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Washington, D.C.—When the government was shut down on Oct. 1, nearly 1,600 employees of a key Social Security Administration (SSA) function represented by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) were furloughed. A week later, they were back on the job, underscoring their critical importance to one of the nation’s most vulnerable populations.

These employees—attorney-advisors and a range of support personnel—work in nationwide posts of duty of SSA’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). Their work is to review the appeals of claimants for Social Security disability payments, and advise ODAR’s administrative law judges as a critical part of the decision-making process.

“The men and women in this workforce play key roles in life-altering decisions,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “This is the classic example of the direct connection between the work of federal employees and the quality of people’s lives,” she said, “and the fact that these employees are back working without pay—and without knowing when or, for certain, if they will be paid—is a testament to their commitment and dedication.”

One of these employees is Gary Ramage, an attorney-advisor and president of NTEU Chapter 224, which represents the NTEU ODAR bargaining unit.

“We understand how important our work is,” he said. “It really affects the public good.” Even missing a week will undo some of the progress made in reducing the backlog of disability claims waiting to go to hearing, he noted. Employee efforts, including overtime work, have played a principal role in helping reduce a two-year waiting period to less than one year.

Throughout the shutdown, NTEU has maintained a straightforward message for Congress: Federal employees want to work; the public needs them to work; and it is time to end the shutdown.

NTEU is the nation’s largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.