Social Security recently released its plans for re-opening agency offices well after many other government agencies and private businesses have already re-opened to some degree. Since March 2020 Social Security offices have remained mostly closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and since then in-office service at Social Security has been nearly impossible, but finally some movement from the agency with the re-opening plan.
The agency will begin to bring back people in senior leadership positions December 1, 2021 followed by the return of other employees January 3, 2022. There are still ample opportunities for Social Security employees to continue to work from home part of the time as well. Below are the specifics of the plan. The entire plan can be viewed here.
- On December 1, 2021, senior leadership will begin reentry.
- On January 3, 2022, we plan to begin the safe return of employees onsite, with ample notice, in compliance with SSA’s WSP, and in consideration of the lessons learned during the pandemic.
- SSA’s agency-wide evacuation order will expire on January 2, 2022. With the expiration of the evacuation order, all policies and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) provisions in effect on March 13, 2020 are reinstated, except where a provision expressly conflicts with safety measures in the WSP.
- Each Deputy Commissioner has determined the number of scheduled telework days, if any, eligible positions, and percentage of employees permitted to telework, consistent with applicable CBA provisions and relevant agency policies, as described in the chart below.
- Any employee who teleworked during the pandemic (between March 16, 2020-January 2, 2022) will be eligible for, at a minimum, episodic telework if the employee meets the eligibility criteria in the applicable CBA provisions or agency policy.
- Employees ineligible for telework, or who choose not to participate in the voluntary telework program, will return to onsite work for all scheduled work hours beginning no sooner than January 3, 2022, unless a local evacuation order necessitates remote work.
- Managers and executives may telework. Line managers will telework consistent with the work unit they manage.
- Individual employee telework schedules will be determined by telework agreements in accordance with the following Deputy Commissioner (DC)-approved plans.
