Dudek advocates for the transformation of all SSA offices into the new Schedule F system
The Trump administration's implementation of the Schedule Policy/Career, a new job classification within the federal government's excepted service, has sparked controversy, with Acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek instructing staff to reclassify several offices and components of the Social Security Administration (SSA).
One of the most significant impacts of this reclassification will be felt by the Office of Hearing Operations, which is being reclassified entirely into Schedule Policy/Career. This move could affect upwards of 20% of the workforce, represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).
Rich Couture, a spokesman for AFGE's Social Security Administration general committee, has expressed concern about Dudek's approach to implementing the new job category, stating that it appears excessive. Kathleen Romig, director of social security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, shares similar sentiments.
The reclassification of offices and components at the SSA would convert wide swathes of the agency to the revamped Schedule F. However, it's important to note that the chief actuary is not included in the reclassification plan.
Dudek defined policy-making positions at the SSA as encompassing a wide range of responsibilities, including shaping regulations, overseeing administrative law, managing contracts, guiding information resources management, and integrating research into decision-making. Romig takes issue with Dudek's targeting of the agency's research functions, stating that the statistics the agency puts out are not policy-influencing but rather a description of what the agency is doing and where tax dollars are going.
AFGE bargaining unit employees at the SSA are not considered policy-makers, according to Couture. Roles such as those in communications, human resources, and disability adjudication do not pass the "smell test" when it comes to being considered policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating, argues Romig.
Experts say the conversion of the SSA to the revamped Schedule F would stretch the Trump administration's definition of "policy-related" jobs "beyond all recognition." Individuals in these roles often develop and implement both formal rules and informal policies, interpret and apply laws, and influence how the SSA operates.
The offices and components to be reclassified include the Office of the Commissioner, several offices within the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the offices of Appellate Operations, Disability Determinations, Hearings Operations and Quality Review within the Office of Disability Adjudication, and several components within the Office of External Affairs, Office of General Counsel, and the Office of Mission Support.
The reclassification of the Office of Hearing Operations includes jobs that start at as little as $40,000 per year. This move strips employees reclassified into the new job category of their civil service protections.
Despite the concerns raised by AFGE and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the SSA did not respond to a request for comment. Romig believes that Dudek's plan seems to misunderstand the roles of employees whose job is to follow policy, not set it.
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