A third-party arbitrator is ordering the Social Security Administration to restore telework for many of its employees, after the agency indefinitely suspended workplace flexibilities under the Trump administration.
The arbitrator, in an order signed on Wednesday, directed SSA to restore telework for employees represented by the American Federation of Government Employees. The ruling brings back telework to levels that had been in place before mid-March 2025. …
The arbitrator’s ruling won’t have an immediate impact on SSA’s workforce. An SSA spokesperson said in a statement that the agency “strongly disagrees with today’s flawed decision,” and will appeal it to the Federal Labor Relations Authority, which has a majority of Trump appointees. …
Mar 12, 2026
Arbitrator Orders Telework Restored But Don’t Expect It To Happen Anytime Soon
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21 comments:
Telework will be restored in the next Democratic administration. Elections have consequences.
Isn’t the FLRA nonfunctional until the rotting orange appoints more members?
The agency argued that “temporarily suspending” can be indefinite. This is obviously wrong, as the arbitrator found, but since the agency has the upper hand here (don’t have to grant telework while they appeal the decision), the win doesn’t really matter. Good luck to the agency with retaining anyone for any length of time.
Anyone who is asking questions (looking at you Congress) about the state of the agency really needs to get stats on retention. Not just hiring, but actual retention. I guarantee that stat will be pretty alarming.
When are you all going to realize that the SSA does not want to retain employees?
At the moment a majority of both chambers are nothing but happy to see SSA shrink and fail. Enjoy all the reaping, boomers who voted for this!
Yes, and when they cannot meet their hiring expectations, they’re going to wonder why.
Doesn't our "current" telework union contract just state that we have the right to telework buts it's up to component heads to determine how many days? So even if this isn't appealed (yea right) all the chiefs have to do is say zero days (as im sure Frank would tell them to).
No one's ever going to accept public facing jobs teleworking. And, like it or not, there is always someone looking for a job. Especially at federal pay levels
FYI - I am a Boomer and I most certainly did not votes for these clowns on steroids.
Around 40% of SSA employees aren’t even paid a livable wage. That includes most of the positions that SSA will be hiring for in the foreseeable future. So maybe we can get people who are desperate for a job, but we will not be getting the best and the brightest nor will we be getting a lot of good quality people who will stay for a long time. They will probably spend most of their time with SSA looking for a better paying job, and leave the second an opportunity comes along that is a little bit better in terms of pay or flexibilities.
@2:39 no. It says that existing levels of telework (as of 11/2025) had to be maintained through 2029
What’s more a slap in the face is that unlike HUD arbitration award, there is no “pay back” for cost of making us RTO in SSA arbitration award.
So they could just keep delaying it with appeals and other things and ultimately do nothing to make up for it in the end even if we do win all appeals.
With morale at an all time low everyone will “quiet quit” until we are treated better.
Especially at federal pay levels? Lol! No one with a single iota of actual knowledge of what federal employee compensation has been like for the past two decades would prefer “federal pay” over anything but what’s paid by the lowest and scummiest of nonprofits. Must be fun living in such a vibrant fantasy though!
Turn off Fox News.
You go with your quiet quitting bad self.
It isn't going to matter. SSA is absolutely going to appeal the decision to the FLRA, which is staffed by Trump sycophants and who will reverse the arbitration decision in a heartbeat.
Prior to COVID, telework was not a real option, unless you were part of the pilot..and then the days were minimal. Something like one day per pay period. Although telework reduces the personal expense of fuel, maybe time for long commuters, these are expenses workers were okay with when they originally accepted their jobs with SSA. Employee morale started tanking with COVID. They were not upset over working in an office and actually liked their jobs. Communication via TEAMS and phone calls with coworkers, management and the public caused a huge breakdown in communication and a disconnect with society as a whole. COVID created an “entitlement” attitude. O’Malley extended telework in his current form as his last “F” you to the new administration. Telework decimates the face-to-face public service in smaller offices. You get 1/2 the office teleworking, 25% call in, maybe you have one person to work the front desk and one taking in-office appointments. You call a TW and tell them to come in, and they put in a leave slip. Forget AFS, that is an epic failure and completely disadvantageous to the public. AFS is not the answer.
I disagree with a boatload of decisions made by the administration..FO N8NN, call sharing, VRA, etc. During the past administration and the current one, this Agency has been politicized to the max. We can no longer do our jobs, we no longer properly serve the public,. Communication with all GS employees, including management and Area Directors, is non-existent. The only employees who know “the grand plan” are SES employees. Multiple offices do not have any management, staff are in survival mode, everything is messy.
The next election will not be better, even if the party changes. They all hate each other so much that all a democratic will do is turn the Agency upside down again and create chaos. Undo any changes, even if they are working (haven’t seen any yet) but a change will just knee jerk with revenge.
Amen
60 percent of risk & quality staff are reasonably accommodated to telework.
What does that have to do with public facing FO positions?
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