Posts tagged Social Security Administration
Social Security ordered to restore telework; EPA and NASA roll back collective bargaining
March 15, 2026 // A provision in AFGE’s collective bargaining agreement with SSA gives agency management “sole discretion to temporarily change, reduce, or suspend approved telework day(s) for any employee(s), office, component, or agency-wide due to operational needs.” The contract also gives agency management sole discretion to change, reduce, or suspend approved telework for any employee due to their performance.
GAO: Effectively ending telework increased attrition at Social Security
January 27, 2026 // A combination of former Commissioner Martin O’Malley’s mandate that headquarters and regional office staff telework at most once or twice a week, respectively, and the agency’s ability to recall employees from telework to address workload needs led to a reduction in the percentage of agency work hours spent working remotely from 50% to 55% in the first half of 2024 to 39% to 42% in the second half of the calendar year. Once Trump’s telework crackdown took effect at SSA in March 2025, that figure fell to just 13% by last April. But officials told the watchdog agency that telework was a key recruitment and retention tool, and employees said in the 2024 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey that its relative paucity there compared to other federal agencies and private sector employers motivated a desire to leave.
Trump lauds ‘tremendous’ federal workforce cuts. Good government group calls them ‘disturbing.’
January 21, 2026 // Going forward, the Trump administration is looking to make further changes for the federal workforce, including overhauls to the probationary period and federal hiring processes, as well as performance management and senior executive development. OPM’s Kupor said the upcoming changes will make government “leaner,” while making federal employees more results-oriented, accountable and efficient.
Testimony by Rachel Greszler on the Positive Impact of Seniors in Today’s Economy
December 11, 2025 // Demographic Shifts Mean That Older Americans Are Increasingly Vital Contributors to the American Economy The combination of declining fertility rates, the aging of the baby boomer population, and increased life expectancies means that older Americans are a rapidly growing share of the population. Beginning in 2034, there will be more seniors than children in America for the first time in U.S. history
Social Security Union warns of collapse due to government shutdown
October 24, 2025 // The union that represents Social Security employees in Maine is warning of the impacts as the government shutdown continues. The American Federation of Government Employees says the Social Security Administration is on the verge of collapse as workers are continuing to work without pay. The AFGE argues that employees should be allowed to work from home during the shutdown due to the costs of traveling to the office.
DOGE can maintain access to federal personnel data, court rules
August 13, 2025 // Tuesday’s decision will maintain the status quo, as the appeals court had already paused the lower court’s injunction in April. At Education, DOGE staff can read into platforms that contain federal student loan and other data, while at Treasury they can access IRS systems containing all taxpayer information. DOGE maintains a presence at the Office of Management and Budget, but mostly its staff have dispersed as political appointees of individual agencies.
Supreme Court clears way for Trump to downsize the federal workforce
July 10, 2025 // The labor unions and nonprofit groups that sued over the downsizing offered the justices several examples of what would happen if it were allowed to take effect, including cuts of 40% to 50% at several agencies. Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco were among cities that also sued. “Today’s decision has dealt a serious blow to our democracy and puts services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy. This decision does not change the simple and clear fact that reorganizing government functions and laying off federal workers en masse haphazardly without any congressional approval is not allowed by our Constitution,” the parties that sued said in a joint statement.
Supreme Court allows Trump mass layoffs to move forward
July 9, 2025 // “The plans themselves are not before this Court, at this stage, and we thus have no occasion to consider whether they can and will be carried out consistent with the constraints of law,” Sotomayor wrote. Since the start of the second Trump term, the Supreme Court has repeatedly lifted lower-court rulings restricting his actions, including in a ruling last month that restricted lower-court judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions. The case is Donald J. Trump, president of the United States, et al. v. American Federation of Government Employees, et al.
Trump accelerates push to reward loyalty in federal workforce
June 16, 2025 // Vinnie Vernuccio, president of the Institute for the American Worker and member of the transition team for the labor department in Trump’s first term, said that it is costly and time-consuming to try to fire workers, and a new rule to reclassify policy-related positions would make it easier for the administration to ensure their reforms aren’t hindered. “These career employees could throw sand in the gears for policies they don’t like,” Vernuccio said. Vernuccio added that the rule change would affect only career federal employees in policymaking roles, which OPM has estimated is about 50,000 positions, or about two percent of the Federal civilian workforce. “The sky is not going to fall,” Vernuccio said.
Trump’s mass layoff threat drives US government workers to resign
May 21, 2025 // Mass resignations driven by fear of firings Trump and Musk aim to cut federal workforce by 12% Unions angry over perceived harassment, forced resignations Tens of thousands of U.S. government workers have chosen to resign rather than endure what many view as a torturous wait for the Trump administration to carry out its threats to fire them, say unions, governance experts and the employees themselves. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on taking office to dramatically slash the size and cost of government. Four months later, mass layoffs at the largest agencies have yet to materialize and courts have slowed the process.