More TVs At Social Security Offices, But Fewer Employees

I am going to bump this post up since I think it concerns something important.

The National Council of Social Security Management Associations (NCSSMA), an organization of Social Security management personnel, has posted on its website a summary of meetings that its leadership had at Social Security's central offices on September 10, 2008. One of the meetings was with Linda McMahon, Social Security's Deputy Commissioner for Operations.

There is a casual reference in the summary to a hiring ceiling, also known as a head count cap ,at Social Security. I have seen Social Security's budget legislation. There has been no head count cap in that legislation. Has the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) set a head count cap for Social Security? There was legal authority for such OMB set head count caps for federal agencies during the Clinton Administration, but that authority ended in 1999. I can find a 2005 memorandum from OMB saying that it was not setting hiring ceilings at that time, probably because it had no legal authority to do so. I cannot find a record of legal authority being created for such head count caps at any later time. Can anyone explain to me what has been going on?

The summary says that most of Social Security will only be able to replace one employee for every three who leaves, even though Social Security has been receiving and will receive increases in its budget that are considerably more than the rate of inflation. One might infer that because of a head count cap that Social Security is going to lose employees, no matter how much extra money Congress gives the agency as long as George W. Bush is President, but is this cap a legal reality or, more likely, just something that Michael Astrue voluntarily chooses to observe because he is a loyal player on President Bush's team? Again, can someone explain to me where this head count cap is coming from and why Michael Astrue appears to be abiding by it?

Here is an item from the NCSSMA's summary of their meetings which seems to give at least a partial explanation of where the extra money not spent on personnel is going:

Linda indicated resources have been shifted to IT [Information Technology]. Systems is moving forward to buy a small number of large-screen TVs for reception areas for a pilot that will broadcast SSA messages while visitors are waiting, and they are also buying touch screens for visitor check in. The move is now to convert from COBOL to web-based systems and to have a common system for DDS [Disability Determination Services]. Another real issue is the need for a new National Computer Center (NCC). The existing one is rapidly proving inadequate for current needs, let alone the projected increases in demand that are anticipated. It will cost a significant amount to upgrade our infrastructure, but 5 years from now it will be too late to get started. The agency needs to start now.

Proposed Representation Regulations -- Speak Now

My official comments on the proposed new rules on representation of claimants before the Social Security Administration have finally appeared on the Regulations.gov website. My official comments are a reorganized and re-edited version of what I had earlier posted on this blog.

The deadline for comments on this proposal is November 7. Few comments have been posted so far. This is an important proposal that deserves the careful study of everyone who represents claimants. Comments may be posted online. I suggest that you not walk away without filing a comment if you review the proposal and find it confusing. Everyone whom I have talked to who has read this proposal has found it confusing. Commissioner Astrue appears to have conceded that there were drafting problems with the proposal when he spoke at the conference of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) recently. The confusing nature of the proposal is worth commenting on.

Cert Petition To Watch

From the SCOTUS [Supreme Court of the United States] Blog's list of cases that have a reasonable change of being granted certiorari at the conference of the Supreme Court Justices on October 31. Granting a writ of certiorari (or cert for short) means that the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case.

Docket: 07-1468
Title: Manning v. Astrue

Issue: Whether attorney’s fees awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act must be paid to the plaintiff directly, where it may be attached by the government for outstanding debts, or to the plaintiff’s attorney.

• Opinion below (10th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition

Timothy White of Tulsa, OK is the attorney for the appellant.

A new Solicitor General, who represents the federal government before the Supreme Court, will be appointed by the next President. The new Solicitor General could have a different position on this issue than President Bush's Solicitor General, particularly if the next President is Barack Obama.

Class Action Lawsuit On Fugitive Felon Implementation

From the San Mateo County Times:

The letter didn't make any sense, Rosa Martinez said, because she had never been to Miami, had never used illegal drugs and had never been arrested for a crime.

And yet the Social Security Administration informed her the monthly $870 check she depended on would be cut off because there was an outstanding warrant for her arrest on drug charges, issued in 1980 by the Miami-Dade Police Department.

This week, the 52-year-old Redwood City woman became one of two plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue that contends more than 100,000 people have had their benefits unjustly halted by the federal government.

The suit, filed Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco, asks a judge to prohibit the federal agency from stopping any more Social Security payments to people "fleeing to avoid prosecution" for a felony, which makes beneficiaries ineligible under a 1996 law.

Attorneys for Martinez and a second plaintiff, 19-year-old Jimmy Howard of Santa Maria, say the agency has ceased sending benefit checks to people simply because there is an outstanding warrant in their name, without verifying whether the person is fleeing prosecution or is even aware of the warrant. ...

Social Security officials have demanded that Martinez get proof that she is not the person listed in the warrant, but Douglas said Miami-Dade police have destroyed the original warrant and "proving a negative was incredibly difficult."

A letter by the Social Security Administration's Redwood City district advised Martinez: "If you believe the warrant was issued in error, Social Security must have an original document that states the warrant was issued in error and does not pertain to you at all. It must state the date the warrant was rescinded. This is the only way this case can be resolved."

The suit demands that the agency reconsider the eligibility of anyone who gets any of several types of Social Security payments and has been cut off under the "fleeing to avoid prosecution" rule.

