Take A Look

      I can't figure out how to reproduce it here but this piece on the hearing backlog at Social Security has a nice interactive chart displaying the backlog at each hearing office. It's noticeable that the worst backlogs seem to be West of the Mississippi.

Improve Retirement Income By Increasing The Minimum Wage

     From Market Watch:

...If a single worker with a life expectancy of 90 were to earn the current minimum wage her whole life, and claimed Social Security benefits at her full retirement age, she would receive a monthly benefit of $924, compared with that same type of worker earning $15 an hour, who would receive $1,337, said Bill Meyer, chief executive officer of software firm Social Security Solutions.

But Social Security benefits can also be calculated cumulatively — that is, the total amount in one’s lifetime. Cumulatively, a worker claiming at 62 after having earned the current minimum wage his whole life would receive $294,000 (assuming a 2% cost-of-living adjustment), and $398,000 if he claimed at 70. But if a worker earned $15 an hour and claimed at 62, he would see $425,000 in lifetime Social Security benefits, and $576,000 if he claimed at 70. ...

Does This Matter?

      An addition to Social Security’s HALLEX manual:

A.

General

Hearing office (HO) staff will initiate and conduct a prehearing case analysis and workup when the HO receives a claim(s) file. HO staff will consult with the administrative law judge (ALJ) and HO management on the issues discussed below, as needed.

B.

Prehearing Analysis of Evidentiary Issues

As part of the prehearing case analysis, HO staff will review the claim(s) file to determine whether the claimant informed the agency about additional evidence that is not in the record. If the evidence is not in the record, HO staff will develop the evidence according to the regulations and instructions in Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual I-2-5-13.

If HO staff determines additional evidence may be needed for a full and fair inquiry into the matters at issue, they will consult with an ALJ to determine whether to develop the evidence. See HALLEX I-2-5-2. If the ALJ decides that he or she needs additional evidence, the HO will develop the evidence before scheduling the hearing.

C.General Overview of Prehearing Analysis and Workup

In addition to performing a prehearing analysis of evidentiary issues, as discussed in subsection B above, HO staff (or the ALJ, if otherwise stated in the referenced citation), will take the following actions:

• Ensure the claim(s) file is associated with the correct claimant.

• Assess whether there is a prior claim(s) file. See HALLEX I-2-1-13.

• Determine whether special handling procedures apply. See HALLEX I-2-1-55 D.

• Determine who is a party to the hearing. See HALLEX I-2-1-45.

• Determine the issues in the case. See generally HALLEX I-2-2.

• Ensure concurrent claim(s) or requests for escalation of claim(s) are associated with the case. See HALLEX I-2-2-22.

• Determine whether special notices are required. See HALLEX I-2-3-45 and I-2-3-50.

• Document whether the claimant has objected to appearing at the hearing by video teleconferencing. See HALLEX I-2-0-21.

• Note whether the case may be appropriate for a decision on-the-record, or whether the claimant has waived the right to a hearing. See HALLEX I-2-1-82.

• Select the proposed exhibits and prepare an exhibit list. See HALLEX I-2-1-15 and I-2-1-20.

• Determine whether an interpreter or other special accommodations are needed at the hearing. See HALLEX I-2-0-15 C, I-2-1-70, I-2-1-72, I-2-1-74, and I-2-3-10.

• Determine whether expert testimony is needed at the hearing. See HALLEX I-2-5-34 and I-2-5-50.

• Determine whether the testimony of any other witness is needed at the hearing. For instructions regarding when field office employees can be called as witnesses, see HALLEX I-2-5-71.

• Give the claimant or the representative the opportunity to examine the claim(s) file. See HALLEX I-2-1-35.

• Schedule a prehearing conference, if appropriate. See HALLEX I-2-1-75.

• Schedule a hearing and send a notice of hearing (if applicable). See HALLEX I-2-3-10 and I-2-3-15.

• For claim(s) remanded by the Appeals Council, request clarification before scheduling a hearing if the ALJ cannot carry out the directive(s) set forth in the remand order, or if the directive(s) appears to have been rendered moot. See HALLEX I-2-1-8.

