OMB Approval Sought For Final Regs To Remove Inability To Communicate In English As A Factor In Disability Determination

     The Social Security Administration has sent a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve final regulations to remove inability to communicate in English as a factor in determining disability.

     In a semi-related issue, when is the House Social Security Subcommittee going to hold an oversight hearing featuring the new Commissioner as the star witness? I know that there are weighty matters before Congress but reminding a new Commissioner that there will be consequences if he does things deeply unpopular with the majority party in the House of Representatives is basic.

Happy Halloween

Telework Ending

Sent: Monday, October 28, 2019 1:59 PM

Subject: Telework Pilot in Operations

A Message to All DCO Employees   

Subject:  Telework Pilot in Operations

Every day, we, the employees of SSA, directly serve the American public in a variety of ways.  Whether that is assisting visitors to our Field Offices or Card Centers, callers to our 800#, processing benefit claims in the Workload Support Units (WSUs) or complex post-entitlement actions in our Program Service Centers (PSCs), or providing essential support and guidance to our public facing components. The customer service you provide every day is critical to accomplishing SSA’s mission.

In recent years, Operations has faced a number of significant service challenges, including increases in wait times for customers on the 800# and in field offices, processing times for program workloads, and PSC backlogs.  Our Commissioner Andrew Saul is committed to improving customer service and this is his highest priority for the Agency. The Commissioner has already directed additional staff and other resources to Operations to help us improve our service to the public, particularly our field office wait times, 800# service, and reduction of backlogs in our PSCs.  As Operations employees and public servants, we share the Commissioner’s commitment and must ensure we do everything we can to improve service to our customers.  That includes continually evaluating the way in which we accomplish our work.

Since 2013, Operations has piloted telework in some of our offices.  Approximately, 25% of DCO employees participate in the pilot.  Operations implemented this Telework Pilot under the now expired 2012 SSA/AFGE National Agreement.  Yesterday, on October 27, the new SSA/AFGE National Agreement went into effect.  

In order to focus all of our resources on providing service to our customers, I have decided to end the Telework Pilot in Operations at this time.  Therefore, November 8, 2019, will be the last day of telework for employees in every Operations component: Teleservice Centers, Field Offices, WSUs, PSCs, Area Director’s Offices, Regional Offices, Office of Central Operations, and Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support Staff (DCOSS).  I have designated November 8 as the last day of telework to allow time for an orderly wind down of the Telework Pilot.  Managers in the Telework Pilot sites will meet with employees to discuss the next steps. 

We must have the ability and flexibility to address our shifting workloads and the daily, and oftentimes emergent, needs of our frontline components. To improve our service delivery, we need to utilize every valuable resource we have in Operations and the talents that each of you bring to this Agency.  I ask for your support and your ongoing commitment as we work together to effect change and truly improve our service to our customers.  

Grace M. Kim

Deputy Commissioner for Operations

Representation Rate Up At Initial Level But Down At Hearing Level

     From the Social Security Administration (click on each image to view full size):

Field Office Closing?

     Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer is trying to get information on rumors that the local Social Security Field Office in Decorah, IA is closing. I thought the agency promised to give advance notice about that sort of thing. Is Social Security already backsliding?

     By the way, note the weather forecast for this corner of Iowa shown on the webpage. Brrr!

Pay Attention If You’re Suing Social Security

     Social Security is announcing new addresses for service of process on the agency. This is effective immediately.

No Child Tax Credit Without SSN

     From the Journal Record, whatever that is:

The IRS, in an informational letter, has explained why taxpayers with a religious objection to Social Security may no longer claim the child tax credit for a child without a Social Security number. 

Certain recognized religious sects are conscientiously opposed to accepting the benefits of any public or private insurance for old age, death, disability, retirement, or medical care. Members of these religious sects may be exempted from paying Social Security, Medicare and self-employment taxes. Pursuant to IRC Code Sec. 1402(g), these individuals are not required to obtain a Social Security number for themselves or their dependent children. ... 

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 prohibits the federal government from substantially burdening a person’s exercise of religion unless it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person furthers a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest. 

The information letter highlights that the RFRA does not require the IRS to provide administrative relief to taxpayers who have religious or conscience-based objections to obtaining SSNs. In enacting the new CTC rules, Congress unequivocally declared that only taxpayers who provide a qualifying child’s SSN should be allowed the CTC. As a result, children without SSNs don’t qualify for the CTC.

ALJ In Conn Case Dies In Prison

    David Daugherty, who was convicted of receiving a bribe from Eric Conn, has died in prison at age 83. Daugherty had been an Administrative Law Judge.

It's Like They Don't Want Any MEs

     Social Security has posted list of fees paid for Vocational and Medical Experts at hearings for 2018. Basically, it's $77 for the first appearance of the day and $39 for each additional appearance for VEs. It's $80 for each appearance for MEs. No wonder they can't get MEs. That's laughably low.

Student Loan Debt Hanging Over The Heads Of Retirees

     From the Texas Tribune:

 If 69-year-old Lynda Sue Costley wants to shower, she has to go to a friend’s house. Her trailer, on a gravelly road outside Amarillo, hasn’t had running water since 2014 — when her husband died from cancer. She spent the little savings she had on his medical care, she said, and hasn’t repaired the burst pipe. 

Costley works part time at a food bank, making $7.25 an hour, and said she stretches every dollar she has. But every month, she receives a letter in the mail saying the federal government is withholding $134 from her Social Security checks — the equivalent of 18 hours of work. 

Like death and taxes, Costley may be facing another certainty in life: her student loans.

Although she attended college decades ago and made payments when she could, Costley’s debt has gone into default, swollen with accrued interest and been turned over to a collection company. She’s had her wages garnished and her income tax refunds withheld. Nearing 70, she still owes nearly $12,000 for classes she attended in the 1980s and 1990s — and her balance continues to be padded by interest and the debt collector’s costs. ... 

Typically associated with millennials, the specter of student loan debt hangs over potentially thousands of retirement-age Texans, like Costley. Older Americans — ages 65 and over — were the fastest-growing demographic of student loan holders, according to a government report from 2016, and the most likely to be in default. ...

     Student loan debts aren’t like other debts. They can’t be discharged in bankruptcy and Social Security benefits may be garnisheed to collect them. It’s time to change one or both of these.