7,000 To Be Let Go

      I’m seeing a report that the total layoffs at Social Security will be 7,000. It’s mathematically impossible to achieve this without losing mission critical personnel.

Even If All Of This Was A Good Idea, It Would Still Be Insane To Do It All At The Same Time

MEMORANDUM

Date:​February 28, 2025

To:​Senior Staff

From:​Leland C. Dudek /s/

​Acting Commissioner

Subject:​Executive Personnel Assignments – INFORMATION I have several announcements.

The following Senior Staff have announced their separations. I wish all of these dedicated employees the best after their many years of public service:

• Christopher Ferris, Associate Commissioner for Security and Emergency Preparedness, Office of Budget, Finance, and Management 
• Joseph Lytle, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Hearings Operations
• Craig Bedard, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Strategy, Learning, and Workforce Development, Office of Human Resources (OHR)
• Kristen Medley-Proctor, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, OHR
• Frank Barry, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Customer Service, Office of Operations (DCO) 
• Howard Bowles, Regional Commissioner, Denver/Seattle, DCO
• Rose Mary Buehler, Regional Commissioner, Atlanta, DCO
• Vikash Chhagan, Assistant Regional Commissioner for Management and Operations Support, Seattle, DCO
• Sue Cumming, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Public Service and Operations Support, DCO
• Ray Egan, Regional Commissioner, New York, DCO
• Tonya Freeman, Deputy Regional Commissioner, Kansas City, DCO
• Roderick Hairston, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Electronic Services and Technology, DCO
• Rick Lenoir, Regional Commissioner, Chicago, DCO
• Joe Lopez, Assistant Regional Commissioner for Management and Operations Support, Dallas, DCO 
• LeeAnn Stuever, Regional Commissioner, Philadelphia, DCO
• Deon Wilson, Deputy Regional Commissioner, Dallas, DCO
• Timothy Amerson, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Information Security, Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)
• Stephanie Hall, Senior Advisor, OCIO
• Timothy May, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Information Security, OCIO
• Joseph Stenaka, Executive Advisor for Cybersecurity, OCIO
• Jeremy Weibley, Executive Advisor for IT Transformation, OCIO
• Laura Haltzel, Associate Commissioner for Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, Office of Retirement and Disability Policy
• Dennis Foley, Deputy Associate General Counsel for Program Law, Office of the General Counsel 
• Natalie Lu, Senior Advisor

 

To support President Trump’s priorities to streamline functions, I am making the following organizational changes:

Historically, SSA has operated with a regional structure consisting of ten regional offices. We can no longer afford to operate in this fashion. We will reduce the regional structure in all agency components down to four regions as follows:

 

1. Northeast Region – Current Boston, New York, and Philadelphia regions 

2. Southeast Region – Current Atlanta region 

3. Mid-West/West Region – Current Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, and Seattle regions

4. Southwest Region – Current Dallas and San Francisco regions

 

In addition, we have an outdated, inefficient organizational structure at Headquarters, so I am reorganizing Headquarters components. We will now have seven Deputy Commissioner level organizations as follows:

1. Deputy Commissioner for Operations

2. Deputy Commissioner for Disability Adjudication 

3. Deputy Commissioner for Mission Support 

4. Deputy Commissioner for External Affairs 

5. Deputy Commissioner for Legal and Policy 

6. Chief Information Officer 

7. Chief Actuary

 

Deputy Commissioner for Operations

• Doris Diaz will remain Acting Deputy Commissioner (DC).  
• Delma Cardona is Assistant Deputy Commissioner (ADC), DCO.   
• Sean Balser is Acting ADC, DCO.
• Anatoly Shnaider is Regional Commissioner (RC), Northeast Region. 
• Darrell Sheffield is Acting RC, Southeast Region. 
• Linda Kerr-Davis is RC, Mid-West/West Region. 
• Travis Dodson is RC, Southwest Region.

