At Last Five Regional Commissioners Resign

      From Government Executive::

Most of the Social Security Administration’s regional commissioners have decided to retire at the end of this week, following mysterious meetings with agency leaders about plans to slash its workforceAt least five of the eight regional commissioners whose offices oversee and support the agency’s frontline offices across the country are leaving this week, according to a source familiar with the agency and an SSA employee not authorized to speak on the record.  … 

“After 35 years of rewarding service with the Social Security Administration, I have decided to retire from my position as regional commissioner in the Western region, effective February 28, 2025,” one regional commissioner, Howard Bowles, wrote in an internal email obtained by Government Executive, though he did not specify the reason for his departure.. “It has truly been an honor to serve the American people during my tenure.”

Regional commissioners LeeAnn Stuever, Rick Lenoir, Rose Mary Buehler and Raymond Egan are also leaving, according to a source familiar with the situation. …

     To put it mildly, this is an earthquake. Almost inconceivable. 

Union On Threat Of RIFs

Subject: Urgent: Rumors of 50% SSA Staff Reduction (Read on Non-Duty Time)

Reply-To: 

The Union has been made aware of reports that the Acting Commissioner has requested a plan to reduce Social Security staff by 50%. While unofficially confirmed, such a move could have a devastating impact on our jobs, the services we provide, and the communities we serve.

We urge you to be prepared—download your personal files and stay informed.

Now is the time to take action. Contact your Members of Congress and tell them how these cuts would harm the public. Stand with AFGE to fight for our jobs and the people who rely on us. AFGE is better with friends, encourage people to join: https://join.afge.org/.

The very basics if you are illegally terminated (this is not legal advice and should not be taken as legal advice):

1. Understand the reason for termination and remain professional.

2. Have your Official Personnel File (OPF) saved and/or printed, including your last 3 PACS assessments.

3. Be prepared to leave the office without much notice.

4. Appeal the Decision (If Applicable)
*If you believe your termination was unjust, consider filing an appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) within 30 days. You must use a private email address:
link to e-file: https://e-appeal.mspb.gov/etk-mspb-appeals-prod/login.request.do
*If you were terminated for discrimination (race, gender, disability, etc.), file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

5. Be prepared to leave the office without much notice.

6. Apply for Unemployment Benefits.

Set up a meeting place with office coworkers if this should happen and share your personal contact information with each other.

Stay informed. Stay united.

50% Staff Reduction Coming?

    From The American Prospect:

The Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) requested in a meeting on Tuesday that managers present him with a plan for a 50 percent reduction in staff, a mass firing that could affect tens of thousands of employees across the country. ...

 “I’m getting conflicting reports on what was discussed in that meeting,” said Rich Couture, spokesperson for the Social Security General Committee of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), adding that some reports indicated that field offices would be spared. But one manager present at the meeting indicated that the 50 percent trim was at all levels. And cuts that have dribbled out over the past several days appear to impact field offices where a majority of SSA employees work. ...

In an email to the Prospect, SSA would not confirm any reductions in its workforce beyond the abolition of two small internal offices announced this week. “We have not set any reduction targets, however we will continue to pursue efficiencies within the agency and align like missions,” an SSA spokesperson said. “We have no further information at this time.” ...

    Anything like this would, of course, render the Social Security Administration immediately incapable of carrying out any of its functions. This might not be popular with voters.

SSA Believes They Can Get Out “Most” WEP/GPO Payments By End Of March

      From a press release:

Today, the Social Security Administration announced it is immediately beginning to pay retroactive benefits and will increase monthly benefit payments to people whose benefits have been affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits for over 3.2 million people who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a "non-covered pension") because they did not pay Social Security taxes. The Social Security Fairness Act ends WEP and GPO.  …

“The agency’s original estimate of taking a year or more now will only apply to complex cases that cannot be processed by automation. The American people deserve to get their due benefits as quickly as possible.”  …

Many beneficiaries will be due a retroactive payment because the WEP and GPO offset no longer apply as of January 2024. Most people will receive their one-time retroactive payment by the end of March, which will be deposited into their bank account on record with Social Security.

Many of these people will also receive higher monthly benefits, which will first be reflected in the benefit payment they receive in April. Depending on factors such as the type of Social Security benefit received and the amount of the person's pension, the change in payment amount will vary from person to person. 

