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Evaluation of Work Activity by Self-Employed Persons – 2026 Spring National Conference – Track II (Presented by National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives)

2026-04-24 08:30:00

1 hours

2026-04-24 08:30:00

1 Credits

Apply SSA’s three-test SGA framework to self-employed disability claimants—evaluate business activity, income calculations, and key evidence to build stronger cases and challenge adverse determinations.

2026-04-24 08:30:00

1 hours

Apply SSA’s three-test SGA framework to self-employed disability claimants—evaluate business activity, income calculations, and key evidence to build stronger cases and challenge adverse determinations.

2026-04-24 08:30:00

1 hours

1000+

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70,000+

Trusted by Legal Professionals

1000+

Live stream programs

24/7

Access to live webinars & recordings

70,000+

Trusted by Legal Professionals

1000+

Live stream programs

24/7

Access to live webinars & recordings

70,000+

Trusted by Legal Professionals

1000+

Live stream programs

24/7

Access to live webinars & recordings

70,000+

Trusted by Legal Professionals

Key topics that will be covered

What will you learn

Attorneys will learn how SSA evaluates self-employment for Substantial Gainful Activity using three regulatory tests and the countable income method.

What will you gain

Attorneys will gain practical strategies for analyzing business activity, income, and evidentiary records in disability cases.

Three Tests
SSA uses three regulatory tests to evaluate self-employment for SGA purposes.
Countable Income
The countable income method applies when the three-test framework is not used.
Business Activity
Attorneys will analyze business activity as part of SGA determinations.
Income Analysis
Income records are evaluated to determine whether self-employment constitutes SGA.
Evidentiary Records
Practical strategies address the use of evidentiary records in disability cases.
Eligibility Determinations
SGA standards directly affect disability eligibility determinations and adjudication outcomes.

What will you learn

Attorneys will learn how SSA evaluates self-employment for Substantial Gainful Activity using three regulatory tests and the countable income method.

What will you gain

Attorneys will gain practical strategies for analyzing business activity, income, and evidentiary records in disability cases.

Agenda

Session 1

Evaluation of Work Activity by Self-Employed Persons

clock 8:30 am - 9:30 am EST

Evaluation of Work Activity by Self-Employed Persons

Deondra Sexton

Martin, Jones & Piemonte

Attorneys will examine how SSA evaluates work activity for self-employed disability claimants using three regulatory tests and, when applicable, the countable income method to determine whether business activity constitutes Substantial Gainful Activity.

Eligible for up to 1.25 CLE Credit Hour

This session was originally submitted for CLE as a live, in-person presentation and a live webcast for the 2026 Spring National Conference and may be eligible for self-study credit. Each state handles self-study credit differently; for questions, please consult your State Bar Association.

Recorded Friday, April 24, 2026.

Deondra Sexton

Martin, Jones & Piemonte

01 01
Prev
Next

speakers

Joe Ervin

The Law Firm for Truck Safety, LLP
A Partner at The Law Firm for Truck Safety. He focuses exclusively on cases involving commercial motor vehicle crashes and wrongful death. Joe also holds a valid class “A” commercial driver’s license with endorsements for double/triple trailers and tankers.

Education & Credentials

A 2013 graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College in Dubois, Wyoming, Joe is rated AV Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell — the highest peer rating for exceptional legal ability and ethics. He is among the first nine attorneys nationwide to earn board certification in Truck Accident Law from the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Recognition & Leadership

Joe received the Roadway Safety Award from the American Association for Justice (AAJ) for his commitment to improving highway safety.
 He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA) Safety Committee, advocating for higher safety standards across the trucking industry.

Professional Involvement

Joe serves on the faculty of the AAJ Advanced Trial Advocacy College: Litigating Truck Collision Cases (2015 & 2024).
 He is an active member of AAJ’s Trucking Litigation Group and sits on the Board of Regents for the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys.

Experience

Joe frequently consults and co-counsels on complex commercial truck cases. His proven track record includes numerous successful trials against motor carriers and truck leasing companies — delivering justice for victims of commercial vehicle accidents.

Kevin Foley

Reminger Co
A Partner at The Law Firm for Truck Safety. He focuses exclusively on cases involving commercial motor vehicle crashes and wrongful death. Joe also holds a valid class “A” commercial driver’s license with endorsements for double/triple trailers and tankers.

Education & Credentials

A 2013 graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College in Dubois, Wyoming, Joe is rated AV Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell — the highest peer rating for exceptional legal ability and ethics. He is among the first nine attorneys nationwide to earn board certification in Truck Accident Law from the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Recognition & Leadership

Joe received the Roadway Safety Award from the American Association for Justice (AAJ) for his commitment to improving highway safety.
 He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA) Safety Committee, advocating for higher safety standards across the trucking industry.