In addition, I am realigning all Processing Centers to report to the Office of Central Operations and all Teleservice Centers to report to the newly formed Office of Telephone Services (OTS). Chris Chapple is AC, OTS and Tiffany Countess is Acting DAC, OTS. 

I am also merging the Office of Public Service and Operations Support and the Office of Electronic Services and Technology to form the Office of Analysis, Integration, and Performance Oversight (OAIPO). Jeremiah Schofield is AC, OAIPO. Sam Richardson and Karen Girardeau are DACs.

Deputy Commissioner for Disability Adjudication I am establishing the Office of Disability Adjudication (ODA), which will be comprised of the Offices of Hearings Operations (OHO), Appellate Operations, Disability Determinations (ODD), and Quality Review. Jay Ortis, will serve as the Acting Deputy Commissioner (DC), ODA, concurrently while serving as Acting Chief Administrative Law Judge. Jim Parikh is ADC, ODA. 

Chad Poist will be ADC, ODA. Hank McKnelly will be AC for the Office of Hearing Operations (OHO). While Chad continues to serve as Acting Deputy Chief of Staff, Hank McKnelly will serve as Acting ADC, ODA. Monique Cephas will be DAC, OHO. Leroy Weeks is the Assistant Associate Commissioner (AAC) for the newly formed Office of Management. James Van Der Schalie will be AC, ODD.

Deputy Commissioner for Mission Support

I am combining our administrative support functions in the Office of Budget, Finance, and Management and the Office of Human Resources to form the Office of Mission Support (OMS). Sean Brune will serve as the Acting DC, OMS. His permanent position will be ADC, OMS, overseeing the Offices of Financial Policy and Program Integrity (OFPPI), Budget (OB), and Acquisition and Grants. Florence Felix-Lawson will serve as the Chief Human Capital Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, and ADC, OM. Florence will oversee the Offices of Human Resources, and the newly formed Office of Facilities and Security Management (OFSM), which merges the Offices of Facilities and Logistics Management, and Security and Emergency Preparedness. Jennifer Stevenson is AC, Office of Human Resources. Jenni Greenlee is AAC, Lauren Palguta and Mary Ann Jett are Deputy, AACs (DAAC). 

Dan Callahan is AC, OFSM. Marc Mason is AAC, OFSM, Tim Beavers and Dawn McCrobie are DAACs.  Christian Hellie is AC, OFPPI.

Also in OMS, I am reassigning all agency budget functions and employees to OB. Due to their unique nature, the ODD budget staff will remain with ODD. 

I am also reassigning all agency facilities and security functions and employees to OFSM.

Deputy Commissioner for External Affairs: To improve our responsiveness to Congress, our stakeholders, and the public, I am merging the Office of Communications (OCOMM) and the Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs (OLCA) to form the Office of External Affairs (OEA). Jeffrey Buckner will serve is Acting DC, OEA. His permanent position will be ADC, OEA/OCOMM. Dustin Brown will serve as Acting ADC, OEA/OLCA. Dawn Bystry will be AC, OCOMM. Erik Hansen is AC, OLCA. Kala Shah, currently the Executive Secretary, will be a Senior Advisor, OEA. 

Stephen McGraw will be Acting Executive Secretary in the Office of the Commissioner.

Deputy Commissioner for Legal and Policy: To increase our effectiveness in implementing the Administration’s priorities, I am merging the Office of the General Counsel, the Office of Retirement and Disability Policy (ORDP), and the Office of Labor Management and Employee Relations (OLMER), to form the Office of Legal and Policy (OLP). Mark Steffensen, currently a Senior Advisor in OC, is Acting DC, OLP and Acting General Counsel. Stephen Evangelista will be the ADC, OLP overseeing Policy. We will soon name an ADC overseeing Legal and OLMER. 

Susan Wilschke is AC, ODP. Bob Weathers is DAC, ODP. Jessica Burns MacBride will remain AC in the Office of Income Security Programs (OISP) and Anya Olsen is Acting DAC, OISP.  Eddie Taylor is AC, OLMER.

The Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics; the Office of Data Exchange, Policy Publications, and International Negotiations; and parts of the Office of Research, Demonstration, and Employment Support will be realigned to the Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Chief Information Officer

Joseph Cunningham, who has been serving as the Acting Deputy, AC for the Office of Information Security (OIS) since December 2024, is the Acting AC, OIS and Acting Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).

Consistent with other organizational changes that I have made to align like mission functions, I am reassigning all agency employees in the IT Specialist (2210) occupational series to OCIO.

Please join me in congratulating our colleagues on their new assignments. I will continue to update you as we move further along with our streamlining efforts, but please know that we will continue to review the agency structure and explore additional consolidations and elimination of redundant functions. I am counting on each of you for your support and continued collaboration during this transition.

Edited to make this memo a bit less unreadable than the original.

What In Hell Is Happening?

 

Don’t Let Them Panic You

      A press release:

Social Security Announces Options to its Workforce

The following message was sent to agency employees today:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) will soon implement agency-wide organizational restructuring that will include significant workforce reductions. Through these massive reorganizations, offices that perform functions not mandated by statute may be prioritized for reduction-in-force actions that could include abolishment of organizations and positions, directed reassignments, and reductions in staffing. The agency may reassign employees from non-mission critical positions to mission critical direct service positions (e.g., field offices, teleservice centers, processing centers). Reassignments may be involuntary and may require retraining for new workloads.

VOLUNTARY REASSIGNMENTS
Employees interested in voluntarily being reassigned to a mission critical position should indicate their interest here Reassignment Questionnaire by March 14, 2025.

VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVES
Employees who do not wish to undergo the restructuring process may elect to separate from federal service through retirement or resignation. To further support employees considering these options, SSA is offering the following to ALL EMPLOYEES:

VOLUNTARY EARLY RETIREMENT (VERA) OR “EARLY OUT”

• Availability: VERA is now available to employees in all components and positions, with no exclusions. Please see eligibility criteria below.
• Separation Window: VERA is available from March 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025. Employees not eligible now or who wish to retire later in the year under early out may do so, but may be subject to restructuring activities. Employees who are not yet eligible for voluntary early retirement, but who would like to apply later in the calendar year should alert management of their intent to do so and work with their servicing benefits specialists to process their cases as their dates become due. All eligible employees taking early retirement must separate by December 31, 2025.
• Eligibility: To be eligible for early out, employees must:
• Have 20 years of creditable service and be at least 50 years of age or have at least 25 years of creditable service at any age (this must include 5 years of civilian service).
• Must be serving under a non-time-limited appointment.
• Have been continuously on SSA's rolls at least 30 days prior to January 17, 2025.
• Cannot be in receipt of an involuntary separation decision for misconduct or unsatisfactory performance.
• Note: Retirement may affect your Federal Health Insurance eligibility. Please contact your Servicing Personnel Office (SPO) with questions.

VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS (VSIP)

• Availability: VSIP will be available until noon EST on March 14 to all employees electing to separate from service across all components and positions agencywide. VSIP is limited and available on a first come basis. VSIP may be paid for an optional retirement (full retirement age), voluntary early retirement (VERA), or resignation. VSIP is not available to employees who are participating in the Deferred Resignation Program.
• Eligibility:
  • Employees must:
  • Be serving in an appointment without time limit;
  • Be currently employed by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government for a continuous period of at least 3 years;
  • Be serving in a position covered by an agency VSIP plan (all SSA employees are covered in the agency plan);
  • Apply for and receive approval for a VSIP from the agency making the VSIP offer; and
  • Not be included in any of the ineligibility categories listed below.
  • Employees in the following categories are not eligible for a VSIP:
  • Reemployed annuitants;
  • Have a disability such that the individual is or would be eligible for disability retirement;
  • Have received a decision notice of involuntary separation for misconduct or poor performance;
  • Previously received any VSIP from the Federal Government;
  • During the 36-month period preceding the date of separation, performed service for which a student loan repayment benefit was paid, or is to be paid;
  • During the 24-month period preceding the date of separation, performed service for which a recruitment or relocation incentive was paid, or is to be paid; and
  • During the 12-month period preceding the date of separation, performed service for which a retention incentive was paid, or is to be paid.
• Separation Window: Employees must opt in by March 14 and separate from the agency no later than April 19, 2025.  Employees may be placed on administrative leave through April 19, 2025.
• How to Sign Up: Employees must complete the VSIP Sign Up as soon as possible, but no later than March 14, 2025 noon EST. Please let your manager know immediately if you sign up for VSIP.
• Note: Completing the form does not guarantee VSIP.
• Incentive Payment: Payments will be the following amounts for the grade level of your permanent position. All payments are subject to taxes and normal deductions from income. Employees are strongly encouraged to read the rules for VSIP payments.

