Mold Problems In Ohio Office

From the Mold Reporter:

Although a new office space is being built, Social Security Administration claims office in Ironton, Ohio may be closing early due to the presence of black mold which first began two years ago. 9 of 11 workers have filed workmans comp claims with symptoms including headaches and respiratory problems.

September inspections reports from 2009 documenting problems around windows and the HVAC system were recently released to the public.

Cardiovascular Disease And Compassionate Allowance Hearing

A press release from Social Security:

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today hosted at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the agency’s sixth public hearing on Compassionate Allowances. Commissioner Astrue joined Susan B. Shurin, Acting Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, and other Social Security officials in listening to testimony from some of the leading experts on cardiovascular disease and multiple organ transplants regarding possible methods of identifying and implementing Compassionate Allowances for both adults and children.

“Compassionate Allowances and the Quick Disability Determination process are making a real difference for disabled Americans by ensuring those with devastating disabilities receive their benefit decisions quickly and accurately,” Commissioner Astrue said. “This fiscal year, about 150,000 people will benefit from these fast-track disability processes. With this hearing, we continue to look at broader categories of conditions to determine if a subset or certain diagnosis might clearly meet our disability standards and qualify as a Compassionate Allowance.”

Social Security implemented Compassionate Allowances in October 2008 to expedite the processing of disability claims for applicants with medical conditions so severe that their conditions by definition meet Social Security's standards. There currently are 88 specific diseases and conditions that qualify as a Compassionate Allowance. To learn more and to view a web cast of today’s hearing, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances.

“Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in America,” said Commissioner Astrue. “More than 95,000 people are currently waiting for an organ transplant and nearly 4,000 are added to the waiting list each month. Today’s hearing will help us move one step closer to ensuring quick and accurate disability decisions for those with the most severe conditions.”

Labor-Management Councils

President Obama ordered all federal agencies to create labor-management forums. Social Security is the last agency to adopt a labor-management forum plan. Below is a copy of what I am told is the plan adopted by Social Security. I do not have complete confirmation that the main union involved, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), has signed off on this.

Click on each page twice to view full size.

Is Social Security Still Hiring Under FCIP?

In the wake of the decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) that the Federal Career Intern Program (FCIP) is inconsistent with veteran's preference statutes has Social Security sent any directions to its managers? Is it business as usual until the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) acts? Has OMB acted? Is FCIP hiring still going on? Are managers trying to complete FCIP hiring under the current rules before they are told to stop? I realize that the MSPB did not order an immediate halt in FCIP hiring but it is clear that any FCIP hire may bring about a complaint to MSPB and the complaint is likely to be sustained.

Exactly

Andrew Biggs, writing on his blog, gives three reasons why liberals are not interested at the moment in addressing Social Security's long term financing issues. I think his third reason is the only one that really matters:

Time is on their side: If we knew the share of the Social Security deficit that must be filled with higher taxes, it would make sense to apply those tax increases immediately. Spreading a tax increase (or benefit cut) over as many people as possible lowers the necessary increase on each person. But delaying reform puts more people into the system, after which point their benefits are effectively sacrosanct, and tilts the political calculus toward tax increases and away from benefit cuts. It’s like the conservative “starve the beast” strategy in reverse.

Actually, though, the benefits are already sacrosanct. Right wingers just don't accept this well-established fact.

VA Watchdog Ceases Publication

I am sorry to report that the VA Watchdog is ceasing publication due to the ill health of Larry Scott, its founder and editor. This is a great shame. The VA Watchdog has done a great job. I wish someone could pick up where Scott has to leave off.

Federal Career Intern Decision

That decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board on the Federal Career Intern Program (FCIP) is available online. Some key excerpts:

We hold that FCIP is inconsistent with the Civil Service Rules that govern placement of positions in the excepted service under 5 U.S.C. § 3302(1) -- a law relating to veterans’ preference -- because it allows an agency to invoke an appointing authority reserved for “positions . . . for which it is not practicable to hold a competitive examination” after the agency holds a competitive examination that yields highly-qualified preference-eligible candidates.

We wish to emphasize what we do not hold. Amicus NTEU [National Treasury Employees Union] asserts ... that FCIP violates the merit system principles because it allows hiring without “fair and open competition.” ... The cases before us, however, arise under the VEOA [Veterans Employment Opportunity Act]; the sole issue is whether the appellants’ rights under a statute or regulation relating to veterans’ preference have been violated. ...

In this connection, we overrule the statement in Gingery v. Department of Defense, 105 M.S.P.R. 671, ¶ 9 (2007), rev’d on other grounds, 550 F.3d 1347 (Fed. Cir. 2008), that FCIP is “a valid exception to the competitive examination requirement” because it is “authorized by an Executive Order.” ...

The Board has recognized that in unusual cases its decisions may have such a far-reaching impact on the workings of the government that the normal timeline for compliance should be extended. ... This appears to be such a case. At the same time, untold numbers of veterans are potentially being shut out of job opportunities for which they would have preference, because the agencies are filling the positions under FCIP without public notice. ... Balancing the foregoing considerations, we conclude that OPM must comply with 5 U.S.C. § 3302(1) within 120 days of the date of this decision instead of the customary 30 days.

This will have a massive effect upon future hiring at Social Security and other agencies. FCIP was probably intended to be a small part of federal hiring but has come to be a major way in which federal employees are hired. Of course, because of the elections results, Social Security may not be doing much hiring over at least the next two years.

Updated Fee Payment Numbers

Social Security has posted these updated numbers on payments of fees to attorneys and certain others who represent Social Security claimants.

Fee Payments
Month/Year	Volume	Amount
Jan-10	32,227	$111,440,046.23
Feb-10	29,914	$105,708,101.59
Mar-10	34,983	$122,874,426.87
Apr-10	44,740	$153,478,589.32
May-10	34,686	$119,527,194.40
June-10	32,432	$111,887,579.72
July-10	32,232	$132,328,622.27
Aug-10	34,755	$119,424,346.42
Sept-10	32,660	$108,650,373.60
Oct-10	38,705	$128,133,064.77

MSPB Rules Against Federal Career Intern Program

From a press release issued by the American Federation of Government Employees:

The American Federation of Government Employees today applauded the Merit Systems Protection Board’s ruling that the Federal Career Intern Program (FCIP) violates competitive hiring and veterans preference rules under Title 5. AFGE had filed an amicus brief in the case urging the board to strike down the FCIP.

In the Nov. 2 decision, MSPB ruled that the FCIP is inconsistent with Civil Service Rules that govern placement of positions in the excepted service because it does not require agencies to justify placing positions in the excepted service as required by statute. Under Title 5, excepted service authority should be granted only for “positions … for which it is not practicable to hold a competitive examination.” The board therefore ordered the Office of Personnel Management to comply with Title 5.

Social Security has made extensive use of FCIP. This will be a major change in hiring for Social Security if this holds up.

Proffering

From an update to Social Security's HALLEX Manual:

HALLEX Sections I-2-5-42 Obtaining Medical Expert Opinion Through Interrogatories and I-2-5-57 Obtaining Vocational Expert Opinion Through Interrogatories are amended to reflect that administrative law judges (ALJ), attorney adjudicators, and hearing office (HO) staff (with the authority to issue interrogatories in cases not yet assigned to an ALJ under the direction of the Hearing Office Chief Administrative Law Judge (HOCALJ)) need not proffer proposed pre and posthearing medical expert (ME) and vocational expert (VE) interrogatories to claimants or representatives prior to submission to the ME or VE. After the completed interrogatories are received, they must continue to be proffered to claimants and representatives.

This is the first update for HALLEX since August 7, 2009.