I’m hearing reports that all Social Security field offices will be closed to the public beginning on Tuesday.
Mar 16, 2020
This Sounds Like Field Offices Should Close To The Public
From an NBC News Blog (emphasis added):
President Donald Trump said Monday his administration's coronavirus task force updated its guidelines amid the coronavirus outbreak.
There would be 10 or more people in the waiting room of most, if not all, Social Security field offices for most of the day. That would also be the case at some times of the day for many Social Security hearing offices.He said the administration recommends all Americans, including young and healthy, should homeschool children, avoid gatherings of 10 or more people, stop discretionary travel and avoid bars and restaurants. ...
Maybe It Is Time
I had posted skepticism about shutting down Social Security hearings while the Supreme Court is still holding oral arguments. Well, the Supreme Court has just cancelled oral arguments for the time being.
I still think that if it's time to stop holding hearings, it's time to close the offices.
And by the way, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, you're ordered to stay home and see no one for the foreseeable future.
New York City Status
From the New York City Health Department: "New York, stay home. Healthy or sick, all New Yorkers need to stay home as much as possible."
From Social Security: The field office in White Plains (which is a suburb of New York city) and the hearing office in Bedford Heights (which is in New York City) are closed.
30 Hours Is The New 40
From HuffPost:
... [T]he Trump administration is planning a regulation that would essentially redefine full-time work as 30 hours per week, instead of the usual 40, for purposes of determining whether someone is disabled. Fewer people would likely win benefits as a result.
The tighter eligibility standard, which has not been previously reported, is part of a draft rule that, if finalized, would bring sweeping changes to the Social Security Disability Insurance program. It would follow multiple other efforts by the Trump administration to cut social programs that help people afford food, health care and housing. ...
The full draft rule, which has not been formally released yet, is the culmination of years of work by the Social Security Administration to update its data on the U.S. labor market ― and years of grumbling by Republicans and right-wing think tanks about how disability benefits coddle people who supposedly could get jobs. ...
Actuaries in the Social Security Administration are currently reviewing the draft rule to see how many beneficiaries would be affected and how much money the government might save by denying benefits, according to a source. ...
In order to adopt this, they have to send it to the Office of Management and Budget for approval. OMB is likely to take several months to review it. They must then publish it for public comments. That takes a few months. It must then be sent back to a OMB for a second review which normally takes a few months. Could this all be done before the next Inauguration Day? In theory, yes. Remember, though, that this wouldn’t be popular. Is it the sort of proposal that would make progress during an election year? And there’s the Covid-19 thing which may slow down the wheels of government.
Mar 15, 2020
ALJs Want To Stop Holding Hearings But Don’t Ask For Office Closure
A press release:
WASHINGTON — March 15, 2020 — The coronavirus pandemic has caused the Association of Administrative Law Judges (AALJ) to make the unprecedented demand that the Social Security Administration immediately cancel all hearings in its 163 offices across the U.S. for the next two weeks, and longer if needed, in order to protect Americans. AALJ’s move follows what it sees as weeks of poor decision-making by SSA’s leadership. To date, SSA hasn’t enacted AALJ’s common sense request to have claimants asked if they would like a telephone hearing before they arrive for their hearings or if COVID-19 symptoms are exhibited in the hearing room. AALJ leaders, who represent approximately 1,300 judges who preside in Social Security disability hearings, note that municipal, state and federal courts have canceled their proceedings and the lack of similar action in disability hearings is confounding. AALJ President Judge Melissa McIntosh says, “We can’t understand why Social Security officials are blatantly ignoring public health guidance. Let’s always remember that many claimants in our hearing rooms and offices are senior citizens and report they have compromised immunity; they could be particularly at risk for the coronavirus. As administrative law judges, we take the health and safety of the claimants, representatives and our colleagues very seriously. Because of the Agency’s failed response, the only way to ensure the safety of the American public is to cancel hearings for a limited period of time.” The latest details about coronavirus are available at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
Why would it be appropriate to stop holding hearings but not close hearing offices? Why the concern about protecting ALJs from claimants? Shouldn’t ALJs be more worried about the staff in their own offices? If you think that claimants are dirty people who will make you sick but the nice people you work with aren’t a threat you don’t understand the situation. ALJs have much less physical separation from hearing office staff than from claimants.
This doesn’t come across to me quite the way the ALJ union might like and, no, I don’t think that protecting claimants is really what the union is concerned about. The hearing offices and field offices may have to be shut down altogether soon but I don’t think that merely stopping hearings is much use. Social Security hearing rooms don’t have anything like the foot traffic of a general courtroom or a Social Security field office, for that matter. If anything, I would say that Supreme Court justices face a greater threat from other justices and attorneys than Social Security ALJs and the Supreme Court isn’t shutting down oral arguments even though many of the justices are at serious risk due to age.
What’s Going On?
Congress.gov shows H.R. 6201 as having been passed by the House of Representatives without amendment. The text of the bill given there shows Social Security with a major roll implementing benefits for those out of work due to Covid-19. That is what I posted about yesterday. However, the House Appropriations Committee website links to a different version of the bill which shows no significant role for Social Security. I don’t know what is going on.
If I have misled anyone, and I don’t know that I did, I’m sorry, but if you can’t rely upon the official Congressional website what is one to do?
Panic At Field Office In Arizona
From the Washington Post:
... Social Security Administration workers in Casa Grande, Ariz., wonder if they have been infected with the coronavirus. On Monday, a colleague who returned from a cruise over the weekend reported to work “hacking and coughing” but remained on the job throughout the workday, said Ralph DeJulius, national president for the union that represents SSA workers.
On Tuesday, the worker called in sick. Coronavirus was suspected.
Panic spread. Information about the worker’s health, and what the rest of the office staff should do in response, has not been shared with the sick workers’ colleagues, DeJulius said. ...
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