More On Possible Union Contract

     More on the possible new union contract for Social Security, from the Federal Times:

... [S]everal key subjects still have to be hammered out. AFGE [American Federation of Government Employees] said provisions covering merit promotions, teleworking and performance appraisals are still being negotiated and must be written into the contract by the end of June. ...

Monthly transit benefits, now $60, will increase to $70 in the contract's first year, $80 in its second year, and $90 in its fourth year, said Witold Skwierczynski, who led negotiations for AFGE.

The current $50 benefit for eye exams and up to $175 for eyeglasses will increase to $65 for an exam and $200 for glasses, he said.

Skwierczynski also said employees will get more rights to union representation when meeting with SSA managers. For example, the contract will require managers to orally remind employees that they have the right to union representation when they're called into a discussion that might lead to disciplinary action. Currently, SSA only has to publish a notice once a year on those rights, Skwierczynski said.

And the agreement contains language that says SSA will not tolerate bullying from managers. Skwierczynski said that gives the union "a foot in the door" to file grievances against managers who allegedly bully their employees.

Conceptual Agreement For New National Contract Between SSA And AFGE

     From a union press release:

After 27 months of negotiations, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the Social Security Administration have reached a conceptual agreement for the terms of the new national contract. ... 

Negotiations between AFGE and SSA have been ongoing, two weeks every month, since December 2009. AFGE referred the bargaining to the Federal Service Impasses Panel in September 2011, in reaction to the lack of progress in national contract negotiations. The language for the new contract is conceptual and will be finalized by both AFGE and SSA management, then sent out for ratification by AFGE locals. Once the contract is ratified by AFGE and SSA, it will be valid for four years.

“We made improvements in eye care and travel benefits, strengthened employee rights in the workplace and allowed for the union to have broader ability to represent employees in meetings with SSA management,” explained AFGE Lead Negotiator Witold Skwierczynski. ...

A Question

     Do Social Security's online appeal forms include an option for requesting interim benefits for claimants appealing termination of disability benefits? To the best of my knowledge, Social Security never got around to devising a paper form for this purpose, leaving field offices to improvise. I was wondering if this problem has continued over to online appeals.

Delaware ALJs Draw Media Attention

     From some Delaware newspaper that wishes to hide its real name and call itself DelawareOnline in its web incarnation:

Delaware's federal legislators are asking the Social Security Administration to explain why disability cases heard by Dover judges are consistently denied at some of the highest rates in the country.

The agency's administrative law judges in Dover have denied 57 percent of the cases they've heard since October, compared to a national average of 41 percent, statistics show. It was the fifth-highest denial rate among the agency's 170 hearing offices. ...


Carol Moore, 57, of Bear, worked for more than 25 years as an administrative assistant before developing scleroderma, an autoimmune disorder, and Raynaud's phenomenon, a condition in which blood-vessel spasms block blood flow to the fingers, toes, ears and nose. Moore said she experiences swelling, joint pain and feelings of extreme cold. ...


After she was initially denied benefits six years ago, Moore appealed, and her case was heard by Dover Administrative Law Judge Judith Showalter, who dismissed her claims, Moore said. Showalter has denied 72 percent of the cases she's heard since October, the 27th-highest rate among the nation's 1,123 Social Security judges.

"She had no idea what the diseases were and didn't want to hear it," Moore said. "Nobody can stop her. She's not a doctor, but she can go beyond a doctor's diagnosis. How is one allowed to get away with that?"

Showalter did not respond to a request seeking comment for this story.

     If you think that scleroderma is just some trivial skin disease, think again. Scleroderma is also known as Progressive Systemic Sclerosis. Sclerosis means hardening, so the name means progressive systemic hardening -- and we're talking not just about hardening of the skin but of internal organs, like the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, etc.and we're talking about real hardness, the kind of hardness that would shut down one of these organs. That doesn't sound like some minor skin disease, does it? Scleroderma is a very serious rheumatic condition that is often fatal. I've represented a number of clients with scleroderma over the years. I don't think I've ever lost one of these cases. A 57 year old claimant with scleroderma gets denied by an ALJ? That raises both of my eyebrows.

Electronic Signature Process Coming

    It appears that Social Security will soon have an electronic signature process at least for the SSA-827 form, which authorizes the agency to obtain medical records on a claimant. I am not sure how this will work but if it does work, it is a big deal.

The State Of The Trust Funds

    Stephen Goss, Social Security's Chief Actuary, testified before the House Budget Committee yesterday. There was nothing new in his testimony to those who follow the state of the Social Security trust funds but most people don't follow the state of the trust funds so here is an excerpt from the conclusion of Goss' written remarks:

We are at the beginning of a substantial and permanent shift in the age distribution of our population. This shift was caused by the drop in birth rates from the long-time average level of about three children per woman through 1965, to just two children per woman since 1975. By 2040, there will be only two workers for every OASDI [Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance] beneficiary, down from three workers per beneficiary throughout the period 1975 through 2008. As a result, the cost of Social Security will shift from about 4.5 percent of GDP to a stable level of 6 percent of GDP [Gross Domestic Product] by 2040. Currently scheduled tax revenue will remain at about 4.5 percent of GDP. Making Social Security solvency sustainable will therefore require a choice to:

• Increase revenue by 33 percent after 2035,

• Reduce benefits by 25 percent after 2035, or

• Enact some combination of these changes

In the absence of legislation, the combined OASDI Trust Fund reserves are projected to become exhausted in 2036, with only 75 percent of presently scheduled benefits payable thereafter through 2085.

      Note that people living longer isn't the problem. It's women having fewer children. I suppose that Republican plans to make it more difficult to obtain contraceptives would do something about that.
     Goss listed the various proposals for dealing with the situation -- apart from making it more difficult to obtain contraception. My favorite is to lift the cap on the Social Security tax so that it covers all wages. It's simple. It takes care of the problem. It raises taxes only on those most able to bear the tax increase. Most people will be unaffected.

Llewellyn Washington Woolford Sr. Passes

     From the Baltimore Sun:

Llewellyn Washington Woolford Sr., a retired Social Security Administration attorney who was a past Howard County Human Relations Commission chairman, died of stroke complications Feb. 22 at his Columbia home. He was 81. ...

In 1956, he was sworn in as a lawyer in Annapolis. He then formed a law firm, Howard, Woolford and Leeds, on Pleasant Street.

In 1965, Mr. Woolford became an early African-American attorney in the Social Security Administration's Office of the General Counsel. He served for nearly 30 years, family members said.

You Get What You Pay For

     North Carolina Disability Determination Services (DDS), which makes determinations on Social Security disability claims at the initial and reconsideration levels, has posted online its fee schedule for the medical examinations that it orders. I am pretty sure that this is not standardized nationally but I'll bet that NC isn't far different from most states on this score.
     Complain all you want about consultative examinations but don't expect improvement with this kind of fee schedule.