Panic At Field Office In Arizona

     From the Washington Post:

... Social Security Administration workers in Casa Grande, Ariz., wonder if they have been infected with the coronavirus.
On Monday, a colleague who returned from a cruise over the weekend reported to work “hacking and coughing” but remained on the job throughout the workday, said Ralph DeJulius, national president for the union that represents SSA workers.
 

On Tuesday, the worker called in sick. Coronavirus was suspected.  

Panic spread.
Information about the worker’s health, and what the rest of the office staff should do in response, has not been shared with the sick workers’ colleagues, DeJulius said. ...

What The Hell Is The Matter With Andrew Saul?

From: ^Human Resources Internal Communications
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2020 2:37 PM
Subject: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Update - March 13, 2020
Importance: High

A Message to All SSA Employees

Subject:

We are sharing an update on the agency’s approach to the evolving 2019-Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States. We have made updates to the Medical Office COVID-19 FAQs page. To ensure the safety of our employees, we are taking several key actions, effective immediately, as described below.

· The agency is making a Work at Home Quarantine (WAHQ) option available to employees who cannot report to the office due to quarantine restrictions, and for parents whose children have experienced a school closure related to COVID-19. Please review the Medical Office COVID-19 FAQs and consult your supervisor for additional information if one of these situations applies to you.

· Employees who are high risk for complications from COVID-19 (e.g., pregnant or with underlying health conditions) may request to work at home under WAHQ. Please talk with your supervisor about your need.

· The agency is reverting to previous (pre-March) telework schedules for all components except field components of the Office of Operations and Office of Hearings Operations. The Office of Operations and Office of Hearings Operations will designate field telework levels based on geographic conditions and public service needs. With this rapidly evolving situation, we continue to assess where additional telework may be appropriate.

In certain locations, office closures may be necessary. You will be notified if you are in one of these affected offices. The agency may order employees to work from home with or without a telework agreement when offices are closed. In this case, employee’s homes temporarily become their duty stations under evacuation rules.

The CDC has also updated the list of high-risk countries for international travel. If you are returning from one of these countries, you have been diagnosed with COVID-19, or suspect you have been exposed due to close contact with an affected individual (e.g., a family member, someone living in your home), please stay home and consult your supervisor for further instructions.

As a reminder, the best way to protect yourself from COVID-19 is to practice frequent hand washing and/or the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer, avoid close contact with people who are ill, and cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue to prevent the spread of illness.

We will update you as we receive additional information. Please direct questions to your supervisor.

     Note that this lists only pregnancy and having an underlying health condition as reasons for allowing teleworking but being over 60 alone is a major risk factor for Covid-19 mortality and morbidity. Note also that hearing offices and field offices are exempted from telework. What the hell is the matter with Andrew Saul? This isn't doing what the Office of Management and Budget is telling agencies to do and that's probably not enough.

No Rush Guys, It's Only a Deadly Epidemic

     From the Office of Management and Budget:

... All Federal Executive Branch departments and agencies are encouraged to maximize telework flexibilities to eligible workers within those populations that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified as being at higher risk for serious complications from COVID-19 (CDC High Risk Complications) and to CDC-identified special populations including pregnant women (CDC Special Populations). These CDC-identified populations include older adults and individuals who have chronic health conditions, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, lung disease or compromised immune systems. Agencies do not need to require certification by a medical professional, and may accept self-identification by employees that they are in one of these populations. Additionally, agencies are encouraged to consult with local public health officials and the CDC about whether to extend telework flexibilities more broadly to all eligible teleworkers in areas in which either such local officials or the CDC have determined there is community spread. Agencies are also encouraged to extend telework flexibilities more broadly to accommodate state and local responses to the outbreak, including, but not limited to, school closures....

     This was sent out yesterday. As far as I know, Social Security is still working on its plan.

Social Security Hearings In The Time Of Plague

     Social Security Administrative Law Judges are talking about holding hearings by telephone. I don't even like video hearings. I understand the logic behind telephone hearings in the strange times we're in but I still hate the idea.

