Ssa Telework Agreement
The Feb. 18 email, which federal News Network received, found that recently developed plans to report on telecommuting have been developed. These plans will measure the impact of telecommuting on employee productivity, Mathur said. The upcoming telecommuting changes are less obvious to staff at SSA, whose six-year-old telecommuting program was halted last fall. According to AFGE Council 220, which represents staff working in SSA field offices and teleservice centres, the Agency is only reintroducing telework for staff at headquarters and in corporate regional offices. Asked if the SSA would consider changing its new guidelines on telework in response to growing concerns about the coronavirus, Mark Hinkle, a spokesman for the agency, said: “We are working closely with the CDC and remain prepared to deal with contingencies as part of our continuity in government plans.” Field offices closed to the public earlier this week will be completely closed by Tuesday. Most employees will switch to telecommuting at that time, although a “very limited” number of people may be called back occasionally to perform non-portable tasks like postal and installation issues, said Ralph Dejuliis, president of AFGE Council 220. The Social Security Administration on Monday announced a series of changes to its guidelines on teleworking, although the details and agreements are very different within the agency. “I call on the SSA to immediately adopt a clear directive that supports remote work and helps its employees better serve the American people,” he said in a statement to Federal News Network. “We will continue to follow this topic closely.” Shortly after noon, the agency sent vague statements to the press and union officials announcing that it would make changes to teleworking from March 2 to “improve service.” Last fall, the Federal Service Impasses Panel issued a contract that gives management ample leeway to change the terms of telework programs at the Agency`s discretion.
. . .