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Post by grassgreener on Jun 15, 2011 10:24:06 GMT -5
In terms of credit hours, are ALJs in the position where they need to accrue credit time almost every pay period to make their numbers? A previous poster also mentioned that ALJs are limited to carrying over only 24 credit hours per pay period.
In terms of my long term personal planning, is there flexibility to work part-time as an ALJ?
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Post by tigerfan on Jun 15, 2011 10:38:23 GMT -5
not in my opinion, ALJs get time off for any credit hours worked so it is a wash in that regard. It does allow you to take a week off and only use 2 days of leave and if it is a holiday week you will only use one day of leave. True, ALJs can only carry over 24 credit hours at the end of each pay period. I know of no part time ALJs except for the very very few ALJs on Senior status.
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oldschool
Full Member
Newbie FAQ Contributor
Posts: 101
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Post by oldschool on Jun 15, 2011 11:22:24 GMT -5
I do not believe it is necessary to accrue credit hours or work outside of normal working hours in order to thoroughly review the evidence, hold full and fair hearings, and complete enough dispositions to satisfy the office. There are some who will dispute that, and I'm not saying they are wrong, but my opinion is based upon my experience.
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Post by mcb on Jun 15, 2011 12:05:33 GMT -5
not in my opinion, ALJs get time off for any credit hours worked so it is a wash in that regard. It does allow you to take a week off and only use 2 days of leave and if it is a holiday week you will only use one day of leave. True, ALJs can only carry over 24 credit hours at the end of each pay period. I know of no part time ALJs except for the very very few ALJs on Senior status. You can actually carry over 24 credit hours (CHs) from a prior pay period, earn more CHs in the first week of a current pay period (28.5 CHs is possible, for a total of 52.5 CHs), then take off the next week (40 CHs), so that you're back down to 12.5 CHs carried over at the end of the pay period. Under this scenario, one doesn't have to use any annual leave days or do it on a holiday week to lessen the annual leave used, to have a week off.
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Post by bartleby on Jun 15, 2011 12:07:41 GMT -5
Grassgreener, in terms of flexibility, you can't work part time, however, you can work 10 hours a day for 4 days a week and have one day a week off every week. Also, after working as an ALJ for a year, you can work at home one day or more a week if it fits your work style. You set up the schedule for your docket and determine which days of the week you will hold hearings. The work hours are from 6:00 to 6:00 and you need to work 8 hours during that time. So, there is a lot of flexibility and the ability to take leave as long as you schedule your docket so you have the time. It is a little rough to plan long vacations in the future as you have to plan ahead for the docket. I have never found a job with as much flexibility as this with the exception of my own law practice (but then again, now, I don't have to work weekends or all night long preparing for depositions, trials, etc.)
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Post by mcb on Jun 15, 2011 12:09:54 GMT -5
The work hours are from 6:00 to 6:00 and you need to work 8 hours during that time. The hours are 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM in our office.
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Post by grassgreener on Jun 15, 2011 12:17:26 GMT -5
So, there is a lot of flexibility and the ability to take leave as long as you schedule your docket so you have the time. It is a little rough to plan long vacations in the future as you have to plan ahead for the docket. My understanding is that SSA ALJ's are holding 3-5(?) hearings a day - how far in advance is your docket scheduled?
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Post by demelza on Jun 15, 2011 12:30:54 GMT -5
Based on the personal identifying information in each case, are ALJs limited to working only in the office? In other words, can we bring work home, or is it that we work while at work and are off while we're at home?
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Post by mcb on Jun 15, 2011 12:54:12 GMT -5
Based on the personal identifying information in each case, are ALJs limited to working only in the office? In other words, can we bring work home, or is it that we work while at work and are off while we're at home? From Bartleby's post (supra): ...after working as an ALJ for a year, you can work at home one day or more a week...
