Union Objects To Cutbacks In Field Office Hours

     The union that represents most Social Security employees is objecting to the cutback in the number of hours that Social Security field offices are open. Those hours are being cut back because of budget cuts. The union objects that Social Security has not bargained with the union over this issue and that there will be no overtime to get the work done.

4.1% Error Rate In Numident

     From a recent report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG)(footnotes omitted):

Since 1936, SSA has assigned over 471 million Social Security numbers (SSN) for the primary purpose of accurately reporting and recording the earnings of people who work in jobs covered by Social Security. When SSA assigns an SSN to an individual, it creates a master record of relevant information about the numberholder in its Numident. The Numident includes such information as the numberholder’s name, date of birth, place of birth, parents’ names, citizenship status, and date of death (if applicable). It also contains the office where the SSN application was processed.

It is essential that the Numident be as accurate and complete as possible because SSA provides a number of verification services that allow matching of names and SSNs with SSA’s records. E-Verify (formerly Basic Pilot) is a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employment eligibility verification program supported by SSA. The purpose of E-Verify is to assist employers in verifying the employment eligibility of newly hired employees....

In 2006, we reviewed SSA’s Numident and determined that the information it contained was generally accurate. However, we estimated that discrepancies in approximately 4.1 percent of the Numident records could have resulted in incorrect feedback when submitted through E-Verify. For example, our review showed that the Numident records contained discrepancies in numberholders’ names, dates of birth, citizenship status, and/or death indications. Because our tests included SSNs that SSA had assigned since 1936, we recognized that some numberholders would no longer be working and would not attempt to correct their SSA and/or immigration records. We also recognized that some inaccuracies were due to numberholders who did not update their records with SSA.

      Those who are ineligible to hold down employment in the U.S. due to their immigration status should be prevented from working. Non-citizens should be prevented from voting in the U.S. However, using numident to achieve these goals is unreasonable because numident contains such a high error rate. We can't exclude 4.1% of eligible workers and voters because of simple record-keeping errors. That's an unacceptably high level of errors for such crucial matters. Don't blame Social Security too much. Numident was created for the agency's internal use. It was never anticipated that it would be used for crucial non-agency purposes.

Way Off Topic

From the Associated Press:

A contestant in a roach-eating contest who downed dozens of live bugs and worms collapsed and died shortly after winning the contest in South Florida, authorities say.

About 30 contestants ingested the insects during Friday night's contest at Ben Siegel Reptile Store in Deerfield Beach about 40 miles north of Miami. The grand prize was a python. ...

Authorities were awaiting results of an autopsy to determine a cause of death.

No End Of Controversies With Death Master File

     From the New York Times:

A shift last year by the Social Security Administration to limit access to its death records amid concerns about identity theft is beginning to hamper a broad swath of research, including federal government assessments of hospital safety and financial industry efforts to spot consumer fraud. 

For example, a research group that produces reports on organ-transplant survival rates is facing delays because of the extra work it must do to determine whether patients are still alive.  ...

For a decade, the Social Security master file routinely included records provided by the states. But last year, after reports that the widespread availability of death records was facilitating identity theft, the Social Security Administration determined it had been improperly releasing the state records as part of the public master file....

Mark Hinkle, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration, said researchers simply would have to collect the data from the states.

“I don’t want to sound offensive,” Mr. Hinkle said. “But our job is to administer the Social Security program, and administering a death list really isn’t in our core set of workloads. The bottom line is that we have to follow the laws and administer the programs we’re supposed to administer.”

ALJ Dodds Passes

     I regret to report that Administrative Law Judge Ralph Dodds of Raleigh has passed away.

ERE Down

     I have received multiple reports that Social Security's Electronic Records Express service is down this morning. It was supposed to have been down for repairs until 5:00 a.m. Come on, guys -- most of the country doesn't take off for Columbus Day!

Updated Fee Payment Numbers

     Below are updated numbers on payments of fees to attorneys and others for representing Social Security claimants, primarily disability claimants. These fees are processed by the Social Security Administration but come out of the back benefits of the claimants involved. The attorneys and others who receive the fees pay a user fee for the costs of withholding and paying these fees.

Fee Payments
Month/Year	Volume	Amount
Jan-12	29,926	89,749,312.99
Feb-12	43,946	134,207,416.10
Mar-12	47,376	139,571,577.57
Apr-12	38,239	113,225,483.07
May-12	37,648	112,446,283.39
June-12	43,816	128,559,225.66
July-12	33,342	97,458,955.82
Aug-12	41,441	119,484,061.59
Sept-12	38,393	115,676,630.23

Social Security Checks Stolen From The Mail?

    According to a Memphis television station, a group of Social Security checks has been stolen from the U.S. Postal Service. Not delayed or misplaced but stolen. The report is that the Postal Inspector General is saying that it does not yet know what happened to the checks and is investigating.