In October 2019, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced the end of a six-year telework pilot program affecting about 12,000 employees. Although the decision was made in 2019, the official termination date was set for March 2020. Following the program's end, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the U.S. Congress to request a review of the SSA's telework policy, questioning if it should be reinstated as a measure to slow the virus's spread.