E. Tammy Kim at The New Yorker has a great piece going inside the work life of a current Social Security claims rep. The reporter was not supposed to have this kind of access.
I'm sure you've seen some cartoons from The New Yorker but you may not be all that familiar with the magazine. I've been subscribing for more than 50 years. I can tell you that articles in The New Yorker have an national agenda setting impact well beyond what most people could imagine.
12 comments:
As an ex-claims rep with SSA, this made my eye twitch a little bit with the not-so distant memories coming flooding back. I feel for all my ex co-workers still working in my old field office.
This reporter had no business listening in on these private conversations with claimants personal information. SSA employees are now the favor of the month. The agency have been complaining with staffing levels for over a decade. This is another example of the press not doing their jobs until it’s too late.
I support spreading the word on how bad the work environment is in SSA but do so outside the office and go on the record.
This article will be used as support for Return to Office directives, guaranteed.
OMG! The New Yorker must be part of the scourge called DOGE, giving access to the unwashed masses!!!
Oh wait. Turns out DOGE has authority and the New Yorker doesn't.
> This reporter had no business listening in on these private conversations with claimants personal information.
Not much different than overhearing conversations in a field office. The reporter only heard one side of the conversation and heard nothing the claimant said as the CR had a headset on, as noted in the article.
@5:39pm--gurl you sounding waay too thirsty for a headline win over there...please stop.
The reporter had no business being at a teleworkers home while he was on the taxpayers dime.
This is Steven,” he said. “What is your Social Security number, please? All right, starting with your name and date of birth . . .” He wrapped up his first few calls rather quickly. He sent out a missing tax document, scheduled a father for an in-person appointment to get a Social Security card for his baby, and confirmed bank information for a recipient’s direct deposit. A fourth call, involving a lost check, was more complicated. He rubbed his forehead with his thumbs and forefingers.
A reporter and a teleworker are not exempt.
One of the fundamental responsibilities of
any Social Security employee is to protect
the confidentiality of the personal data and
information the agency collects and holds.
Numerous federal laws, including the
Privacy Act, and internal regulations and One of the fundamental responsibilities of
any Social Security employee is to protect
the confidentiality of the personal data and
information the agency collects and holds.
Numerous federal laws, including the
Privacy Act, and internal regulations and
policies govern the data and who can see it.
policies govern the data and who can see it.
Nice article which highlights the good and important work a claims representative does. And also how unreasonable and demeaning DOGE can be in their treatment of vital SSA employees.
Why are vital front line SSA workers being paid 20k and given a month of administrative leave to quit or retire? Ridiculous.
Well... Between the lack of a business appropriate work setup and the list of passwords, yes you are correct. There very scenarios and many more are some of the concerns with SSA employees teleworking. That's says nothing about productivity concerns. But it's fact that employees are constantly blurring line between work and home life that should concern all. We've lost our way in terms of protecting privacy of our customers. Between kids, spouses, and significant others hovering around all the time, we have a lot of people's information out there in these homes. Nobody seems to take this issue seriously. The percentage of regional management calls that begin with a management member shushing a child should tell you everything you need to know. If management has their kids in the room, so do all the other employees. The number of employees working at places like kitchen tables or living rooms is also very high. We used to significantly protect PII. With family now unvetted but apparently privileged to customer interactions, this is just crazy what we've become.
My first job was mucking stables. I was a CS (back when we were CRs) and it was the worst job I ever had.
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