Social Security announced recently it would allow for in-office customer appointments on a limited basis for only “critical” situations, but beyond that SSA offices mainly remain closed to the public and most Social Security employees continue to work from home during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A recent story from the Federal News Network points out that many government agencies have released plans of bringing employees back to work to serve customers, but all is quiet at Social Security. The following quote was provided in the story from a Social Security spokesperson.
“We are monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely and are evaluating guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management,” an SSA spokesman said in a statement to Federal News Network. “Many of our visitors are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Our goal is to continue to serve the American public while doing what we can to reduce the risk to our employees and visitors.”
It is true that Social Security is different from other government agencies because many of the people who might attempt to visit a Social Security office when it reopens are more susceptible to COVID-19 because they are elderly or disabled. After all, Social Security does provide benefits to millions of elderly and disabled customers.
Considering the pandemic is not going away anytime soon and cases are increasing in many states it is probably not appropriate for the agency to open offices nationwide at the same time and it is probably wise to take a cautious approach, if Social Security figures out better ways to assist customers via online and phone service. When offices do open guidelines would likely be in place to limit the number of people allowed in a Social Security office during the same time.
