Central Offices Closed By Snowstorm

     Social Security's central offices in the Baltimore-Washington area are closed today because of a large snowstorm.

Acting Commissioner's Broadcast Message On Disasters

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2017 10:18 AM
Subject: Hurricane Maria and California Wildfires Update

A Message to All SSA Employees

Subject: Hurricane Maria and California Wildfires Update

Last Sunday, October 8, wildfires started in the Napa and Sonoma counties of California, quickly spreading to surrounding counties due to high winds.  Firefighters battled 17 separate and active wildfires.  At last count, these wildfires burned more than 221,000 acres and destroyed more than 3,500 homes and businesses, affecting thousands of individuals.  

Thankfully, all of the region’s employees are safe and accounted for.  Twenty-six employees are under mandatory evacuation and the fires destroyed one employee’s home.  Currently, two offices in the Napa and Sonoma areas remain closed; the fires have directly affected three other offices, resulting in short-term or intermittent closures.  There have been no reports of damage to any of the field offices in the impacted area.  This is a very fluid situation.  Please keep our colleagues in your prayers. 

In Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, some improvements have occurred.  Power continues to fluctuate, with 17 percent of the population now with power.  We opened the San Juan, San Patricio, and Caguas field offices to employees yesterday, for limited hours.  We anticipate opening these offices to the public today.  

We also opened the Mayaguez and San Juan hearing offices to employees as well yesterday.  We are working to begin rescheduling hearings in those offices.

A special thanks to personnel from the New York Regional office and the Office of the Inspector General, who are on site and have been helping employees in recovery efforts.

I will continue to keep you updated on the status of our employees and offices affected by these natural disasters as we try to restore our services to help those in need.

Nancy A. Berryhill

Acting Commissioner

Acting Commissioner's Message On Hurricane Maria

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast 

Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2017 3:15 PM
Subject: Hurricane Maria Update

A Message to All SSA and DDS Employees

Subject: Hurricane Maria Update

When Hurricane Maria swept across the Caribbean, it devastated Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  We continue to work to account for our hundreds of employees in more than a dozen offices on these islands.  However, because communications are an ongoing issue, we still cannot reach about half of our offices or managers.  Please keep our colleagues in Operations, ODAR, the Puerto Rico DDS, OIG, and OGC in your thoughts and prayers.

All of our offices remain closed, severely impairing our ability to deliver service.  Limited power, spotty telecommunications, and extreme gas shortages will further impair recovery efforts.

On Friday, we put our Cycle 4 payments in the mail.  In Puerto Rico, the postal offices remain closed.  All payments destined for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands will be sent via express mail as soon as the United States Postal Service can get a plane into San Juan.  The New York Region is prepared to send a team to Puerto Rico when it is safe to do so.

I will keep you updated on the status of our employees and offices in the affected areas.  Recovery efforts are just beginning, but know that we are doing everything possible to reach and account for all SSA staff and restore our critical services to those in need.

Nancy A. Berryhill

Acting Commissioner

Acting Commissioner Message On Hurricanes

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2017 9:02 AM
Subject: Update on Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

A Message to All SSA Employees

Subject: Update on Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

Recovery efforts continue in Texas and Louisiana.  Social Security offices in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are closed, with Hurricane Irma striking those Caribbean locations yesterday.  Due to the uncertainty of the hurricane’s path, we closed many southern Florida offices beginning yesterday as residents are either under mandatory evacuation orders or preparing to evacuate.

Most employees in the affected areas of the Dallas region have returned to work, and all offices except for Port Arthur, Texas and Beaumont, Texas have reopened.  We have employees on site in several Texas shelters to provide immediate payments for those who qualify.  Over the weekend, employees assisted about 600 individuals with their Social Security service needs in these shelters.

To keep updated on service delivery in hurricane-affected areas, please visit our office closings and severe weather pages on the Internet.

These are trying times for so many Americans, many of whom are our family, friends, and colleagues.  While we continue to deliver on the mission of the Agency, please remember those in harm’s way in your thoughts and prayers.

Nancy A. Berryhill

Acting Commissioner

SSA Press Release On Hurricane Harvey

     A press release from the Social Security Administration:

Many Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit payments are scheduled for Friday, September 1. The following information covers the various delivery methods for these payments in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

Payments by Paper Check Delivered by the US Postal Service

Hurricane Harvey’s impact on the Gulf Coast resulted in the temporary suspension of mail delivery service, as well as the closure of some postal facilities in the Houston area. The U.S. Postal Service is providing additional information on how customers displaced by Hurricane Harvey can retrieve checks they receive via the mail.

Provided here about.usps.com/news/state-releases/tx/tx.htm is a list of Post Office locations, by ZIP Code, where checks will be made available for pick-up beginning Friday, September 1. People must have proper identification to receive their check.

Payments by Direct Deposit

Nearly all payments issued by direct deposit will arrive as scheduled. If a person’s payment is delayed, they should contact their financial institution. If the financial institution is not operating, please see the “emergency payment” information below.

Payments by Direct Express Debit Card (a Treasury Department program)

For recipients in the affected areas who receive their payment through a Direct Express card, fees will be waived, even if they have evacuated out of the area. Payments will be posted to Direct Express cards on September 1.

People may contact Direct Express at 1-888-741-1115.