A Message From Andrew Saul, Who's Still Calling Himself "Commissioner", Not "Acting Commissioner"

 Maintaining Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic

02-11-2021 · 2 MINUTE READ · Commissioner Broadcasts

A Message To All SSA and DDS Employees

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impose hardships especially on our country’s most vulnerable citizens. Of concern, we have seen reduced application filings for the Disability Insurance (DI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs since the middle of last year. Many of these individuals, including those people with low-income, limited English proficiency, facing homelessness, or with mental illness, have historically relied on meeting with you face-to-face to get the help they need.

Over the past year, we have worked closely with national and local advocacy groups to improve service to vulnerable populations. We have also engaged Federal, State, and local agencies, as well as private industry, to raise public awareness of how to access our services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The positive response demonstrates how much our programs matter. Agency resources, like the recently implemented “Information for People Helping Others” page at www.ssa.gov/thirdparty, provide the type of information the beneficiaries, and the advocate communities who help them, need, but we can do more.

I know our frontline employees witness the hardships our customers endure firsthand. Soon, I will share a number of initiatives with you that are designed to help us provide better service through enhanced outreach and communication with our most vulnerable populations.

We are determined to continue to keep you safe while ensuring we do not fail the people who depend on us. Additionally, these efforts align with President Biden’s executive order on supporting underserved communities. With your continued help and that of our partners, we can ensure that the people know about and apply for our programs.

Thank you for your continued commitment and dedication to the public we serve.

Andrew Saul
Commissioner

Three Sandwiches And Three Bottles Of Beer

     From the Virginian-Pilot:

William Rankin came to Norfolk’s Social Security Administration building Monday afternoon with a simple message — “I want my money!” — and a plan to get it, one that involved a handgun, rifle and some 600 rounds of ammunition, according to the FBI.

It appears he was prepared to stay a while: He brought three sandwiches and three bottles of beer. ...

On Thursday, federal prosecutors charged the 44-year-old Rankin with attempted murder of someone helping an employee of the U.S government, assault, having a firearm in a federal facility and being a felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted, Rankin faces 10 years to life in prison, although sentences for federal crimes are usually less than the maximum. ...

It all started a little before 3:30 p.m. Monday, when Rankin entered the Social Security Administration building at 5850 Lake Herbert Drive. Right after he entered with a rifle bag slung over his left shoulder, a security guard approached him. ...

Rankin yelled, “I want my money!”

The guard told Rankin that, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the building was closed; he needed to call the phone number listed on the front door. Rankin clarified he was there because he wanted his mother’s money. The guard said he still needed to call the number listed on the door.

Rankin then pulled a .380 pistol and told the guard he wasn’t leaving without the money. The guard tried to keep Rankin calm. But Rankin became more agitated and demanded the guard unholster his gun and put it on the ground. The guard refused.

So Rankin fired at least five rounds at the security guard, hitting him in the left arm, left shoulder, left leg, right leg, left upper chest and the lower abdomen. A bulletproof vest saved the security guard from the shots to his upper chest and abdomen.

 After firing, Rankin turned and started to move to the front door, at which point the security guard drew his weapon and shot Rankin several times. Even though he’d been shot multiple times, the guard was able to get into an elevator, go to the second floor and tell others he’d been shot and to call 911. He then went back downstairs and watched Rankin until backup arrived. ...

Law enforcement found a 9mm Hi Point rifle and roughly 600 rounds of ammo in his rifle bag, including nine boxes of 9mm and three fully-loaded extended 9mm magazines. Officers searched Rankin’s Chesapeake home and interviewed his wife, who told them about his struggle to get Social Security benefits for his mother. ...

A Bulletproof Vest Saved His Life

      From WAVY:

A security company says a bulletproof vest likely saved the life of a 52-year-old guard who was shot at a U.S. Social Security Administration building in Norfolk on Monday. ...

In the message Tuesday, the president of [the security company] said an “armed assailant” attempted to gain entry into the Social Security building, but it was closed to the public.

When he was refused entry, he opened fire into the lobby. ...