Anyone whose monthly benefit is adjusted, or who will get a retroactive payment, will receive a mailed notice from Social Security explaining the benefit change or retroactive payment. Most people will receive their retroactive payment two to three weeks before they receive their notice in the mail, because the President understands how important it is to pay people what they are due right away. Social Security is expediting payments using automation and will continue to handle many complex cases that must be done manually, on an individual case-by-case basis. Those complex cases will take additional time to update the beneficiary record and pay the correct benefits. 

Social Security urges beneficiaries to wait until April to ask about the status of their retroactive payment, since these payments will process incrementally into March. Since the new monthly payment amount will begin with the April payment, beneficiaries should wait until after receiving their April payment, before contacting Social Security with questions about their monthly benefit amount. …

     Most could mean 51%. Just how many will require manual calculation? Where will the staff come from to do those manual calculations?

Office Of Civil Rights Abolished; Employees Fired

    The Office of Civil Rights at Social Security has been abolished. The employees of that office have been placed on Administrative Leave for 30 days before being fired. 

Performative Cruelty

 

    One thing that has helped me understand Donald Trump, both in his first term in office and now, is Josh Marshall’s theory of performative cruelty. The extraordinary cruelty of Trump’s time in office isn’t the lamentable excesses of an ideological zealot. Trump believes in nothing. The cruelty itself is the point. In Marshall’s words, “the heart of Trumpism is not any policy but performative cruelty, inflicting maximum harm on those outside the tribal fold, and extending the benefits of power and the powers of state for those inside the fold.” That gains extraordinary loyalty from those who regard themselves as being inside the tribe and the fear of those outside the fold. The end result is power for Trump.

     The lesson I take from this is to be unafraid or at least to not betray fear. Fear feeds Trump. Fight back as best you can. Of course it’s not hard for me to affect fearlessness. I’m in the process of retiring. (I plan to continue the blog.) I know it’s terribly difficult for those with legitimate fears of harm and that’s many, perhaps most, Social Security employees. 

     I will say that while the performative cruelty was ugly during the first Trump Administration and is much uglier this time around, it necessarily inspires great revulsion among many. Republican lawmakers are already facing hostile receptions when they hold town halls. Those matter. Remember the Tea Party? The Trump Administration is faring extremely poorly in court. Maybe the Supreme Court will bail out Trump every time but I strongly doubt it. The legal bad faith from this Administration is just stunning. I’ve been practicing law for almost 50 years. Bad faith is the kiss of death in anything other than the very short term. It may help you win one battle but it will definitely lose you the war. Any attorney who  represents clients in the way that the Trump Administration’s attorneys are doing will be extraordinarily unsuccessful. See Trump’s legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. It’s no accident that attorneys who went down this road were completely unsuccessful and some lost their law licenses and a few are facing criminal prosecution.

Office Of Transformation Closes; Employees Placed On Administrative Leave

      From a press release:

The Social Security Administration today announced the closing of a component within the agency, the Office of Transformation. Employees in this office will be put on administrative leave effective today. …

A Win For Government Employees

      From Government Executive:

An independent federal oversight agency has deemed at least some of President Trump’s mass firings of probationary period employees unlawful, creating a pathway for those employees to regain their jobs. 

The Office of Special Counsel, the agency responsible for investigating illegal actions taken against federal employees, issued its decision for six employees, each at different agencies. While the decision was technically limited in scope, it could have immediate impact on all terminated staff at those six agencies and could set a wide-ranging precedent across government. It has not been made public and was provided to Government Executive by a source within the government. OSC, which did not provide the document to Government Executive, verified its authenticity.  ...

 Trump earlier this month fired [Special Counsel] Dellinger from his job, but a federal court reversed that decision and reinstated him to his post. The Trump administration has challenged that ruling up to the Supreme Court, but justices there last week declined to overturn Dellinger’s reinstatement.  ...

After publication of this story, OSC released a statement confirming its findings and suggesting Dellinger is actively contemplating expanding them to include far more federal workers.

"The special counsel believes other probationary employees are similarly situated to the six workers for whom he currently is seeking relief," OSC said. "Dellinger is considering ways to seek relief for a broader group without the need for individual filings with OSC."  ...