Emergency Payment Locations

Social Security has established three emergency payment locations in Texas where Social Security and SSI beneficiaries may request an immediate payment in person if they cannot receive their regular payment. The locations and hours are:

Friday, September 1, and Saturday, September 2:

• Houston: NRG Center
  2 NRG Park, Houston, TX 77054
  From 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM


• Dallas: Kay Bailey Hutchison Dallas Convention Center
  650 S. Griffin Street, Dallas, TX 75202
  From 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM


• Austin: Tony Burger Center
  3200 Jones Rd Austin, TX 78745
  From 9:30 AM – 3:00 PM

For people who cannot receive their regularly scheduled Social Security payment as a result of Hurricane Harvey, in most cases they can go to any open Social Security office and request an immediate payment. A list of offices that are currently closed, as well as additional information for the public, is available at www.socialsecurity.gov/emergency.

To find the nearest open Social Security office outside of the affected areas, call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or go to www.socialsecurity.gov/locator.

     To this point, Social Security's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) hasn't posted any information that I can find about the status of its hearing offices in the Houston area. Of course, I'm sure that all of the ODAR offices in the area are closed and that ODAR has a team working on the problem.

     Update: I've been told that Social Security is saying that only the Houston North hearing office is closed and that it will reopen next Tuesday. I'm having trouble believing this could be accurate. Even if all the hearing offices are "open" next week, they're certainly going to have only skeleton crews working and claimants will have enormous difficulty reaching the offices for hearings. If any Houston area claimant with a scheduled hearing is reading this blog, try to contact your attorney if you have one. They may have some information. If you're a claimant and your hearing hasn't been scheduled yet, relax. Give Social Security some time to sort things out.

Central Offices Closed

     A message from Social Security:

Social Security Administration (SSA) offices at headquarters and the Baltimore Metropolitan area will be closed on Tuesday, March 14, 2017 [by a large snowfall]. ITC and Falls Church offices should continue to monitor and follow OPM guidance.

     Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but I'll guess that ITC stands for the International Trade Center, a large government office building in Washington, and I'll also guess that's where the Commissioner's office is. I've never understood why it's better for the Commissioner's office to be there rather than in Woodlawn. There must be a fair amount of time wasted by staffers who have to travel into Washington for meetings at the Commissioner's office.

Appeals Council Has To Work An Extra Hour

     Due to inclement weather, Social Security's offices in the Baltimore area are opening four hours late today. However, the Appeals Council, which is in Falls Church, VA, is supposed to follow the guidance of the Office of Personnel Management, which has decided upon opening federal offices in the D.C. area three hours late.

Finally!

     Social Security has announced that its central offices in the Baltimore area will be operating on a normal schedule tomorrow. 

     Among other effects, the three days of closure due to the snowstorm have added to the backlog of people awaiting payment of disability benefits after a favorable decision and to the backlog of people awaiting action from the Appeals Council. 

     Even with the offices reopening, things will not be back to normal if schools remain closed. Employees can't leave their young children at home alone. Perhaps some locals can update us on the school situation.

Central Offices Remain Closed

     Social Security's central offices in the Baltimore area remain closed today due to the severe snowstorm that hit last week.

This Is Lame

     The Social Security Administration has a website that promises information about office closings updated "every 10 minutes." This is what it says right now:

Due to severe weather conditions impacting the Mid-Atlantic and other parts of the country, offices in New Jersey, Maryland, Washington D.C., Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, and Dallas, Texas are closed or had delayed openings today, March 5, 2015. Please check with your local Social Security office to find out about office delays and closings in your local area.

     Why does this website promise something it doesn't come close to delivering? If you're a claimant or someone like myself who does business with the agency, what do you do? You try calling the local office but you can't get through which means nothing because you usually can't get through. You have no idea whether you're supposed to go ahead with whatever you have scheduled with the agency. During the last set of weather closings in my area, attorneys drove over an hour each way to attend hearings that weren't held!
     My advice is that Social Security should take down this website until it's ready to deliver on its promise of frequently updated information on office closings. This should be doable.

Central Offices Opening Four Hours Late Today -- No, Not Opening At All

     Social Security's central offices in the Baltimore area are opening four hour late today due to snow.

    Update: Other federal offices in the Baltimore-Washington area are opening two hours late instead of four.
     Further update: On second thought, Social Security has decided to just close its central offices for the day instead of opening late.

Why Many Field Offices In The South Are Closed Today

 

This is a photo taken (not by me) in the Raleigh area yesterday afternoon.

Central Offices Closed But Who Knows About Field And Hearing Office Closings

     Social Security's central offices in the Baltimore-Washington area are closed today because of weather conditions. Many field and hearing offices along the East coast are also closed. Social Security has a website where these closings are supposed to be listed but this system has almost completely broken down. As an example, no office closings are shown in North Carolina, where I am, but I'm pretty sure that all field offices and hearing offices in the state are closed. It's obvious to me that there must be dozens of office closings in other states  that are also unlisted. Somebody needs to get this system working properly.

Why Are Central Offices Opening Late Today?

     Social Security's offices in the Baltimore area, where the agency's headquarters are located, are opening two hours late today. Uh, why? I didn't think it had been snowing in the area.

Central Offices Closed Due To Weather

     Social Security Administration offices in the Washington-Baltimore area are closed today because of severe weather conditions. They're expecting 5-8 inches of snow and wind gusts to 25 miles per hour.