The security guard was hit four times, but returned gunfire “until the threat was neutralized.”

After he was shot, the security guard went to the second floor to alert the other officer he was working with. That officer was already responding to the sound of gunfire downstairs, and had secured the seven employees on the floor and called 911.

Despite being injured, the officer who was shot went back to the main floor and secured the scene until police arrived. ...

[T]he guard was set to have surgery Tuesday and was in stable condition. ...

Arbitrator Rules In Favor Of ALJ Union

      From Government Executive:

An independent arbitrator last week ruled that the Social Security Administration violated federal labor law when it moved to unilaterally implement a partial union contract on the Association of Administrative Law Judges, despite the fact that several issues remained up for negotiation.

Over the last two years, Social Security and the ALJ union have undergone a long and at times acrimonious process to negotiate a new union contract. Last January, the Federal Service Impasses Panel took jurisdiction over nine contract articles still disputed by the parties, over the objection of the union. ...

Despite the fact that several elements of the new contract still had not been finalized, the Social Security Administration called on the judges union to ratify a partial contract of articles on which they had come to agreement, in apparent violation of the parties’ ground rules for negotiations. When the union declined to hold that vote, the agency unilaterally imposed those contract provisions in August 2020.

In his decision, Arbitrator Salvatore Arrigo said the agency’s violation of its memorandum of understanding with the union when it implemented the partial contract was “clear and patent,” and that it “constituted a repudiation of the essence of the ratification process.” ...

Arrigo ruled that the agency should cease engaging in bad faith bargaining with the administrative law judges union, rescind its demand that the union ratify only part of the new contract, and roll back implementation of those new provisions. The agency may appeal the decision to the FLRA [Federal Labor Relations Authority] for review. ...

 

Authorities Only Releasing Limited Information On Norfolk Shootings

      From "13NewsNow":

Norfolk police have released new details in their investigation of a shooting at the site of the Social Security Administration office, including the identity of the suspected gunman.

Around 4 p.m. Monday, officers were sent to the 5850 block of Lake Herbert Drive after learning that a shooting broke out there. That building houses both the Social Security Administration office as well as a disability services office.

Police arrived to find two men who both had been shot multiple times.

William D. Rankin was one of those men. Investigators have charged him as the suspected gunman. The 44-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries.

A 52-year-old man who Rankin allegedly shot suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police say he was working as a security guard at the building when the shooting started. 

Authorities charged Rankin with:

• Malicious Wounding
• Shooting in an occupied building
• Use of a Firearm
• Firearm by Felon ...

No other details have been released at this time, including the motive behind the shooting. ...

SSA On A Real Losing Streak In Conn Cases

      From WTVQ:

Hundreds of Social Security disability recipients in Appalachia who were victimized by now-disbarred attorney Eric C. Conn’s fraud scheme notched another major legal victory.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled Thursday the Social Security Administration violated due process rights of Conn’s former clients by refusing to allow them to rebut allegations that their medical evidence was tainted by fraud. ...

The agency ended up terminating benefits for nearly half those individuals, including Gary Kirk and Larry Kermit Taylor, the plaintiffs in Thursday’s decision.

Kirk and Taylor successfully argued the SSA violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution when it revoked their disability.

Besides the Fourth Circuit, the Sixth Circuit and the Seventh Circuit have considered substantially similar cases and each concluded that the SSA’s redetermination procedures were unlawful. ...

Two People Shot At Social Security Office In Norfolk

     Two people have been shot at a Social Security office in Norfolk, VA. It's not clear whether they were shot inside or outside the building or whether the shooting had anything to do with the Social Security office itself. However, federal authorities are participating in the investigation.

Could SSI Changes Be Coming?

      I had earlier posted the names of the members of the House Social Security Subcommittee. However, it's unlikely that that Subcommittee will advance any significant legislation in this Congress or, at least, that it could be passed. It would take 60 votes in the Senate to overcome filibuster and pass such legislation. It's hard to imagine any significant Social Security bill garnering 10 Republican votes in the Senate. Specifically, the Byrd Rule prevents budget reconciliation bills (which don't require 60 votes in the Senate) from containing provisions that affect Title II of the Social Security Act. 

