Emergency Letter for 3729F

SOCIAL SECURITY

April 17, 2012

Jasmeet K. Seehra

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB

Room 10235, New Executive Office Building

725 17^th St. NW

Washington, D.C. 20503

Dear Ms. Seehra,

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is establishing the process we will follow when we ban an individual from appearing in person at any of our offices. We are seeking approval to collect information from the public during appeals of ban decisions and periodic reviews.

Background

When members of the public demonstrate disruptive, violent, or threatening actions or behavior toward SSA employees, the agency will take measures to ensure the safety of everyone involved, including banning such individuals from appearing in person at any of our field offices. In lieu of in-person office visits, the agency provides services to banned individuals through alternate methods, including our 800 number, online applications, mail services, or, in limited circumstances, face-to-face services by appointment with additional security present.

Interim Business Process

On September 2, 2011, the agency published regulations and notifications processes for the ban decision at 76 FR 54700, in our interim final rules, 20 CFR 422.901-422.907. The interim final rules also set forth the process of appealing ban decisions and the periodic review process. Specifically, an individual who we banned from our offices has the opportunity to appeal that decision within 60 days of the date of the ban notice (§422.905). If the individual does not appeal the decision within the 60 days, if we banned the individual prior to the effective date of the interim final rules, or if the appeal results in a denial, the individual has another opportunity to request review of the ban decision after a three-year period. This periodic review (§422.906) is available to banned individuals once every three years.

In the case of the information collection requirements in 20 CFR 422.905-422.906, individuals may provide a written request for appeal or review. In the request, they must state why they believe they no longer pose a threat to SSA employees, visitors, or facilities; and explain why SSA should rescind the ban to allow the individuals to conduct business with us in person in one of our offices. The appeal must provide the individual’s name, Social Security Number, address, the office that issued the ban, and a clear statement of why SSA should lift the ban. The individuals may also provide supporting documentation at their discretion, including medical documentation, work history, or any criminal history. The designated individual in each region who will review appeals and requests for periodic review will use this information to make a decision on whether we should lift or continue the ban.

Need for Emergency Clearance

SSA personnel touch the lives of virtually every American, often during times of personal hardship, transition, and uncertainty. As our workloads have risen in recent years, the number of reported threats to our employees has increased significantly. In FY 2010, we received 2,777 reports of threats to our employees across all offices, an increase of 43% from FY 2009. In light of this increase, we took action to implement the interim final rules as quickly as possible. The policy set forth in the interim final rules, and the final rules, will increase our ability to protect our claimants, personnel, and other visitors to our offices, while at the same time fulfilling our mission to serve the American people.

When we originally published the banning decision rules at 76 FR 54700, the agency did not anticipate the number of respondents would meet the threshold for PRA clearance. Since then, our field offices have provided us with evidence indicating we will meet and exceed this threshold, so we are pursuing OMB PRA clearance now. Because of the compelling personal security issues the banning rules address, we are pursuing expedited emergency clearance from OMB no later than May 17, 2012.

Please contact me with questions at (410) 965-8783 or [email protected].

Sincerely,

Faye I. Lipsky

Report Clearance Officer

Social Security Administration