Income Maintenance Success Stories
Michelle
Michelle sought help from legal aid because she wanted to make sure her former employer didn’t keep treating their employees so poorly. She wanted to hold them accountable.Michelle knew where to find help because the legal aid office in her small town is well-known and well-integrated into the fabric of the community. Michelle tells us that the staff “do everything they can. Even if I just have a question I can at least get an answer, get a direction. They have always been there.” They helped her mother settle a consumer rights dispute years ago, and she knew she could turn to them for help.
Ultimately, legal aid represented Michelle in a case against her former employer. They negotiated a settlement to help Michelle, and dissuade the company from continuing their poor employment practices. If Michelle hadn’t contacted legal aid, she doesn’t think there would have been any consequences for the employer at all, and they would have kept mistreating their employees.
Michelle says that “legal aid is a wonderful resource for those who don’t otherwise have the means to get help.”
Natalia
Natalia was facing garnishment of her low-wage income. She had been furloughed due to COVID, and unemployment benefits covered her basic living expenses. Due to a miscommunication between her employer and the Oregon employment department, OED misclassified her furlough as voluntary leave. They decided she wasn’t qualified for the benefits she had received – and wanted her to pay them back.
Natalia was stuck in a bureaucratic nightmare: she never got notice of the OED’s decision, and didn’t know her time to appeal was slipping away. The first she heard from the OED was a letter telling her that her time to appeal had passed. When she got in touch with the OED office, she was given bad information and the wrong forms. Even when her employer intervened to correct the record, the OED wouldn’t change their position-they considered it final, even though it was clearly a mistake. Compounding the difficulties, all communications came to her in English, despite her request for translated documents.
The OED was unmovable--they denied her request for a hearing and they denied her request for a repayment waiver. Natalia had been trying for a year to correct the record on her own but wasn’t getting anywhere. When Natalia finally found legal aid, she was astounded at how quickly they were able to resolve the issue – “by reaching out to the right people, [my legal aid attorney] was able to get everything solved very quickly. She had the experience and knowledge to resolve all of this.” Her lawyer represented her at three hearings that ended with the judge siding with Natalia—she was entitled to the benefits she received, she didn’t need to repay anything, and the delay in asking for a review of the decision wasn’t her fault. A legal aid lawyer was able to resolve in a few months what Natalia had been struggling with for more than a year.
Dean
Dean, a veteran, was working hard to turn his life around. An important step was to have his driver’s license reinstated, which would help him to obtain a job, housing, and the ability to contribute to his community. He came to Medford’s Center for NonProfit Legal Services looking for help in locating and negotiating with the multiple jurisdictions where he had outstanding fines, fees, and other court actions. His legal aid lawyer discovered that Dean had multiple traffic citations and related court actions, spanning nearly 30 years, in different jurisdictions across the country.
Legal aid worked with clerks, judges, agency administrators, and staff throughout the jurisdictions involved and helped Dean negotiate settlements with out-of-state courts and other state agencies to reduce or make payment arrangements for his outstanding fines, fees, and assessments. Where necessary, they helped to locate local legal counsel or assisted him to “appear” in the courts. With the help of legal aid, and a great deal of patience and persistence, Dean was able to get his Oregon driver’s license reinstated.
When Dean first applied for legal aid services, he was a resident in a VA treatment program. Once he successfully completed treatment, he moved into the veterans’ homeless/housing program. Today, Dean has his own residence with a garden! He attends the local community college and is looking forward to obtaining the proper education and credentials needed to become a peer counselor to other veterans who want to turn their lives around. Debra Lee, Executive Director at the Center, said: “Dean drives a vintage van, sings in the choir, grows an amazing garden, and inspires us all with his tenacity and good humor. We know his story will also inspire us to continue to do this work, and those he will help in the future.”
Loretta
Loretta is a grandmother in her 70’s who depends on social security income and a modest spousal support payment. Her monthly support was not a large sum, but with her low-income, it was the difference between being able to pay her property taxes and losing her home.
When her ex-husband decided to stop paying Loretta’s court-ordered support, Loretta started down a long list of names to call. She sought legal advice anywhere she could get it --in quick, free, consultations; from court clerks; from lawyers who couldn’t take her case; and eventually, from legal aid. As Loretta describes it, finding legal aid was a whirlwind solution to her problem: “The next thing I knew [legal aid] had gotten me a volunteer attorney who was willing to take my case for free. It was a miracle.”
Once her volunteer attorney got in touch with Loretta, they were able to get right to work filing the necessary paperwork, attempting to negotiate a solution, and, eventually, garnishing her ex-husband’s bank account. Ultimately, Loretta received almost all of the back payments she was owed. Her pro bono lawyer promised she would continue to handle the case to find a permanent solution, and they are now seeking a long-term income garnishment.
Without the help of legal aid, Loretta tells us that she would probably still be in front of her computer, looking for legal help, and downloading the wrong documents. “I was at the end of my rope. I am used to living in poverty, but I couldn’t live on this.” The support legal aid and her pro bono lawyer were able to give Loretta allowed her to afford her medical treatments and maintain her housing, and that is a huge relief.
Lonnie
Lonnie is a 56-year-old grandmother from Roseburg. When COVID-19 hit, she was furloughed and needed unemployment benefits to keep food on the table and a roof over her head. Lonnie’s situation was confusing, however, and she spent hours on hold with an overwhelmed employment department. When she got through, she was relieved to hear she qualified for benefits.
By taking a lower-paying position as soon as it became available, Lonnie was able to get off unemployment quickly. Unfortunately, the employment department was reviewing her past claim, and was reconsidering their earlier advice. Lonnie got a call while she was on break at her new job, and spoke with an agent who demanded details she couldn’t produce on the spot. Over Christmas break, Lonnie learned that her past benefits had been reevaluated and she had to repay almost $10,000. She felt sick and cried for two days. She needed a lawyer, but didn’t think she could afford one until she found legal aid.
Without legal aid, Lonnie was overwhelmed, and felt like she was being ignored. When Lonnie’s legal aid lawyer stepped in, it became clear that Lonnie was entitled to her unemployment benefits, even if she didn’t know how to make the legal arguments on her own. In the end, the employment department dramatically reduced its repayment demand to only $378, a modest sum Lonnie was able to repay. Lonnie says that “just having the support from legal aid, it lessened the stress.”
John
John is an 85-year-old World War II veteran who served with distinction. Orphaned at birth in rural Wyoming, John was raised by foster families and joined the military at 16. After military service and a lifetime of work, John applied for Social Security retirement benefits in 1993. His application was denied because he could not produce a birth certificate. John thought he was out of luck until he called legal aid. Legal aid lawyers helped him get benefits. He is now able to pay for rent, food and medical care.
Samuel
Samuel earned non-taxable income by taking care of his mother, who had ALS. The IRS incorrectly adjusted his tax return and reclassified the income as taxable. Samuel was facing a $22,000 tax bill that he could not afford, and reached out to legal aid for help. Legal aid prepared an amended return and supplied proof of Samuel’s entitlement to non-taxable treatment. Unfortunately, the IRS continued to argue that the income was taxable. Legal aid kept working to help Samuel and contacted the Taxpayer Assistance Service on his behalf. The Service agreed that the income was non-taxable and directed the IRS to process the amended return. Samuel was relieved of the obligation to pay a tax bill he didn’t actually owe and could not afford.