Just another example of the hypocrisy of Frank and his right wing buddies. They’re allegedly about family values and Christianity but they can’t allow employees to spend a few days off with family at Christmas. Plus, they are missing an opportunity to further promote online services.
Are you being FR? The weekend and the other day being the actual holiday? Does that leather of the boot you’re licking taste good? Do the SSA employees not deserve time off? FOH.
Yes, the famously super-productive day before and day after christmas. I am sure that sooooo much work is going to get done by employees on these days.
Employees worked for a month and a half without pay because Congress and the President refused to do their jobs. The President gives a wonderful holiday gift and SSA employees get told by a billionaire who has been in public service for less than a year all about what public service is.
Frank will definitely not be working either day. Neither will any of his “heads” or “chiefs.” This will also cost the agency a fortune since holiday pay is 2x the regular rate.
A month after not getting paid for early 2 months the agency decides to figure out how to demoralize the staff even more.
Another slap in the face / big F.U. to frontline employees. Sure we will get Holiday pay. Just like we got paid back for working during the shutdown. But it completely negates the morale goodwill that was offered by POTUS.
So are we only open 9-1 but do FOs have to work a full 8 hour day? And it talks about “volunteers” who will answer phones? You won’t be able to get away with only 2-3 “volunteers” FVCK Frank.
Exactly what I was wondering on the full day. I guess we’ll get more info, but none of the above makes any sense for FO’s. So, anyone who didn’t have scheduled, approved leave is a “volunteer”?
Frank probably made this decision after reading Charles’ blog all year. Constant complaining about backlogs and poor customer service (which is nothing new in my 20 years at SSA) and now complaining about keeping offices open to serve the American public.
Serving the American public?! How many people will need SSA services the day before and the day after Christmas? NONE. Good ole Frankie is just wasting taxpayer money by paying holiday OT to people who will have no interaction with the public those days. Who hired this moron?!
I, for one, am happy to work and receive holiday pay. I don't need the extra time off, though it was a very kind gesture from our president. Serving the community is an award enough.
And just like that the COSS admits that we cannot do without critical frontline face to face service for even two days. Goes against everything he has been promoting this year.
We've had a ton of bad COSSs (Astrue being the exception), I don't know where Frank will land on the scale, but he's certainly going down as most hated.
Sorry, it's the right decision. The agency is swamped with backlogs. Many offices have few if any appointments available. Taking unexpected days off just further buries the agency. The staff working will be well compensated. It's the right move. Not everyone wants to be off anyway. It'll be interesting to see what the volunteer part of this really means. I'm curious if any and all can work, if there will be limits, and yes, what if there aren't volunteers in a particular office.
FO workers whine over everything. They get extra pay and a day off to use at another time. Do you see ALJs whining? Get over it. You signed up for this.
Two days in office is not going to change a damn thing. Honestly, it’s to the point there are no real solutions for SSA (at least at some FO levels). Thinking these two days would make any bit of difference = naivety.
Didn’t this administration reduce the SSA workforce? That is the reason why backlogs are spiking. The SSA employees are doing their best under difficult circumstances. The House of Representatives went on a two month vacation during the government shutdown while SSA employees went to work without pay for the same period of time.
Most folks probably took those days off anyway. My manager always removed appts for days like that so the few people working could answer phones and work the lobby.
Field officers should be proud to serve those days. They’re helping the program. Be happy you have a job. As our commissioner puts it: an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.
Yes 6:53, Frankie worked hard lying for Fiserv when running that company and he got paid (under fraudulent circumstances but he got paid for working hard)!
Amen to that! And after hearing from reassigned folks in those jobs, stop treating those people like they are subhuman. It’s no wonder there’s a revolving door for those jobs! Hats off to anyone in FOs and TSCs. Most of the commenters on this site couldn’t handle one tenth of the amount of abuse you guys take. And having to defend the misinformation from Elon on top of that.
Agency employees have plenty of leave availability. If they needed the days off, they likely already had it scheduled. Best I can tell, any sourpussing about this is just the perception that it's not a full on free lunch.
As a former employee who is retired, you all need to stop complaining . This is a pretty good deal. At least they offer options and you all have the option of taking leave, BE GRATEFUL for your jobs.
Did you retire before 2025? If you did, do not weigh in. You don’t know the absolute hell we have been in for the past year. Of course we are all grateful to have jobs, but we are mentally exhausted and beaten down after this year. So please, just stop.
