Sacramento Disability Claim
To object to a phone or agency video hearing, after you receive the notice
30days
20 CFR 404.936(d), 416.1436(d)
After a hearing request, Social Security sends a Notice of Ways to Attend a Hearing, and its ways to attend page lists four: in person or by agency video at one of its offices, and by phone or online video from a private location you choose. Under 20 CFR 404.936 and, for SSI, 20 CFR 416.1436, an objection to a phone hearing, an agency video hearing, or both must be made in writing within 30 days after you receive that notice. If you do not object, Social Security can schedule a phone or agency video hearing, though it can also schedule you in person or, if you agree, by online video; if you object to only one of those two formats, it can schedule you in person, by the other format, or by online video if you agree, and if you object to both, it generally schedules you in person or, if you agree, by online video. Online video is used only if you agree to it in writing, and a late objection or agreement needs good cause. If you move while the hearing request is pending, Social Security decides how you appear and can schedule a phone or agency video hearing despite an objection, though it considers the move only if you send evidence of your new residence; it can also use a phone hearing in a few other situations the rule lists. Our guide to hearing formats explains each choice and when Social Security moves a case to another office, and our disability hearings page describes the hearing itself.
A reconsideration request is due in writing within 60 days after you receive the initial denial, under 20 CFR 404.909 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1409 for SSI, and a hearing request after a reconsideration denial has its own 60 days under 20 CFR 404.933 and 20 CFR 416.1433. Social Security treats a notice as received 5 days after the date on the notice unless you show it came later, under 20 CFR 404.901 and 20 CFR 416.1401. A late request needs a written request for more time and good cause, so call us the week a denial arrives.
Common questions
Sacramento Disability Claim Questions
Which hearing office takes a Vallejo or Suisun City claim?
San Rafael, not Sacramento. Social Security's hearing office locator assigns the Vallejo and Suisun City field offices to the San Rafael hearing office at 4040 Civic Center Drive. A transfer or reassignment is possible, and your Notice of Hearing names the place and format for your own case.
Can I get California SDI and SSDI at the same time?
Yes, and Social Security's manual says most California workers entitled to SSDI are also entitled to SDI. For the weeks both are paid, and before full retirement age, Social Security generally reduces SSDI and any family benefits on your record when those benefits and SDI together exceed the higher of 80 percent of your average current earnings or the total Social Security benefits paid on your record.
Does SDI reduce SSDI for a state or local government employee?
Not when the SDI is based on state or local employment that was all or substantially all, 85 percent or more, covered by Social Security under Section 218. Otherwise the usual offset rules apply.
What proof of SDI does Social Security accept?
EDD's Notice of Exhaustion of Disability Benefits (DE 2525A or DE 2500CKX) or an EDD SDI payment abstract, among others. The DE 507 wage and claim abstract is not accepted. EDD's line at (800) 480-3287 can provide a printout of the SDI payment record.
Does the VA medical center at Mather handle records requests?
Yes. VA Northern California health care lists a Release of Information office at 10535 Hospital Way in Mather, main phone 916-843-7000. Bring a signed written request, such as VA Form 10-5345a, and your Veteran Health Identification Card. VA says mailed or faxed requests may take up to 20 business days to process.
Discuss your claim
Talk Through Your Sacramento Claim With Us
Have your latest Social Security notice, any EDD disability payment notices, the field office named on your letters and a list of where you have been treated in front of you. We will explain where the claim stands and the next deadline by phone or video.