Jail Time For Threat

The Boston Globe reports that a Rutland, VT man has been sentenced for telling a therapist that he was going to blow up a Social Security office.

$220 Million Contract For Paragon

From the Atlanta Business Chronicle:

Tri-S Security Corp. unit Paragon Systems has won a 10-year, $220 million contract from the U.S. Social Security Administration.

Atlanta-based Tri-S (NASDAQ: TRIS) said the contract period starts April 1 and it will provide about 500 guards, supervisors and administrators to the Social Security Administration's national headquarters and its national computer center. Both are in Woodlawn, Md.

Federal Register Item Coming

This is from the Documents on Public Inspection that are to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow. The full text is not available online; just this summary.

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

PROPOSED RULES

Compassionate Allowances for Cancers; Office of the Commissioner, Hearing, E8-03720 [SSA 2007-0053]

I do not know what the part about "Office of the Commissioner, Hearing" means.

Defendants Cry Entrapment

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Federal and state prosecutors rounded up 83 people last month and charged them with ripping off the Social Security Administration by falsely claiming benefit checks were lost, getting a replacement, then cashing both.

But defendants are crying foul, saying Social Security knew fully well they had cashed both checks, but for years treated it as a debt issue rather than a crime, according to court filings. The agency required recipients to pay it back, but took no other action until they were charged, the filings say.

In a rarely used legal argument called entrapment by estoppel, defense attorneys contend the government encouraged people to break the law and then charged them.

IRS To Send Rebate Info To Social Security Recipients

Social Security benefits recipients will receive rebates from the federal government this year only if they file tax returns. Normally, most Social Security benefits recipients do not have to file tax returns.

Commerce Clearing House is reporting that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will be sending notices to recipients of Social Security benefits in late March warning of the need to file a tax return in order to receive the rebate check.

Social Security Offering 144 ALJ Jobs

A news release from Social Security:

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency has begun making offers to 144 of the 175 new Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) it will hire this fiscal year. Due to litigation and budget cuts, the agency has about ten percent fewer ALJs than it did a decade ago. During that same time, the number of cases waiting for a hearing decision has more than doubled.

“The hiring of these new ALJs is a critical step in our plan to reduce the backlog of disability cases,” Commissioner Astrue said. “They represent one of the largest investments in ALJs this agency has ever made. When these ALJs are fully-trained, and combined with the other steps we are taking, we will be able for the first time in this decade to reduce the number of cases waiting for a disability hearing. I can hardly wait for them to start.”

The new ALJs will be brought on board in phases with the first hires reporting for duty in April, when they will begin an intensive orientation and training program. While initially handling a reduced docket, newly hired ALJs should be scheduling a full docket of cases by the end of the year.

“I have been very impressed with the caliber of the candidates eager to take on the challenging role of a Social Security ALJ,” Commissioner Astrue noted. “These new ALJs are top-notch legally and comfortable working in an electronic environment, which is of utmost importance as we strive to increase the efficiency and productivity of our ALJ corps.”

Hiring of additional ALJs is only one component of the plan the agency has put in place to reduce the backlog of disability cases. The agency also continues to make progress in many other areas including opening the National Hearing Center, completing the nationwide roll-out of the Quick Disability Determination process, implementing compassionate allowances and eliminating aged cases. More information about Social Security’s plan is available at www.socialsecurity.gov/disability under the heading What’s New.

“In May of last year, I presented Congress with a detailed plan to reduce the backlog of disability cases,” Commissioner Astrue said. “I am pleased to report that, with the strong support of the President and Members of Congress from both parties, we have been able to move forward with that plan. I urge Congress to continue its support with timely action on the President’s fiscal year 2009 budget request for Social Security. A delay in fully funding the President’s request will undermine the many positive steps we have taken this year.”

Backlogs In Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana

From the Kentucky Post:

Thousands of people in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana are waiting right now for benefits they earned, but can't get. We're talking about Social Security disability benefits, something you pay for in taxes deducted from every paycheck.

The I-Team's Hagit Limor has been looking into a huge backlog that's costing some people their lifelong savings. She found delays of up to four years from the time people apply. They can't work due to their disabilities but are too young for social security, so they need disability pay.

Hagit first reported last year that Uncle Sam hasn't hired enough judges to hear these cases. Since our report, the government's taken some action, but Tri-Staters desperate for help tell us, it's not nearly enough. ...

"It's just a terrible, terrible situation. There has to be fundamental reform if it's going to be fixed," says Jim Allsup. He used to work for Social Security. Then he started a company that handles claims like Stegeman's for a fee. ...

Allsup’s company is not the only one that’s sprouted up to handle these cases. Some lawyers are becoming specialists too. It's like hiring a CPA to do your taxes. People are giving up a part of what they earned so someone else handles the bureaucracy, hopefully faster.

Effects Of No Match

A few months ago only a restraining order from a federal court prevented Social Security from sending out a huge number of no-match letters notifying employers that they had workers whose names and Social Security numbers did not match and threatening action if these situations were not resolved. It seems likely that the no-match letters will eventually go out.

Here is a report from CBS2 in Chicago on what happened in their area recently:

A workers right group says about 70 workers walked off their jobs at a Batavia plant in solidarity with 10 others who were fired after being notified of problems with their Social Security numbers.

Tim Bell of Chicago Workers Collaborative says the workers, all Hispanic, were fired from the Proex Incorporated packaging plant after refusing to verify their employment eligibility.

Bell says company officials told workers they received notices from the Social Security Administration informing them of discrepancies in the workers' stated identity information. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the administration from sending such letters to crack down on illegal workers.

Think about the consequences of multiplying what happened in Batavia by many thousands, both for the Social Security Administration and the country.