Social Security Administration and unions reach pact on reopening

The Social Security Administration has reached an agreement with its three labor unions on a plan for its employees to return to their offices.

“This will be a significant step toward improving access to our services as we implement this plan,” Kilolo Kijakazi, the agency’s acting commissioner, said in a press release.

A separate press release from the American Federation of Government Employees says the plan is for Social Security's employees to go back to offices on March 30, "although this date is subject to changes in pandemic conditions and further negotiations with agency components."

An email that Kijakazi sent to Social Security's employees Friday says the agency hopes that offices can resume providing in-person service, without appointments, in early April and that it plans to "begin limited in-person hearings in March," and then expand such hearings in the spring and early summer.

According to the union press release, the agreement requires Social Security employees and members of the public to wear masks at Social Security offices, whether or not they've been vaccinated.

The agency closed its 1,200 field offices to the public in March 2020 due to the pandemic.

In May of last year, it rolled out a partial reopening in the form of "express interviews" to help people apply for original or replacement Social Security cards and submit the necessary proof of identity in person.

But as of late last month, the agency had said that it had no plans to reopen and that the majority of the public would have to continue to rely on Social Security's online services to apply for benefits and access critical information like estimates of future benefits.

This story has been updated to include information from the acting commissioner's email on Jan. 21.