In a press release issued today, Commissioner Astrue praised the California Supreme Court ruling that found that Governor Schwarzenegger’s decision to furlough employees of the California Disability Determination Service (DDS) was arbitrary, capricious and unlawful. (DDS is a state agency that contracts with Social Security to make disability decisions.) The governor’s policy didn’t make a whole lot of financial sense in any event, as Commissioner Astrue points out:
Social Security funds 100 percent of DDS employees’ salaries as well as all overhead costs — about $2 billion nationwide this year. These funds cannot be used by the states for any other purpose, so states do not save a single penny by furloughing employees in the DDSs – they only slow getting benefits to the disabled, unduly harm its civil servants, and cost the state needed tax revenue. Nevertheless, about a dozen governors are imposing similar across-the-board hiring freezes or furloughs that also affect DDS employees. I sincerely hope Congress will use its oversight authority to investigate not just California, but the other states that are using — or have used — furloughs and hiring freezes for positions that are fully funded by the Social Security Administration and other federal agencies.
