FLEOA Announces No Confidence Vote
Against Leadership of the Social Security Administration Office of the
Inspector General
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 20, 2021
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Natalia Castro
ncastro@shawbransford.com |
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WASHINGTON,
DC – Today, Larry Cosme,
President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) – the nation’s largest
non-partisan, not-for-profit professional association representing 30,000
federal law enforcement officers and agents across 65 federal agencies – issued
the following statement regarding a vote of no confidence by FLEOA members
against the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General:
"FLEOA has taken an overwhelming vote of no
confidence against the leadership at the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector
General (SSA OIG). Although one of our smaller agencies, FLEOA is proud to
represents over 90 percent of SSA OIG Agents. Unfortunately, the complaints we
have heard from these members are overwhelming and dwarf those we typically
receive from larger agencies. It is clear the work environment at the SSA OIG
has become so dysfunctional, so demeaning, and so derogatory that our members
in the office have lost confidence in their leadership,” President Cosme said.
"FLEOA, as well as the SSA OIG Agents
themselves, have consistently voiced concerns regarding erroneous policies that
hamper investigative capacity. We have heard concerns regarding the termination
of employees based on a survey of investigator’s computer logs which were
allegedly subjective and often lacked corroborating or mitigating evidence from
immediate supervisors. We have heard concerns about Special Agent training
(including no cost firearm safety training) requiring Central Office approval,
which appears to be biased, unsafe, and inefficient,” Cosme explained.
Cosme continued, "These issues are cumbersome, regressive and go beyond
policies related to officer safety typically seen in other agencies. Most
importantly, these issues are undercutting operational effectiveness and
investigative capacity. Not only have employees consistently voiced these
concerns internally and at town halls, but in August FLEOA issued a letter to
the SSA OIG further expounding on what we have learned. The SSA OIG has not
changed course.”
"The SSA OIG plays a critical role in
combatting COVID-19 fraud and other nefarious criminal activity. Never is this
type of management effective or permissible, but it is especially detrimental
to our nation right now. This vote of no confidence echoes a choir of concerns
voiced by employees and association representatives who have attempted to work
with the SSA OIG to improve working environments. With not even an attempt to
address employee concerns, we are left with no confidence in the leadership of Office,” Cosme continued.
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