AFGE Disgusted With Astrue

A letter from Witold Skwierczynski, president of Council 220 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents the vast majority of Social Security's workforce:

October 10, 2008

The Honorable Max Baucus, Chairman
Senate Finance Committee
2019 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20010-6200

Dear Senator Baucus:

I feel compelled to notify you that SSA Commissioner Astrue is refusing to respond to correspondence from AFGE regarding key issues. The most recent example of this lack of responsiveness concerns issues related to the impacts of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike on SSA bargaining unit employees.

Although Commissioner Astrue made a commitment to you during his confirmation hearing to improve communications and work with AFGE, he has not honored this commitment.

The relationship with AFGE and SSA management has continued to erode under his leadership. SSA’s lack of concern for employees affected by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav are perfect examples of the eroded relationship.

As you may be aware, I have sent letters to Commissioner Astrue, requesting him to take immediate action to:

• Prevent the communications problems and employee hardships that resulted after Hurricane Katrina; and
• Insure employees would be afforded the benefits and provisions approved by OPM; and Inform employees as soon as possible so that they may make informed choices for themselves and their families; and
• Keep AFGE’s SSA General Committee informed of all events surrounding the affect of the hurricanes on SSA bargaining unit employees.
• Treat employees consistently and equitably from one region and component to another.

SSA Regional and Central Office Labor Management Relations staff informed the AFGE officials which offices were closed, after SSA employees were notified. The same staff confirmed that decisions regarding Administrative Leave for affected employees and the emergency provisions approved by OPM can only be authorized by Commissioner Astrue Tuesday during a meeting, Commissioner Astrue had his Labor Relations staff inform AFGE of the Commissioner’s decision not to implement OPM disaster guidelines. AFGE asked for an explanation or basis for his decision. However, the Labor Relations staff was unwilling to enlighten the Union. To date, neither the Commissioner nor his staff has submitted a written response to my initial letter of September 2, 2008 which was written during an emergency situation.

On September 25, 2008, Commissioner Astrue released a broadcast to all SSA employees with an update about Hurricane Ike and Gustav. In this broadcast he acknowledges that “our own employees who live and work in the areas touched by the hurricanes who have lost everything.” He goes on to encourage employees to donate to a hurricane relief fund, and that federal employees affected by the hurricanes may apply for relief funding.

This is unacceptable and insulting. As in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, SSA has provided exemplary service for the public following Hurricanes Ike and Gustav. SSA’s employees deserve the same exemplary treatment from their employer. There is absolutely no reason for SSA to deny travel and per diem benefits to employees as recommended by OPM. There is also no reason to deny administrative leave benefits to employees who can’t work because they were evacuated from a hurricane site or due to the fact that their homes were damaged and became uninhabitable. AFGE is aware that other Federal Agencies have provided their employees with such benefits.

Therefore Senator Baucus, we ask that you urge Commissioner Astrue to take the following immediate actions:

• Communicate with the AFGE General Committee regarding office closures, office reopenings, damaged offices, and Agency employee benefit decisions.
• Keep all evacuated employees on administrative leave until they are able to return to work at their duty stations.
• Provide evacuated employees with full travel and per diem benefits for themselves and their dependents for the duration of their absence in accordance with OPM guidelines.
• Provide travel and subsistence payments to employees whose homes have been made uninhabitable by the hurricane until the homes are habitable in accordance with OPM guidelines and 5 CFR 550.405.
• SSA will not require or allow employees to work in unsafe and unhealthy environments.
• SSA will not permit employees to work with damaged and/or contaminated files.
• SSA will inform employees of their rights regarding pay, travel and per diem, etc. quickly so that they can make informed choices (e.g., utilizing travel and per diem benefits instead of staying with friends and relatives).
• SSA will assist employees to interact with other Agencies to obtain any benefits that they may be entitled to access. (e.g., FEMA)
• SSA will provide administrative leave fairly and equitably for employees after they return to work to deal with disaster related issues (e.g., insurance, household repairs)
• SSA will only reopen offices after an assessment is made by competent inspectors that the facilities are healthy and safe and that they are equipped with adequate power and water.

On behalf of the hundreds of affected SSA employees and AFGE, I want to thank you in advance for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Witold Skwierczynski

This letter can be viewed in a number of ways depending upon one's political views and views on labor unions, but let me first try to talk about it in practical political terms. The AFGE is a major constituency in the Democratic party. If Barack Obama is elected President along with a larger Democratic majority in Congress and Michael Astrue tries to stay on as Commissioner of Social Security, the AFGE will demand, at the least, that Astrue be forced to change his ways.

And, by the way, I think it is entirely accurate to say that Astrue made committments during the confirmation process about the way he would treat employee unions that he has not kept.

Anthrax Scare In Bloomington

The Pantagraph of Bloomington, Illinois reports that the local Social Security office was shut down on Friday due to the discovery of a powdery substance in a rest room. The story turns out to be farce, since the substance not only was not dangerous, but may have been curry powder!

Fascinating Responses

The two responses, so far, to my post of Social Security's press release on Michael Astrue's speech at the conference of the National Organization of Social Security claimants representatives -- the one where he claimed that the backlog situation is getting better and I commented that this claim seems to square poorly with the backlog numbers that Social Security has released -- are fascinating. Take a look at them.

The Last Time ...

The last time that the order of succession at Social Security was changed was April 17, 2006, which was before a change of Commissioner, but the change did not come until nine months later when Jo Anne Barnhart's term as Commissioner of Social Security ended. It seems unlikely that those two events were linked.