Yawn, this whole gotta work thing bores me. What's the complaint? If you work, you get paid double - Merry Christmas. Nothing suggests you MUST work. Volunteers will be solicited. My guess is the agency will have an abundance of volunteers. I think there will be plenty of people cancelling leave to partake in the free cash.
Well, let's do the math. You normally get paid $40 per hour for example. On the 24th or 26th, you decide to volunteer to work and now make your normal $40 per hour plus another $40 per hour. Nobody forced you to do it, but you now make $80 per hour for the hours worked. That sounds like a gift to me. Merry Christmas! Thanks Frank! All the belly aching about this is too much.
All the people (especially the retirees) who are telling SSA workers to just shut up and be grateful for their jobs are disgusting hypocrites. How would you like it if every other agency in your industries were given two days off, but you were told you had to work and you should be grateful you had the opportunity to do so?! While everyone should be grateful for their jobs, it’s obscene to lambast those who wanted nothing more than to be treated like everyone else in government- especially after the year from hell all Federal workers had. The President gave those two days off, and they should have been given to everyone. Shut up if you have nothing helpful or at least baseline decent to say this time of year.
Disgusting hypocrite here, and you do need to be quiet. We never had the 24th or 26th off when I was at the agency. I left the agency and worked to other positions providing SSA assistance. Worked the 24th and 26th too but had options for leave. Get over it, you dont feel bad about the gas station person working the 24th and 26th or the pizza place or everything else you want open.
You need to be removed, you should be ashamed if you are a federal employee. It's not about fairness, it's about what is right to the American public and customer service.
Someone should be removed for saying things you don’t like? So much for free speech.
As for serving the American public, setting aside the fact that most people won’t be calling or visiting SSA around Christmas, why is it that only SSA out of all other agencies has to serve the public on those days?
9:17 the President already allowed the rest of the workforce to cancel service to the American public. So the remaining issue is about fairness. And if you're fair to the workforce you get better service.
Because SSA does provide critical services. Get over it. Why would anybody think we can shut down for three days in row and it be just fine. I'll be a little surprised if the USPS isn't running on the 24th also. If not, little Johnny might not be getting that toy truck you ordered last minute for Christmas. In much of America, USPS is woven into the Amazon delivery system.
Interesting that nobody has highlighted the obvious: this is about Bisignano getting revenge on the SSA employees he feels didn’t welcome him with sufficiently open arms, didn’t get on their knees fast enough for him (except for the SES-ers, that is).
Yes, many SSA employees got screwed this past year, from threats of RIF and reassignments, to barely making ends meet during the “Other Guy’s Shutdown”. But I hate the whining about closing or not. Can you imagine you are a customer with an appointment on Wednesday or Friday that would need to be rescheduled for what, another six weeks out? Already, some customers will have to be rescheduled since offices closing at 1pm. SSA is a service agency and while not popular opinion among employees, I know, SSA should be open. Likely, if POTUS only gave Friday off, SSA would be closed for the day.
This is all overblown. I don’t like this administration but this is not a bad thing. People were already planning to work those days. Now they will get a holiday premium. The people already planning to take off will get a holiday instead of having to use leave.
There is plenty or legitimate stuff to be angry about without making up things that have no basis in reality.
I really do feel bad for us in the FO. Taking the brunt of things again. The hypocrisy of “we need FO’s open to meet the public where they want and we can’t slow down for two days because of backlogs” while simultaneously forcing qualified staff out of the office, not increasing staff levels and claiming online services is the future. LOL
And let’s not forget, managers get 8hrs admin leave, staff do not. Some components are allowed to work remotely those two days…the FO is not. In the famous words of Clark Griswald “Hallelujah, Holy $$$$, where’s the Tylenol.”
I have decided to work for the House of Representatives since they went on vacation on December 18th and will not return until the beginning of January. This is on top of the two month vacation during the government shutdown.
Some of the people in this thread deserve a big old lump of coal in their stockings. My wish for you in 2026 is that you are shown all the understanding, sympathy and compassion that you demonstrated here.
Given how much heat O'Malley took from Congress when he decided to close FOs early once or twice, I can understand why SSA doesn't want to go through that all over again. On the other hand, this time it's an actual Federal holiday so that feels like it should be different...
Once again, all I can do is say thank you for your service to all of the SSA staff who are still hanging in there and serving the public every day!
