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According to one employee working out of an understaffed office in the Midwest, "In my 24 years, I have never seen it so bad, to the point that a lot of us are medicated."
"The agency already lost 1,230 field office workers from March through August, according to an analysis of agency data by the AFGE Council 220, a union that represents Social Security employees. Then, in July, roughly 1,000 field office workers were diverted to work on the national phone lines, which meant they had new responsibilities while local offices had fewer people to absorb the load," the Times reported.
The report added that people needing Social Security cards are facing waits of up to six weeks just for an appointment, and those who have questions about their payments are being left on hold.