The Social Security claims backlog in Ohio is almost beyond parody. It would be difficult to imagine a more absurd situation than the state furloughing employees who process Social Security disability requests even though the federal government pays their salaries. Read on:
Social Security commissioner says Ohio losing federal money by furloughing SSA workers
By Ellen Kleinerman, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Commissioner of Social Security Michael Astrue said Ohio is losing millions of dollars and contributing to the backlog of disability cases by furloughing state workers paid with federal funds.
Astrue, who met with The Plain Dealer editorial board Thursday, also said the furlough of workers who process disability requests will delay 14,600 claims and postpone almost $3 million in federal benefits to Ohio residents.
According to Asture, Ohio will lose $6.9 million in federal money by imposing a 20-day furlough to each of the 627 employees of the Ohio Bureau of Disability Determination over two years. The furlough began last summer.
The state last year asked its five unions to take concessions because of a budget crisis.
Gov. Ted Strickland said in a letter that to get the five unions to agree, the state subjected all non-union employees to the same number of unpaid days. The Civil Service Employees and another union also have a parity clause in their bargaining agreement, he added.
Astrue questioned whether parity would apply to employees who are paid with federal dollars.
Concessions added up to $90 million for Ohio, Stickland said in a letter to Sen. Sherrod Brown who last year asked about the furlough of the state's Ohio Bureau of Disability Determination employees.
Astrue said he's concerned about the backlog of cases. Ohio received almost 12 percent more initial disability claims in fiscal 2009 compared to the previous year. One reason was the economy. In hard times, disability claims increase, he said.
