From MSN:
The Social Security Administration’s plans to reduce its head count have resulted in more than 2,000 workers so far.
Of the 2,674 employees who accepted the voluntary separation incentive payment — which provides workers with a one-time payment to leave government service — before the March 14 deadline, 2,477 employees are confirmed to be eligible, the Social Security Administration said. ...
Employees could have also participated in the Deferred Resignation Program, or DRP, which was available until Feb. 12 to any employees in “non-mission critical” positions. Those workers — 345 eligible employees accepted the offer — were placed on paid administrative leave until Sept. 30. After that, they “must leave the agency,” the SSA said on its website. ...
Workers are also moving within the agency. The SSA offered employees the opportunity to “volunteer to be reassigned from a non-mission critical position to a local field office, teleservice center, processing center, payment center, workload support unit, or hearing office,” which also had a March 14 deadline. More than 2,200 employees will be reassigned on a “flow basis” and will receive training for these position changes, the SSA said.
I don't want to see the agency losing any good employees but this report is much better than I feared.
Here's the agency's announcement on this.
19 comments:
Define "better." It's not better for employees if it increases the chances of a RIF.
It's better than you feared because these numbers do not include VERA which is early out retirement. Employees have until December 31 to take it.
Much better than I feared. Really?
We were barely surviving before the RIF’s!
There weren’t any RIFs.
Among the higher pay levels at the agency (like SESers, ALJs, and OGC attorneys), getting the retirement eligible to actually retire would be a miracle. Many of those folks won't budge from their feeding troughs without a cattle prod.
If Dudek wouldn't play the O'Malley card and cower to the unions, we'd get many more. Instead OHO and its ALJs are exempt from any RTO. So none of them quit and ALJs get a cush retirement gig.
There are ALJs in their 70's and 80's, who don't need the money but won't leave, because they're so greedy. Plus, despite the fact that they are so disconnected, they are always threatening age discrimination claims. Hopefully, the administration takes them out
Didn't former Commissioner O'Malley just say he thought 10,000 were taking the offer? He is obviously out of the loop now.
Many of the 3000 SSA employees who took the buyout offer were about to retire anyway. In those cases, taxpayers are getting hit with paying them a month of administrative leave plus a 20-25K bonus. When they were going to retire for free.
I wouldn’t be resting easy if I were an ALJ. They are going to test this “at will” employee theory at some point.
There are alot more leaving under VERA bit not taking the VSIP and not included in their numbers as shown.
Total garbage that ALJs aren’t forced to return to the office. The rich get richer.
O’Malley, wrong?! You don’t say. This calls for another video!
SSA employees could take VSIP alone, but could also take VSIP in combination with VERA or with “regular” retirement. The wrinkle being that they had to separate by April 19. The only ones who couldn’t apply for the VSIP were those who already took DRP. If this number represents everyone who took VSIP, it will likely include several of the VERA/regular retirement folks who were eligible before April 19 and took the VSIP as an extra incentive to leave now rather than later in the year.
There may be some additional people who plan to retire later in the year through regular retirement or VERA, but I’m not sure the number will be very high.
ALJs are routinely in the office to attend their in person hearings. Please quit spreading lies. It won’t make anyone’s work situation better, including your own. And get therapy. You clearly need it.
So what’s the total number for all three (VSIP, VERA, DRP)? Add to that the number of people who were planning on retiring later this year anyway and I think we’re closer to OweMalley’s number. They would be more transparent to publish numbers that made sense and justified their prediction of no RIFs needed until end of fiscal year. And what are the plans for after that? That’s the unknown answer.
Does this include those who elected early retirement?
Why would you leave under VERA without taking the VSIP as well?
The plan is there is no plan; other than to break this once great organization. Thanks Drumpf.
I am a technical expert and took the VERA. I am a true generalist and I have trained and mentored many employees in my 24 years. Most of us taking the VERA are your most experienced FO employees, that will hurt FOs in a variety of ways. The impact of VERA is much greater than the people taking the payout. Institutional knowledge and expertise will be lost. I planned on working longer but I have had it. And it will only get worse.
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