The majority of DDS employees are employed by the individual states. As a consequence, what they will do on those days will depend on their particular state governor and/or state agency employment rules.
I can see both sides of this. I think it’s nice for those who were planning on being off and now get those days back. The people who were planning to work get double pay. I do feel bad for people who are working only because they didn’t have enough leave to take off or because the roster was used. I hope there is flexibility to let them be off for the day.
Just another example of the hypocrisy of Frank and his right wing buddies. They’re allegedly about family values and Christianity but they can’t allow employees to spend a few days off with family at Christmas. Plus, they are missing an opportunity to further promote online services.
ReplyDeleteYou are getting a few days off, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. If you wanted more you should have taken leave.
DeleteAre you being FR? The weekend and the other day being the actual holiday? Does that leather of the boot you’re licking taste good? Do the SSA employees not deserve time off? FOH.
DeleteYou get holiday pay if you work the 24th and 26th
ReplyDeleteThere is not enough lipstick in this world to put on this pig! 💄 🐷
DeleteVoluntary. Does that means all those who didn't have leave on those days will be working and getting holiday pay?
DeleteYes, the famously super-productive day before and day after christmas. I am sure that sooooo much work is going to get done by employees on these days.
ReplyDeleteActually, we used to get a lot done on those days so long as the system remained operational.
DeleteNow, though, I doubt current employees will give a damn about it with how they have been treated this year.
Employees worked for a month and a half without pay because Congress and the President refused to do their jobs. The President gives a wonderful holiday gift and SSA employees get told by a billionaire who has been in public service for less than a year all about what public service is.
ReplyDeleteGive me a break Scrooge.
Frank will definitely not be working either day. Neither will any of his “heads” or “chiefs.” This will also cost the agency a fortune since holiday pay is 2x the regular rate.
ReplyDeleteA month after not getting paid for early 2 months the agency decides to figure out how to demoralize the staff even more.
With the next shutdown potentially coming in January, employees wanting to be able to pay their bills may want to work while they can.
DeleteGod only knows how long the next shutdown is going to last.
Another slap in the face / big F.U. to frontline employees. Sure we will get Holiday pay. Just like we got paid back for working during the shutdown. But it completely negates the morale goodwill that was offered by POTUS.
ReplyDeleteI hope ghosts of all Christmases haunt him all his life.
ReplyDeleteWhat an a**hole. I hope he steps on forty legos and fifty bags of flaming dog-s**g this Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThat’s the holiday spirit!
DeleteSo are we only open 9-1 but do FOs have to work a full 8 hour day? And it talks about “volunteers” who will answer phones? You won’t be able to get away with only 2-3 “volunteers” FVCK Frank.
ReplyDeleteExactly what I was wondering on the full day. I guess we’ll get more info, but none of the above makes any sense for FO’s. So, anyone who didn’t have scheduled, approved leave is a “volunteer”?
DeleteFrank probably made this decision after reading Charles’ blog all year. Constant complaining about backlogs and poor customer service (which is nothing new in my 20 years at SSA) and now complaining about keeping offices open to serve the American public.
ReplyDeleteI see you got the Republican talking points this morning.
DeleteServing the American public?! How many people will need SSA services the day before and the day after Christmas? NONE. Good ole Frankie is just wasting taxpayer money by paying holiday OT to people who will have no interaction with the public those days. Who hired this moron?!
DeleteI, for one, am happy to work and receive holiday pay. I don't need the extra time off, though it was a very kind gesture from our president. Serving the community is an award enough.
ReplyDeleteGood one!!! 🤣😂🤣
DeleteAnd just like that the COSS admits that we cannot do without critical frontline face to face service for even two days. Goes against everything he has been promoting this year.
ReplyDeleteWe've had a ton of bad COSSs (Astrue being the exception), I don't know where Frank will land on the scale, but he's certainly going down as most hated.
ReplyDeleteMAGA Frankie is lapping the competition. 🐎
DeleteO’Malley the worst. Frank right behind.
DeleteSorry, it's the right decision. The agency is swamped with backlogs. Many offices have few if any appointments available. Taking unexpected days off just further buries the agency. The staff working will be well compensated. It's the right move. Not everyone wants to be off anyway. It'll be interesting to see what the volunteer part of this really means. I'm curious if any and all can work, if there will be limits, and yes, what if there aren't volunteers in a particular office.