     In the past, Social Security was allowing attorneys to do video hearings from their offices but only if they installed expensive equipment. I don't want to go to that kind of effort and expense for something that's only going to last a few months. I'm wondering whether Social Security has the technical ability to allow attorneys to patch in using simple video technology such as Face Time. I could do that easily with no added expense -- myself and my client in my office with my iPad in front of us (no, that doesn't scare me) and the ALJ at OHO. Of course, that assumes the ALJ will go into his or her office to do the hearing.

A Message From The Commissioner

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2020 6:04 PM
Subject: COVID-19 Update
A Message to All SSA Employees
Subject: COVID-19 Update
I know that you are anxious for additional information about our evolving plans to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Events have been rapidly changing. We are working to quickly update you as things evolve, as there are many issues we must consider for both you and the public.
Based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and local public health authorities, we will be taking steps to provide mitigation for our offices in heavily affected areas in Seattle, WA, New Rochelle, NY, and Santa Clara County, CA, and we are finalizing changes on several topics, including the expanded use of telework to continue service during this difficult time.
Andrew Saul

Should Be Coming Up For Oral Argument Soon

     From the Weekly Journal:

On Feb. 4, 2019, Chief Judge Gustavo Gelpí of the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico ruled that U.S. citizens on the island are entitled to the same social security supplemental payments, or Supplemental Social Income (SSI), as citizens who reside in the mainland.

More than a year later, the federal government has not taken the necessary steps to ensure that all U.S. citizens have equal access to financial aid and government benefits. ...

The case of U.S. v. Vaello-Madero is currently before the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit of Boston. ...

     Could this case still be pending, probably at the Supreme Court, on January 20, 2021 when a new President may be taking office? I would guess that it will be. If so, it would be possible for the new administration to settle the case.

Covid-19 Update

     Crickets from Commissioner Saul.

     No one expects a fully formed plan but the obvious first step is for him to get past his obstinacy so the agency not only allows but requires as much telework as possible. Merely recommending frequent hand washing isn’t leadership. Maybe Saul gets all his information from Fox News and still thinks Covid-19 is some hoax invented to damage Trump. 

     By the way, the union keeps saying Saul is rarely in his office. I have no way of knowing the truth behind this allegation. Does anyone out there have real knowledge?

Cut FICA To Fight The Economic Damage Done By Covid-19?

     From Michael Hiltzik writing for the L.A. Times:

It’s natural for decision-makers grappling with a new crisis to dust off ideas tried in the last one, whether they were good ideas or bad. Here’s a bad idea, unearthed by President Trump from a decade ago: Cutting the payroll tax to goose the economy.

A payroll tax cut was part of the arsenal used by President Obama to fight the Great Recession in 2011. It was a bad idea then, and a bad idea now.

In remarks at a press conference Monday, Trump mentioned a payroll tax cut as a possible component of a stimulus plan to counteract a coronavirus-related economic slump. As of this writing, the administration hasn’t released any details.

Regardless of how it’s designed, however, a payroll tax cut would be poorly targeted, delivering the most help to households least in need. It would have only a diluted impact over time. And it would undermine Social Security, the program most dependent on the payroll tax. ...

Hourly workers sent home without pay or laid off because of the economic slowdown would get nothing. That would include the workers most vulnerable to virus quarantines or workplace closures, namely service workers such as waiters and waitresses, hotel staff and office cleaners.

Even for those still receiving paychecks, the payroll tax cut would be spread over the year via weekly or biweekly paychecks, providing a mere 10 bucks or so a week for a low-income household. ...

In 2011, the payroll tax cut was seen by Obama and his aides as an unpalatable choice forced on them by intransigent Republicans in Congress. ...

The payroll tax cut “was the best we could do at the time given the political constraints,” Furman notes. “But it was far from optimal then and would be even further from optimal now.” ...

What’s most unnerving about a payroll tax cut is its potential to undermine Social Security. ...

Using this income stream as a tool to pump stimulus into the economy threatens to erode Social Security’s position as a unique government program with its own revenue stream, a tax dedicated to its upkeep alone. Melding its own revenue with that of the federal government at large facilitates no one’s goals except those who want to see the edifice pulled down.

     Cutting payroll taxes isn't in the plans of House Democrats. If the President wants to get something passed, he's going to have to give House Democrats something they can say "yes" to.