Elections Have Consequences

     From Government Executive:

The Social Security Administration has plans to restore a few key parts of its national agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees.

After months of ongoing discussions, SSA and AFGE reached an agreement on July 25 to reinstate previous levels of official time for union activity, and the union’s use of SSA facilities, that existed in an earlier iteration of the national contract from 2012. ...

And, there are more negotiations still on the table — SSA and AFGE have agreed to reopen six other contract articles, Couture said. The SSA spokesperson added that the agency looks forward to partnering with AFGE in the upcoming contract negotiations, in part, to try to resolve ongoing challenges with staffing and employee satisfaction. ...

    Actually, AFGE shouldn't need an election win to get this sort of thing. The problem is that the Republican Party has gone nuts in many ways and one of them is its strident hostility towards federal employee  unions. I know the union can be a pain in the neck. I know it can make impossible demands. I know that it is little concerned with service to the public but the Trump Administration policies towards federal employee unions were over the top by almost any standard.

Of All The Crazy Things In The Social Security Act, The Marriage Penalty For DAC Recipients May Be The Most Cruel

    From the New York Times:

Lori Long and Mark Contreras met on Match.com in November 2015. ...

Within weeks of [their first] date, both knew they had found their forever partner. But three months after Mr. Contreras proposed in his Salinas, Calif., home in December 2016 and Ms. Long said an ecstatic “yes,” Ms. Long sat him down for a talk. “I told him, ‘Mark, we’re not going to be able to pursue a life together,’” she said.

She still wanted to marry him, but not if it meant giving up the health care benefits that she relies on to live.

Ms. Long is caught in a governmental quagmire. She was diagnosed at 15 with ankylosing spondylitis, a condition that causes bone fractures and sometimes requires her to use a wheelchair. ...

Because she qualifies for Social Security benefits through a program for adults whose medical disability started before age 22, she is considered a “disabled adult child.” The designation, known as D.A.C., applies to 1.1 million Americans, according to the Social Security Administration website.

Those who qualify generally cannot continue to receive benefits if they marry someone who is not disabled or retired. ...

Ms. Long is among a nationwide network of people pushing for change in Social Security laws as they pertain to marriage. They include not just D.A.C. recipients like her, but also a larger group of disabled Americans — roughly four million — who get S.S.I., or Supplemental Security Income. ...

 

There’s More Than One Way To Get Into A Social Security Office

      From KOCO:

Authorities took a driver to a hospital after they crashed into a Social Security Administration building early Friday morning in northeast Oklahoma City.

Police said the driver crashed a truck into a building near Northeast 122nd Street and Kelley Avenue after driving down an embankment.

The driver went to a hospital with minor injuries. No one was inside the building at the time of the crash.

A Poll For A Slow Day

     There's really nothing newsworthy going on at Social Security so let's have a poll. I'll take suggestions for other polls -- or news.

online polls

No Dice For Disability Determination Patent Application

     The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled against a patent application that promises to determine whether an individual is disabled for purposes of Social Security through a computer network.

Executive Personnel Assignments

 

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Gruber Out At OHO

     I can confirm that Theresa Gruber is out as head of Social Security's Office of Hearings Operations (OHO).

Status Of Theresa Gruber?

     On July 12, the Washington Post published an article saying that Social Security's Deputy Commissioner for Hearings Operations, Theresa Gruber, was routinely displaying signs of impairment on the job. The agency's Office of Inspector General was investigating. 

    We've heard nothing more since. 

    My assumption was that Gruber would go on leave and then retire or be quietly shifted to a less visible position but nothing has been announced. 

    Just today, I've seen an unconfirmed report that Gruber is out of her job. 

    Anyone know what, if anything, is going on?