     Legislation affecting Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a different story. My understanding is that SSI legislation could be passed as part of a Budget Reconciliation bill. However, the budget reconciliation rules do forbid anything that extends beyond 10 years so anything affecting SSI would have to include a 10 year sunset provision. That's not a complete bar. Much tax legislation including 10 year sunsets has been passed as part of budget reconciliation bills. It's basically a challenge to future Congresses to re-up the provisions. Would that happen with SSI legislation? I don't know. The Biden campaign released an ambitious SSI plan but I've heard nothing about SSI since the election. 

     I do know that the Social Security Subcommittee lacks jurisdiction over SSI. That's under the jurisdiction of the Worker and Family Support Subcommittee. It could be the more important subcommittee in this Congress. Here are the Democratic and Republican members of that Subcommittee:

Worker and Family Support Subcommittee

Chair: Rep. Danny K. Davis

• Democrats 

• Rep. Judy Chu

• Rep. Gwen Moore
• Rep. Dwight Evans
• Rep. Stephanie Murphy
• Rep. Jimmy Gomez
• Rep. Dan Kildee
• Rep. Jimmy Panetta

Republicans

Republican Leader Tom Reed (R-NY)

Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC)

Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX)

Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS)

Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK)

“Kick Them Laterally To The Associate Commissioner Of Recycling”

      From Government Executive:

Officials at the nation’s largest federal employee union said that they have seen little progress from agencies in the days since President Biden signed an executive order rescinding Trump administration edicts on labor-management relations last week. ...

Ralph de Juliis, president of AFGE’s Social Security Administration Council, said he has seen a similar reluctance to move forward with the implementation of Biden’s order rescinding the previous president’s workforce policies.

“At SSA, we already sent the executive order to the agency and said that we wanted to return to the table, and Jim Julian, the associate commissioner for labor-management and employee relations, responded by saying, ‘Good point, we’ll talk about this on our February call,’” de Juliis said. “And earlier today, I sent the recent order from [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration] on COVID and social distancing, and I sent it to various SSA people who had given me floor plans on how they plan to squeeze us into cubicles [when we return to the office], and I asked, ‘How are you going to redo the floor plan?’ And the answer we got back was, ‘We’re not doing anything yet, we need to wait until we’re told what we can do.” ...

de Juliis said that, at least at the Social Security Administration, that relationship with the current labor-management officials can never be mended. AFGE’s council of unions at the agency, along with other labor groups and advocates, have called on the Biden administration to force Commissioner Andrew Saul and Deputy Commissioner David Black to resign before their terms expire in 2025.

“[The officials] in the labor-management office have to go,” de Juliis said. “They’ve overseen the discipline of too many union officials during the pandemic, of too many employees. The trust cannot be restored . . . Employees are held accountable and held responsible, while leaders are being given a pass, and they cannot be given a pass. There’s no working with these people, so get rid of them, kick them laterally to the associate commissioner of recycling or something, but just get them out of dealing with labor relations.”

PII Failure In Charlotte

     From WCNC:

A failure by Social Security Administration employees in Charlotte resulted in the wrong people receiving original copies of others' Social Security cards, passports, birth certificates and other private documents.

"I'm just shocked and really disappointed in the Social Security Administration," said Brandi Soles, whose records were among those compromised. "This isn't an incident that you have when you go and place an order at Wendy's and they forget your fries or they give you somebody else's order. These are personal life documents, originals, that you would expect the Social Security office to handle with care and to make sure that they send them back to the right persons, and that did not happen."

Conversations with several people in Charlotte revealed at least four people were impacted by the mistake. An SSA spokesperson wouldn't reveal how many others were affected.

"Social Security takes its responsibility to protect the information it maintains seriously," SSA Regional Communications Director Patti Patterson said. "Due to employee error some information was mailed to incorrect individuals. We are working to contact these people and secure the information." ...

 

GOP Announces Its Members Of Social Security Subcommittee

      House Republicans have announced their members on the Social Security Subcommittee:

• Republican Leader Tom Reed (R-NY)
• Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC)
• Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX)
• Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS)
• Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK)
  

Are TV Stations Social Security's Ombudsmen?

