Martinez Settlement

This category includes information about the settlement of Martinez v. Astrue, a class action lawsuit that ended the Social Security Administration's policy of denying or suspending benefits for "fleeing to avoid prosecution" based solely on the existence of an outstanding felony arrest warrant. In addition to changing this policy on an ongoling basis, SSA has agreed to repay more than $500 million in benefits that were withheld from 80,000 people whose benefits have been suspended or denied since January 1, 2007.