I am hearing reports that some Social Security field offices in at least two states are refusing to deal with attorneys and others during the government shutdown. Of course, I’ve heard nothing suggesting this is authorized. I have a vague recollection that this happened in an earlier shutdown before field offices were told to knock it off.
25 comments:
The refusal of one party to enter in a CR has devastating consequences for all of us.
Apparently, they are reading the provision dealing with third party requests as meaning representatives. A note from NOSSCR said the higher ups are trying other straighten that out and that they can talk to us. Probably wishful thinking on their part since they don't want to talk to us anyway. At least in my case, I have been able to speak to Social Security several times today, albeit after being on hold for thirty minutes each time except when I get though on an Admin line.
Most attorney business SHOULD be unaffected. A 3288 immediately springs to mind as something we are unable to process.
Can confirm that my office has been advised by the Cherry Hill, NJ field office that they will only speak with claimants.
Did anyone catch how many at SSA are eligible for RIF under the SSA plan submitted to OMB? Is it just those deemed non-essential or deeper?
Toledo, OH office refused to speak with my staff earlier today.
Well there are 6,000+ on furlough so all of them are potential RIF targets. Most of the furloughs are at HQ. There is still more deadwood in Systems to be cut.
I don’t think it’s been made public. Some of those on furlough were mission essential at one point but not excepted so I don’t know if it’s everyone or not who is on furlough.
About 6000 are eligible
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought wants Americans to believe that in the event of a government shutdown, he and President Donald Trump have the power to fire swaths of federal employees at will. They cannot. Vought’s vindictive memo, directing agencies to consider reductions in force (RIFs) for employees in programs whose funding would lapse under a shutdown, reads like a coercive power trip. But it isn’t authority. It’s Project 2025 ambition. And it’s wrong — both legally and practically.
There is no statute, appropriation or constitutional clause that gives an administration license to fire federal civilian employees simply because funding has lapsed. When Congress fails to enact a continuing resolution or full-year funding, federal agencies are constrained by appropriations law, not presidential whim. This means that only narrowly defined “excepted” operations may continue, and all other nonessential activities must stop.
do you have a link?
SSA is excluded due to being an essential Agency.
What plan was submitted showing ssa employees eligible to be riffed? I only saw numbers of those being furloughed and those not being furloughed
I’m seriously trying to figure out why anyone would think, just because 6,000 are furloughed it equates to a RIF. A lot of those on furlough work in components that are actually needed and have already been gutted. No one in ssa should be considered non essential in my opinion. But for some reason they are.
Federal employees are illegally going to work without timely pay but yet construction of the 200 million golden ballroom continues.
Breaking News…
The White House just announced that the construction of Trump’s $200 million golden ballroom will continue during the government shutdown while American soldiers go without pay.
9:07 where are you getting that?
Let’s be clear, nobody is immune from RIF. The guess is it’s furloughed employees first but some of them are mission critical. If the goal of the RIF is to save operational expenses, I worry small offices like mine will be RIF’d as justification to close it and drop the lease and other expense and just send people online or to the level 1
This thread is ripe for some anonymous dingus to come along with RIF percentages again.
The shutdown is going on and…
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, offered a $20 billion swap line and other forms of assistance to help stabilize the Argentine peso, and said the U.S. remained “prepared to do what is necessary” to sustain the “important strides” taken by Milei.
One party’s repeated demonstrations of its racism, xenophobia, and complete lack of trustworthiness and respect for the Constitution and laws of the United States has had devastating consequences for us all.
It's stated on the website that Requests from third parties for queries is a Discontinued Activity.
This current administration is Anti-American. I will never forget how Republicans treated me as a 20yr Federal employee. America first, huh?!
@1149 in my 3 Decades plus of SSA work I was surprised that Republican administrations were actually a bit more favorable to employees, at least until this one. The only one that didn't give a COLA was back around 2010.
Nobody is even answering the phone at my local field office where I called on Friday before the shutdown and was answered in about 5 minutes. 🤷🏼♂️. Now....total silence. Phone rings, connects, and hangs up.
Not saying you’re doing this, but if you call the admin line for general inquiries, you’re slowing the office down and are contributing to those high wait times.
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