Up to GS 8	$15,000
GS 9 – 12	$20,000
GS 13 and up	$25,000

OPTIONAL RETIREMENT
Employees who have reached their full retirement age may apply for optional retirement at any time. Employees serving under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) should see the OPM eligibility information for FERS, which is generally 30 years of service, plus reaching minimum retirement age. Employees serving under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) should refer to the OPM eligibility information for CSRS, which is generally 30 years of service and age 55. Additional provisions and options are available for both FERS and CSRS.

RESIGNATION
Employees may resign from federal service at any time. Employees who resign would be eligible for a payout of their annual leave and may be eligible to apply for a Deferred Retirement when they reach their minimum retirement age. Please see the attached table explaining the differences between resignations and retirements and the benefits that would apply.

OBTAINING FURTHER INFORMATION
General retirement information is available on the Benefits Portal. The Benefits Portal also includes information about accessing the GRB Platform, which provides calculators for computing estimated retirement benefits. We strongly encourage employees to use the retirement calculators in the GRB Platform to obtain initial annuity estimates and to request an official annuity computation. You may also contact your SPO (listed below) with questions.

     Note that employees have the option of asking reassignment to a “mission critical” position which are those in field offices, teleservice centers and processing centers. That certainly sounds like those already in a “mission critical” position have little to fear. Remember they are deliberately trying to induce panic. Make smart decisions.

     There’s also this from the Washington Post:

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Office of Personnel Management to rescind directives that initiated the mass firing of probationary workers across the government, ruling that the terminations were probably illegal, as a group of labor unions argued in court.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered OPM to rescind its previous directives to more than two dozen agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Science Foundation and others identified in a lawsuit. The ruling — a temporary restraint on the government that will be revisited in the coming weeks — is one of the biggest roadblocks so far to President Donal Trump’s effort to slash the federal workforce.

     And this lawsuit about OPM’s powers is far from the only theory being pursued to block the layoffs. DOGE has done a terrible job of minding the details and it is hurting them in court.

You Might Say That Social Security Employees Are Concerned

     Here's a chart of hits on this blog dating back to 2011.

Click on image to view full size

 

Unsolicited Advice For Frank Bisignano

     Don’t walk away from the job as Social Security Commissioner. RUN!

Who’s Going To Maintain The Website?

      From Government Executive:

… Feds in the transformation office received emails Monday informing them that they will be fired, one affected employee told Nextgov/FCW. SSA didn’t respond to questions on the status of the employees in affected offices.

“Your further employment at the agency would not be in the public interest,” read the memo emailed to them on Monday. They didn’t get any advance notice, the affected employee said. 

With the office’s elimination, it’s not clear what will happen to the agency’s website, the affected employee further told Nextgov/FCW, as that office housed the SSA team that works on SSA.gov, the online front door to the agency that provides critical benefits to millions of Americans.

Work to overhaul that website, which was recognized with a Service to the Citizen award in 2023, was ongoing. 

“If there's a website problem, I don’t know who's gonna fix it,” said Betsy Beaumon, the agency’s former chief transformation officer under the Biden administration who was recently chosen to receive a Fed100 award for her work last year. “There are some contractors who do some of the actual hands-on work, but the people that work with them are on this team.” …

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.