An issue unique to Wisconsin is blocking one specific group of people from getting federal unemployment assistance. The state blames federal rules, so why does Wisconsin stand alone? In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St. Hilaire dig into Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI. The federal program pays benefits to you and certain members of your family if you're insured. That insurance comes from taxes you and your employer pay. However, qualifying for this 'earned' benefit isn't easy. Amanda provides background into SSDI and breaks down the program, misconceptions, and complications people are having in regards to the assistance. Plus, you'll hear about how things changed after Amanda started asking questions. Typically, Open Record is a podcast that takes you behind the scenes of FOX6 Investigative reports. But we’re changing things up a bit for the time being: We’re bringing you the latest on our coverage of COVID-19 here in Wisconsin. We’ll bring you more frequent episodes over the next few weeks as we navigate this.

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