Professional Involvement

Joe serves on the faculty of the AAJ Advanced Trial Advocacy College: Litigating Truck Collision Cases (2015 & 2024).
 He is an active member of AAJ’s Trucking Litigation Group and sits on the Board of Regents for the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys.

Experience

Joe frequently consults and co-counsels on complex commercial truck cases. His proven track record includes numerous successful trials against motor carriers and truck leasing companies — delivering justice for victims of commercial vehicle accidents.

Grant H. Lawson

The Law Firm for Truck Safety, LLP
A Partner at The Law Firm for Truck Safety. He focuses exclusively on cases involving commercial motor vehicle crashes and wrongful death. Joe also holds a valid class “A” commercial driver’s license with endorsements for double/triple trailers and tankers.

Education & Credentials

A 2013 graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College in Dubois, Wyoming, Joe is rated AV Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell — the highest peer rating for exceptional legal ability and ethics. He is among the first nine attorneys nationwide to earn board certification in Truck Accident Law from the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Recognition & Leadership

Joe received the Roadway Safety Award from the American Association for Justice (AAJ) for his commitment to improving highway safety.
 He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA) Safety Committee, advocating for higher safety standards across the trucking industry.

Professional Involvement

Joe serves on the faculty of the AAJ Advanced Trial Advocacy College: Litigating Truck Collision Cases (2015 & 2024).
 He is an active member of AAJ’s Trucking Litigation Group and sits on the Board of Regents for the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys.

Experience

Joe frequently consults and co-counsels on complex commercial truck cases. His proven track record includes numerous successful trials against motor carriers and truck leasing companies — delivering justice for victims of commercial vehicle accidents.

Deondra Sexton

Martin, Jones & Piemonte

Deondra Sexton

Martin, Jones & Piemonte

Deondra Sexton is an attorney at Martin, Jones & Piemonte, licensed to practice law in the State of South Carolina. Before entering private practice, she spent over a decade with the Social Security Administration, where she held progressively responsible roles including Claims Representative, Technical Expert, and Operations Supervisor. As a Technical Expert, she provided authoritative interpretations of Social Security policy, law, and regulations to staff, and she created workflow systems that streamlined the processing and adjudication of claims across online, mail, and in-office channels. She is also notable for establishing the procedures for the first appeals unit in the Charlotte, NC field office. Her prior litigation experience spans criminal and civil matters, and she has volunteered as homeless court counsel for participants in the Rock Hill, South Carolina Homeless Court program.

Education & Credentials

Deondra is a licensed attorney in the State of South Carolina whose credentials are distinguished by over a decade of institutional experience inside the Social Security Administration before her transition to private practice. Her roles as Claims Representative, Technical Expert, and Operations Supervisor gave her a practitioner's command of Title II of the Social Security Act from the inside, an expertise that few disability attorneys can claim. Her Technical Expert designation within SSA required her to provide definitive, authoritative interpretations of Social Security policy, law, regulations, and administrative procedures, reflecting a depth of agency knowledge that directly benefits the clients she now represents.

Recognition & Leadership

Deondra's most distinctive professional achievement may be her creation and establishment of the procedures for the first appeals unit in the Charlotte, North Carolina SSA field office, a systemic innovation that reduced processing time and improved the handling of appeals for claimants across the region. Her advancement through multiple leadership roles at SSA, including Operations Supervisor and Technical Expert, reflects the institutional recognition she earned during her decade-plus of federal service. Her volunteer work as homeless court counsel in Rock Hill, South Carolina demonstrates a commitment to access to justice that extends beyond her paid practice and reflects the values that define her approach to legal representation.

Professional Involvement

Deondra's professional involvement spans disability law, criminal and civil litigation, community legal services, and SSA staff development. During her tenure at SSA, she supervised, mentored, and trained staff, managers, supervisors, and community partners in matters related to Title II, a training and mentorship role that gave her broad engagement with the full range of Social Security operational and adjudication issues. In her volunteer capacity, she has served as homeless court counsel in Rock Hill's Homeless Court program, providing legal representation to some of the community's most vulnerable individuals. At Martin, Jones & Piemonte, she brings that combined institutional expertise and community commitment to the representation of disability claimants.

Experience

Deondra Sexton's path to disability advocacy runs directly through the Social Security Administration, where she spent over a decade in roles that gave her an insider's understanding of how SSA processes, adjudicates, and resolves claims. As a Claims Representative, Technical Expert, and Operations Supervisor, she worked at every level of the agency's field operations, interpreting policy, designing workflows, training staff, and building specialty units, including the first appeals unit in the Charlotte, NC field office. That experience is rare and invaluable in a disability attorney: she knows the system not just from the claimant's side of the table but from the institutional perspective of the agency itself. Combined with her licensed practice in South Carolina, her criminal and civil litigation background, and her volunteer homeless court advocacy, Deondra brings to Martin, Jones & Piemonte a depth and range of experience that is as distinctive as it is formidable.