ReplyDeleteFO workers whine over everything. They get extra pay and a day off to use at another time. Do you see ALJs whining? Get over it. You signed up for this.
DeleteTwo days in office is not going to change a damn thing. Honestly, it’s to the point there are no real solutions for SSA (at least at some FO levels). Thinking these two days would make any bit of difference = naivety.
DeleteYou, like most people at SSA, do not pay attention to details. Managers/OIC get the 8 hours of Admin Leave, not the FO staff.
DeleteDidn’t this administration reduce the SSA workforce? That is the reason why backlogs are spiking. The SSA employees are doing their best under difficult circumstances. The House of Representatives went on a two month vacation during the government shutdown while SSA employees went to work without pay for the same period of time.
DeleteLOL You know it’s not a serious person when they say ALJs don’t whine. The are biggest group of self-important babies in the agency.
DeleteStop with all the whining and be happy you have a job.
ReplyDeleteMost folks probably took those days off anyway. My manager always removed appts for days like that so the few people working could answer phones and work the lobby.
ReplyDeleteField officers should be proud to serve those days. They’re helping the program. Be happy you have a job. As our commissioner puts it: an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.
ReplyDeleteYes 6:53, Frankie worked hard lying for Fiserv when running that company and he got paid (under fraudulent circumstances but he got paid for working hard)!
DeleteI‘m pretty sure Frank‘s motto is: a day of running my mouth on Fox News for 50,000 honest employees‘ days of pay.
DeleteGreedy doesn’t even begin to describe the slimeball….
If customer service is such a priority then maybe…hire more people?
ReplyDeleteAmen to that! And after hearing from reassigned folks in those jobs, stop treating those people like they are subhuman. It’s no wonder there’s a revolving door for those jobs! Hats off to anyone in FOs and TSCs. Most of the commenters on this site couldn’t handle one tenth of the amount of abuse you guys take. And having to defend the misinformation from Elon on top of that.
DeleteI expect Frank Bisignano to lead by example and be in his office on December 24th and 26th. Frank, eyes will be on you.
ReplyDeleteLead by example, you’re absolutely right. He should make a public announcement showing that he is also working.
DeleteAgency employees have plenty of leave availability. If they needed the days off, they likely already had it scheduled. Best I can tell, any sourpussing about this is just the perception that it's not a full on free lunch.
ReplyDeleteJust you using the word “sourpussing” tells me everything I need to know.
DeleteWhose going to assist the public? Casper the friendly ghost? 👻
DeleteAs a former employee who is retired, you all need to stop complaining . This is a pretty good deal. At least they offer options and you all have the option of taking leave, BE GRATEFUL for your jobs.
ReplyDeleteAre you vacationing in Cancun with Ted Cruz? 🏖
DeleteIt’s easy to comment from the sidelines.
Agree and it is pretty slow during this time so you can get so much work done.
DeleteDid you retire before 2025? If you did, do not weigh in. You don’t know the absolute hell we have been in for the past year. Of course we are all grateful to have jobs, but we are mentally exhausted and beaten down after this year. So please, just stop.
DeleteYawn, this whole gotta work thing bores me. What's the complaint? If you work, you get paid double - Merry Christmas. Nothing suggests you MUST work. Volunteers will be solicited. My guess is the agency will have an abundance of volunteers. I think there will be plenty of people cancelling leave to partake in the free cash.
ReplyDelete“Free cash?” What part of working makes the cash “free?” Geez, the IQ of some of the people on this board.
DeleteWell, let's do the math. You normally get paid $40 per hour for example. On the 24th or 26th, you decide to volunteer to work and now make your normal $40 per hour plus another $40 per hour. Nobody forced you to do it, but you now make $80 per hour for the hours worked. That sounds like a gift to me. Merry Christmas! Thanks Frank! All the belly aching about this is too much.
DeleteAll the people (especially the retirees) who are telling SSA workers to just shut up and be grateful for their jobs are disgusting hypocrites. How would you like it if every other agency in your industries were given two days off, but you were told you had to work and you should be grateful you had the opportunity to do so?! While everyone should be grateful for their jobs, it’s obscene to lambast those who wanted nothing more than to be treated like everyone else in government- especially after the year from hell all Federal workers had. The President gave those two days off, and they should have been given to everyone. Shut up if you have nothing helpful or at least baseline decent to say this time of year.