      From a TV station in the San Francisco area:

It's a common mistake, but one that proved costly for a Danville man. You might say, this is a case in point -- a decimal point. ...

He sent in an online payment to Social Security for his Medicare B coverage for what he thought was for $1,695.60.

When he received verification of his payment, he discovered he put the decimal point in the wrong place.

The payment ended up being for $16,956.

"So I about freaked out. And obviously the numbers were right, but the decimal was put in the wrong place," he told us.

Russ called Wells Fargo, requesting a stop payment. The bank told him it couldn't do that.

"It was an electronic transfer, and not a check. That I'd have to contact Social Security. So that's when all my woes began," Bernard said.

Social Security told him it could only give him a credit and not a refund for the overpayment. That was the policy. ...

 He learned on Christmas Eve that Social Security denied his appeal.

That same day, his wife Carla came down with COVID-19.

"All of a sudden the room went sideways, and I was sick," she recalls.

Still, Carla had enough strength to suggest Russ call 7 On Your Side.

"I said if anybody can get this fixed, it's 7 On Your Side, call them," she said.

He did, and we contacted Social Security.

A spokesperson told us it couldn't comment due to privacy reason.

But it refunded $15,000 back into Bernard's bank account.

"7 On Your Side can't be beat," said Bernard. ...

Social Security Subcommittee Democrats Named

      The House Ways and Means Committee has finally announced its subcommittee assignments for this Congress, at least for the Democrats. I can't find an announcement about the Republicans. Below is the lineup for the Social Security Subcommittee. Let's hope we can get some oversight hearings in this Congress. I've never before seen the passivity displayed by the Social Security Subcommittee in the last Congress.

Chair: Rep. John B. Larson

• Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr.
• Rep. Linda T. Sánchez
• Rep. Brian Higgins
• Rep. Steven Horsford
• Rep. Earl Blumenauer
• Rep. Terri A. Sewell
• Rep. Gwen Moore

Disability Trust Fund Holding Up Despite Pandemic

      Social Security's Office of Chief Actuary has released the numbers on the performance of the Disability Insurance Trust Fund in 2020. Things went pretty well despite the high unemployment caused by the pandemic. The Trust Fund ended 2020 having gained about two and a half billion dollars since the end of 2019. We'll have updated long term projections in a few months but if you were dreading (or hoping) for a Disability Insurance Trust Fund collapse due to the pandemic, it hasn't happened. See the table below. As always, click on the image to view it full size.

Online Services Outages

      According to Down Detector, Social Security started experiencing significant problems with its My Social Security portal sometime over the weekend and apparently the problem is continuing into today. It may not be connected but Social Security just announced on Friday that claimants can now request access to documents that the Social Security Administration has concerning their cases through the My Social Security portal.

Headcount Ticks Up

     We're finally getting more up to date numbers from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) showing the headcount of employees at each agency. Here they are as of last September with some earlier headcount numbers for comparison:

• September 2020 61,447
  
• June 2020 60,515
  
• March 2020 60,659
  
• December 2019 61,969
  
• December 2018 62,946
  
• December 2017 62,777
• September 2017 62,297
• June 2017 61,592
• March 2017 62,183
• December 2016 63,364
• December 2015 65,518
• December 2014 65,430
• December 2013 61,957
• December 2012 64,538
• September 2011 67,136
• December 2010 70,270
• December 2009 67,486
• December 2008 63,733

Claimants Can Now Access Their Case Documents

      From Social Security's Update Newsletter:

Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries with a my Social Security account can now access case documents through the Message Center of their my Social Security account.

Please let your clients know they must contact the local Social Security office, hearings office, or Appeals Council branch where their case is pending to request that a copy of their case documents be sent to their my Social Security Message Center. Also, remind them to turn on my Social Security Message Center notifications at www.ssa.gov/myaccount so they can receive an email or text when the documents are available. You can learn more about this new feature at www.ssa.gov/appeals/electronic_case_document.html.