Union Argues For Increased Telework But Is The Argument Founded In Reality?

     Ralph de Juliis, the head of the union that represents most Social Security employees, has penned an op ed in the Baltimore Sun calling for Social Security to continue extensive telework even after the end of the Covid-19 emergency. He says:

... Social Security employees have found that not only are they able to efficiently work from home, they can provide an even better public service in a time of increased uncertainty. Before the implementation of telework, our field office employees had a 70% response rate to claimants, a rate that has increased to 95% in our remote work world. ...

     What does a 95% response rate mean? Field office service during this emergency has been better than I expected but I certainly haven't seen improvement over the baseline.

     He also says:

.....We also propose allowing employees in our telecommunication centers to work 100% remotely. The work of our telecommunications professionals already takes place over the phone, and we saw an increase in productivity among these employees during our 2013-2019 telework program. ...

     Yet, Social Security is reporting that the wait time for its 800 number went up to 90 minutes after telework was resumed! That does not sound like an increase in productivity.

ALJ Union Sues

     The union representing Social Security's Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) has filed a lawsuit challenging the authority of the Federal Service Impasses Panel that imposed a harsh contract on its members. The suit is a constitutional challenge to the fact that Impasses Panel members are not confirmed by the Senate. This is likely to still be pending come next January 20 when it is possible that Joe Biden will be sworn in as President. This is going to be a frequent theme on this blog. Lawsuits filed in the hope that a new President will settle the case in a way which overturns decisions made during the Trump Administration.

Interesting

     Social Security is updating the section of its POMS manual dealing with the economic stimulus payments it last made in 2011 during the Great Recession. Why would you be updating a section of the manual dealing with a defunct program? Perhaps because you thought you might soon be doing the same thing once again?

Trustees Report Released

     From a press release:

The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the long-term financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. The combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASI and DI) Trust Funds are projected to become depleted in 2035, the same as projected last year, with 79 percent of benefits payable at that time.

The OASI Trust Fund is projected to become depleted in 2034, the same as last year’s estimate, with 76 percent of benefits payable at that time. The DI Trust Fund is estimated to become depleted in 2065, extended 13 years from last year’s estimate of 2052, with 92 percent of benefits still payable. ...

     Of course, the economic dislocations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic may significantly affect the trust funds in ways that cannot yet be projected. At least is the short run we know there will be decreased revenues.  We don't know how quickly and how completely the economy will rebound once this is over. We also don't know how this will affect claiming behavior. Will people apply earlier for benefits? I wouldn't know about retirement benefits but I've seen no jump in disability claims filed.

Charge Of Social Security Fraud For GOP Operative Already Facing Election Fraud Charges

     From the Daily Beast:

A Republican operative in North Carolina who’s facing criminal charges related to the alleged harvesting of election ballots was simultaneously ripping off the Social Security system, federal prosecutors say.

The Justice Department indicted Leslie McCrae Dowless this month on four federal criminal counts alleging that he knowingly concealed his income and employment status from the Social Security Administration even as he brought in tens of thousands of dollars from his political work in the Tarheel State.

That work has already landed Dowless in major legal jeopardy. He was arrested in early 2019 and charged with five criminal counts including conspiracy and obstruction. Later that year, Wake County prosecutors charged him with additional counts including conspiracy, obstruction, and perjury. He has denied wrongdoing on all counts. ...

The charges in North Carolina stem from Dowless’ alleged role in a widespread scheme that included the forgery of signatures, dates, and even votes themselves on North Carolina ballots, and a system of payments to Dowless’ employees to collect absentee ballots and ballot request forms. ...

How Did This Get Messed Up So Badly?

     From The Hill:

Two key Democrats are urging the Treasury Department to provide an "additional accommodation" for Social Security recipients who are unable to meet Wednesday's deadline to provide information to the IRS in order to quickly receive coronavirus rebates for their children.

"Given the importance of these payments at this critical time, we urge Treasury to consider all available options for paying these beneficiaries additional amounts owed this year," Reps. John Larson (D-Conn.) and Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.), senior Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. ...

On Monday afternoon, the Treasury Department and IRS announced that if Social Security and railroad retirement beneficiaries want to get the payments for their children added to their automatic payments, they need to use an IRS web tool to provide the agency with their information by noon EDT on Wednesday. Recipients of SSI and veterans benefits have a little more time to submit their dependent information.

The recipients of federal benefits who don't promptly provide the IRS with information about their children will receive a payment in the near future of $1,200 and won't be able to receive the additional amounts for their children until they file their 2020 tax returns next year, the IRS said. The agency said that it would have to wait to issue the additional payments until a 2020 return is filed "by law."

Larson and Davis, who both are chairmen of Ways and Means subcommittees, said they appreciated that Treasury wants to quickly make payments to Social Security and railroad retirement recipients but expressed concerns about the fact that the IRS announced the deadline less than 48 hours before it occurs.  ...

     I hate to say it but I wish that the Social Security Administration had been given the task of making these payments. I'm pretty sure  SSA could be doing it better.

OMB/OPM Memo On Office Re-Opening

     The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have issued a joint memorandum to federal agencies providing guidelines on resuming more normal operations once the immediate threat posed by Covid-19 declines.

     One important point is that there's not going to be some national order to re-open all the agencies all over the country at the same time regardless of local conditions and regardless of state and local stay at home orders. The memo says that "State and regional assessments should be the starting point for discussions and decisions related to Federal agency operations, but additional factors may include: school and daycare closures, mass transit availability, parking availability, facility requirements, and missions." That doesn't require deference to state and local stay at home orders but it certainly suggests that will be the case.

     The memo also indicates that it may be necessary for agencies to apply different rules for employees 65 and older because they face heightened risks from Covid-19. 

     I wonder if Social Security should also apply different rules to claimants who are older or immunocompromised. Maybe they should be afforded telephone hearings even after in person hearings are resumed. I don't know what the odds are for a person who gets Covid-19 while on immunosuppressive medication because of a history of an organ transplant but they're probably very bad.

Dependents Won't Get Stimulus Payments Unless Their Parent Files "Tax Return" By Tomorrow!

     Earlier we had been told that those receiving dependent children's benefits from Social Security would receive economic stimulus payments, that the Treasury could get enough information from the Social Security Administration to pay them. Now, Treasury and Social Security are putting out press releases saying the kids won't be paid unless a parent files an online tax return and that this tax return must be filed by tomorrow!

     Who gave Treasury the right to impose an impossible deadline on millions of people? Why is this implementation such a mess? A lot of people won't get money they're due because of this incompetence.