ReplyDeleteNobody told you you had to work. Volunteers will be solicited. Don't volunteer. Problem solved.
DeleteDisgusting hypocrite here, and you do need to be quiet. We never had the 24th or 26th off when I was at the agency. I left the agency and worked to other positions providing SSA assistance. Worked the 24th and 26th too but had options for leave. Get over it, you dont feel bad about the gas station person working the 24th and 26th or the pizza place or everything else you want open.
DeleteYou need to be removed, you should be ashamed if you are a federal employee. It's not about fairness, it's about what is right to the American public and customer service.
ReplyDeleteSomeone should be removed for saying things you don’t like? So much for free speech.
DeleteAs for serving the American public, setting aside the fact that most people won’t be calling or visiting SSA around Christmas, why is it that only SSA out of all other agencies has to serve the public on those days?
9:17 the President already allowed the rest of the workforce to cancel service to the American public. So the remaining issue is about fairness. And if you're fair to the workforce you get better service.
DeleteBecause SSA does provide critical services. Get over it. Why would anybody think we can shut down for three days in row and it be just fine. I'll be a little surprised if the USPS isn't running on the 24th also. If not, little Johnny might not be getting that toy truck you ordered last minute for Christmas. In much of America, USPS is woven into the Amazon delivery system.
DeleteInteresting that nobody has highlighted the obvious: this is about Bisignano getting revenge on the SSA employees he feels didn’t welcome him with sufficiently open arms, didn’t get on their knees fast enough for him (except for the SES-ers, that is).
ReplyDeleteYes, many SSA employees got screwed this past year, from threats of RIF and reassignments, to barely making ends meet during the “Other Guy’s Shutdown”. But I hate the whining about closing or not. Can you imagine you are a customer with an appointment on Wednesday or Friday that would need to be rescheduled for what, another six weeks out? Already, some customers will have to be rescheduled since offices closing at 1pm. SSA is a service agency and while not popular opinion among employees, I know, SSA should be open. Likely, if POTUS only gave Friday off, SSA would be closed for the day.
ReplyDeleteThis is all overblown. I don’t like this administration but this is not a bad thing. People were already planning to work those days. Now they will get a holiday premium. The people already planning to take off will get a holiday instead of having to use leave.
ReplyDeleteThere is plenty or legitimate stuff to be angry about without making up things that have no basis in reality.
I really do feel bad for us in the FO. Taking the brunt of things again. The hypocrisy of “we need FO’s open to meet the public where they want and we can’t slow down for two days because of backlogs” while simultaneously forcing qualified staff out of the office, not increasing staff levels and claiming online services is the future. LOL
ReplyDeleteAnd let’s not forget, managers get 8hrs admin leave, staff do not. Some components are allowed to work remotely those two days…the FO is not. In the famous words of Clark Griswald “Hallelujah, Holy $$$$, where’s the Tylenol.”
Sources/You might consider cropping photos to just the email. There is a document at the bottom.
ReplyDeleteYes, strongly recommend cropping. Doesn’t seem to be PII of the public but not great to have it out there.
DeleteI have decided to work for the House of Representatives since they went on vacation on December 18th and will not return until the beginning of January. This is on top of the two month vacation during the government shutdown.
ReplyDeleteFloundering Franko has called in all hands meeting for early next month. . Not sure to discuss what but I’m guessing it’ll be more nonsense.
ReplyDeleteSome of the people in this thread deserve a big old lump of coal in their stockings. My wish for you in 2026 is that you are shown all the understanding, sympathy and compassion that you demonstrated here.
ReplyDeleteGiven how much heat O'Malley took from Congress when he decided to close FOs early once or twice, I can understand why SSA doesn't want to go through that all over again. On the other hand, this time it's an actual Federal holiday so that feels like it should be different...
ReplyDeleteOnce again, all I can do is say thank you for your service to all of the SSA staff who are still hanging in there and serving the public every day!
Am I missing something or does this not apply to state disability service centers?
ReplyDeleteThe key to your question is "state".
DeleteThe majority of DDS employees are employed by the individual states. As a consequence, what they will do on those days will depend on their particular state governor and/or state agency employment rules.
I can see both sides of this. I think it’s nice for those who were planning on being off and now get those days back. The people who were planning to work get double pay. I do feel bad for people who are working only because they didn’t have enough leave to take off or because the roster was used. I hope there is flexibility to let them be off for the day.
ReplyDelete