Customer Wait Times

    From Customer Wait Times in the Social Security Administration’s Field Offices and Card Centers, a report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General:

 

Memorial Day 2024

 

Let's Celebrate! Social Security Lost Fewer Employees In 2023 Than In 2022

    From Customer Wait Times in the Social Security Administration’s Field Offices and Card Centers, a report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General:

 

Employment Discrimination Class Action Settled

      From WBAL-TV:

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has given final approval to a $22.7 million settlement involving a class-action lawsuit against the Social Security Administration filed by some of the agency's minority workers.

The issues include employee rights, promotions and worker compensation. …

African American men who worked at the SSA headquarters in Woodlawn, Baltimore County, at any time between 2003 and 2023 are eligible to submit a claim for a settlement award. …

"SSA has agreed to be transparent about what is going on in their awards bonus system. For the next two years, every decision in every office will report what awards were given, what people receive and at what rate, and that will allow everybody to take a look and make a decision about whether the system is working in a fair manner," [Jeremy] Wright [an attorney representing the plaintiffs] told 11 News Investigates. …

It's Been Over 57 Years

LBJ at SSA Headquarters

     The recent visit to Social Security headquarters by former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi reminds me that the last time that a President visited Social Security was October 12, 1966. Lyndon Johnson was the President. Given Social Security's importance to the American people, it seems extraordinary to me that no President has visited Social Security headquarters in such a long time.

Belated OIG Report On Field Office Waiting Times

Photo taken on May 7 outside Raleigh FO

    From Customer Wait Times in the Social Security Administration’s Field Offices and Card Centers, a report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General:

... In February and March 2023, we visited 76 FOs [Field Offices] and SSCCs [Social Security Card Centers]. During these visits, we observed customer wait times and interviewed office management regarding best practices for reducing customer wait times. We also interviewed SSA staff to determine Agency initiatives to enhance the customer experience and reduce wait times.

During our office visits, we observed the wait times of customers throughout their visit for services. For the 76 FOs and SSCCs we visited, we observed the average wait time for customers before check-in ranged from 5 to 12 minutes, depending on the method of check-in. The check-in method(s) used varied, based on management’s discretion. Once checked in, customers waited an average of 32 to 45 minutes to receive services. We do not assert, and the reader should not infer, that our observations during our visits represent all SSA offices. ...

    Why did it take more than a year after the data was collected for OIG to issue a report?

SSA Stops CDRs For The Remainder Of The Fiscal Year

     From Emergency Message EM-24021:

With the enactment of our full-year appropriation for this fiscal year, we are lowering our Full Medical CDR t[Continuing Disability Review] arget from 575,000 to 375,000.

This reduction will allow DDSs [Disability Determination Services] to focus on processing Initial Disability Claims and Reconsideration cases. The field offices will not send additional Full Medical CDRs to the DDS for the remainder of FY 2024. ...

Do not assign unassigned CDRs pending in your receipt or staging queue. DDS should take no action on the unassigned Full Medical CDRs. ...

Age 18 Redeterminations:

If you have sufficient evidence in file at the publication date of this emergency message, make the Age 18 Redetermination.
If the evidence in file at the publication date of this emergency message is insufficient to make the Age 18 Redetermination:
a. Do not initiate additional development, such as requesting medical evidence of record (MER) or school records;
b. Do not schedule for consultative examinations (CE); and,
c. Do not assign to medical or psychological consultant(s) for review. ...

Senators Express Concern Over Office Closures

     Senators Susan Collins and Shelley Moore Capito have written the Commissioner of Social Security to express their concern that the Commissioner has announced the closure of Social Security offices on the afternoons of May 10 and May 24 to give stressed out employees a break.

    I understand what the Commissioner has done. Social Security's staff morale could certainly use a shot in the arm and giving extra time off is one way to do that. However, the biggest factor in producing poor staff morale is relentless workload pressures. By closing the offices the workload pressures got a little worse. This seems counter productive to me.