O'Malley called to testify in Congress about Social Security remote work policy

Racquel Bazos, Baltimore Sun on Dec 23, 2024

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Former Maryland governor and commissioner of the Social Security Administration Martin O’Malley has been called to testify before the House Oversight Committee next month about an agreement he signed to allow some Social Security employees to work remotely through 2029.

O’Malley signed the agreement in late November, two days before leaving his Social Security Administration position.

James Comer, a Republican representative from Kentucky who serves as the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, wrote in a letter to O’Malley that his agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees to guarantee a minimum amount of telework for 42,000 Social Security employees through 2029 “will tie the hands of your successor at SSA for the duration of the next administration, and beyond.”

O’Malley hasn’t commented publicly on the letter.

Comer questioned O’Malley’s motives and how the move would serve the public. Comer’s letter implies the move was politically motivated, saying it was popular with AFGE members and other unions “that form a core constituency of the DNC that you are now running to chair.”

O’Malley resigned from the Social Security Administration in November, around when he announced his run for chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Comer claimed the administration’s nearly 60,000 employees have spent less than half their time in the office as disability claim processing times have increased since the pandemic.

“We believe your testimony will shed light on why so much of the federal workforce is currently at home, and federal agency offices are largely vacant,” he wrote. “We also expect it will educate Members as to how federal collective bargaining law and practice has helped facilitate this situation.”

The AFGE represents 800,000 federal and D.C. employees across 900 different local unions, according to its website.

“We support telework where it delivers for both the taxpayers and the workers who serve them. Telework and remote work are tools that have helped the federal government increase productivity and efficiency, maintain continuity of operations, and increase disaster preparedness. These policies also assist agencies across the government, including the Social Security Administration, in recruiting and retaining top talent,” said AFGE president Everett Kelley in a statement Dec. 16.

Kelley went on to dispel “rumors of widespread federal telework,” saying only 10% of federal employees are fully remote while hybrid employees spend over 60% of working hours in-office.

However, the majority of federal employees, he said, were completely ineligible for remote work due to the nature of their jobs.

The election for DNC chair amongst its 447 committee members will take place in early 2025, according to the New York Times.

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