Deondra Sexton

Martin, Jones & Piemonte

Deondra Sexton is an attorney at Martin, Jones & Piemonte, licensed to practice law in the State of South Carolina. Before entering private practice, she spent over a decade with the Social Security Administration, where she held progressively responsible roles including Claims Representative, Technical Expert, and Operations Supervisor. As a Technical Expert, she provided authoritative interpretations of Social Security policy, law, and regulations to staff, and she created workflow systems that streamlined the processing and adjudication of claims across online, mail, and in-office channels. She is also notable for establishing the procedures for the first appeals unit in the Charlotte, NC field office. Her prior litigation experience spans criminal and civil matters, and she has volunteered as homeless court counsel for participants in the Rock Hill, South Carolina Homeless Court program.

Education & Credentials

Deondra is a licensed attorney in the State of South Carolina whose credentials are distinguished by over a decade of institutional experience inside the Social Security Administration before her transition to private practice. Her roles as Claims Representative, Technical Expert, and Operations Supervisor gave her a practitioner's command of Title II of the Social Security Act from the inside, an expertise that few disability attorneys can claim. Her Technical Expert designation within SSA required her to provide definitive, authoritative interpretations of Social Security policy, law, regulations, and administrative procedures, reflecting a depth of agency knowledge that directly benefits the clients she now represents.

Recognition & Leadership

Deondra's most distinctive professional achievement may be her creation and establishment of the procedures for the first appeals unit in the Charlotte, North Carolina SSA field office, a systemic innovation that reduced processing time and improved the handling of appeals for claimants across the region. Her advancement through multiple leadership roles at SSA, including Operations Supervisor and Technical Expert, reflects the institutional recognition she earned during her decade-plus of federal service. Her volunteer work as homeless court counsel in Rock Hill, South Carolina demonstrates a commitment to access to justice that extends beyond her paid practice and reflects the values that define her approach to legal representation.

Professional Involvement

Deondra's professional involvement spans disability law, criminal and civil litigation, community legal services, and SSA staff development. During her tenure at SSA, she supervised, mentored, and trained staff, managers, supervisors, and community partners in matters related to Title II, a training and mentorship role that gave her broad engagement with the full range of Social Security operational and adjudication issues. In her volunteer capacity, she has served as homeless court counsel in Rock Hill's Homeless Court program, providing legal representation to some of the community's most vulnerable individuals. At Martin, Jones & Piemonte, she brings that combined institutional expertise and community commitment to the representation of disability claimants.

Experience

Deondra Sexton's path to disability advocacy runs directly through the Social Security Administration, where she spent over a decade in roles that gave her an insider's understanding of how SSA processes, adjudicates, and resolves claims. As a Claims Representative, Technical Expert, and Operations Supervisor, she worked at every level of the agency's field operations, interpreting policy, designing workflows, training staff, and building specialty units, including the first appeals unit in the Charlotte, NC field office. That experience is rare and invaluable in a disability attorney: she knows the system not just from the claimant's side of the table but from the institutional perspective of the agency itself. Combined with her licensed practice in South Carolina, her criminal and civil litigation background, and her volunteer homeless court advocacy, Deondra brings to Martin, Jones & Piemonte a depth and range of experience that is as distinctive as it is formidable.

Plans

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Price
$95 – $245
Price varies based
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Access type Pay per class Unlimited annual access Unlimited access for all firm members
Number of Available Webinars 1 1,000+ 1,000+
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Price varies based
on the course duration
of 1 to 3+ hours
Access type Pay per
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Number of Available Webinars 1
Number of New Webinars Added Yearly Limited
Earn "Live" CLE credit Included
Ability to Ask Questions During
the Presentation via a Chat Box
Included
Attend "Live" Re-Broadcasts Included
Exclusive Partner Webinars & Events
Special credits (Ethics, Elimination
of Bias, etc.)
Instant Certificates After Completion
Personalized CLE Platform
Live Conferences
Bootcamps

Why Attend

Why this 
program matters

Mastering self-employment SGA analysis is critical because SSA applies a multi-factor, non-income-based framework that most attorneys underestimate, leading to preventable denials and benefit terminations for self-employed claimants.
8.6M
Social Security disabled beneficiaries were in current-payment status as of December 2024, all subject to SGA oversight.
50%
of U.S. workers are projected to participate in gig or self-employment by end of 2025, expanding the pool of claimants requiring non-wage SGA analysis.
22.8%
of people with a disability were employed in 2025, representing claimants whose ongoing work activity triggers SSA’s SGA evaluation framework.
65%
of Social Security disability applications are initially denied, making accurate SGA analysis at step one essential to preserving client eligibility.

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Alabama

Requirements

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