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Post by arkstfan on Jun 15, 2011 13:10:30 GMT -5
So, there is a lot of flexibility and the ability to take leave as long as you schedule your docket so you have the time. It is a little rough to plan long vacations in the future as you have to plan ahead for the docket. My understanding is that SSA ALJ's are holding 3-5(?) hearings a day - how far in advance is your docket scheduled? Scheduling is usually 30-90 days out. Everyone has their own style. Some do 30 hearings one week and spend the next week doing prep, edit, and sign the other week. Some will do 7 to 12 hearings a day one or two days a week every week. My August schedule is just being put together right now which worked nicely because I needed to tweak that schedule a little bit. I'm planning to take a few days off in July and some in August. If you aren't scheduled for hearings you are as flexible as your ability to prepare and handle other duties allows. Once notice has been sent for a hearing, you are locked in barring emergency.
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Post by ruonthelist on Jun 15, 2011 15:07:06 GMT -5
The work hours are from 6:00 to 6:00 and you need to work 8 hours during that time. The hours are 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM in our office. You are right. The range of work hours for ALJs is 6:30 to 6:00 That's not just your office, it is the rule in the AALJ collective bargaining agreement: Article 14 Section 3 - Flextime All Judges shall be permitted to work a flexible work schedule that permits him or her to vary his or her daily starting and leaving times. This schedule shall be in accordance with the following rules: A. All Judges must be on duty status during established core hours, except for lunch periods and core time deviations. Such core hours shall be from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The basic work requirement can only be completed Monday through Friday. B. Judges can start as early as 6:30 a.m. and leave as late as 6:00 p.m. C. Judges electing to work a flexible work schedule will continue to sign-in at the beginning of their workday, sign-out at the end of their workday at their official duty station, and record any core time deviations in the appropriate blocks on the serial sign-in/sign-out sheet. Judges’ serial sign-in/sign-out sheets will be separate from the sign-in sheets used by other hearing office employees. Current policy regarding signing in and out of an office is not changed by this agreement. Judges are responsible for working their scheduled workday of eight (8), nine (9) or ten (10) hours. D. A lunch break cannot be combined with a core time deviation absence within 2 hours of the beginning or end of a Judge's 8 ½ hour workday. Core time deviations must be recorded in the appropriate block on the Form SSA-30.
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Post by factfinder on Jun 15, 2011 15:44:47 GMT -5
Not 3-5 cases per day unless a Judge is new or is old and when hired was told 20-30 cases per month would be fine (that is what was true once). Used to be you had two years to get up to speed as well.
Usually 5-6 per day, or 11-12 per week, a few do 18 per week (with great experience) but not usually for the entire year. 11-12 cases per week to get to around 500 per year is about right, allowing for vacation, preparation, training, bathroom breaks, unreps, supplementals, etc. Figure 48 weeks (47 depending on leave status) is productive. If you do that many you will not break the radar scope, but you will work hard.
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Post by Legal Beagle on Jun 15, 2011 18:17:58 GMT -5
I usually hold 6 hearings (sometime 7) either 3 or 2 days a week.
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Post by alj on Jun 15, 2011 21:02:34 GMT -5
I'm scheduled through the end of the year right now. Every office is different. My question is why would you want to schedule that far in advance? The farther out I schedule, the more limited I am in my personal life. If something personal comes up, and I am scheduled for hearings, the hearings take priority. I can't imagine locking myself in for six months in advance.
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Post by alj on Jun 15, 2011 21:16:23 GMT -5
not in my opinion, ALJs get time off for any credit hours worked so it is a wash in that regard. It does allow you to take a week off and only use 2 days of leave and if it is a holiday week you will only use one day of leave. True, ALJs can only carry over 24 credit hours at the end of each pay period. I know of no part time ALJs except for the very very few ALJs on Senior status. You can actually carry over 24 credit hours (CHs) from a prior pay period, earn more CHs in the first week of a current pay period (28.5 CHs is possible, for a total of 52.5 CHs), then take off the next week (40 CHs), so that you're back down to 12.5 CHs carried over at the end of the pay period. Under this scenario, one doesn't have to use any annual leave days or do it on a holiday week to lessen the annual leave used, to have a week off. Yes, 24 credit hours can be carried over, but the maximum number of credit hours that may be accrued in a pay period is 28.
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Post by onepingonly on Jun 15, 2011 21:25:58 GMT -5
My schedule has evolved over time. For a long time, I did 6 a day, 3 days a week, every week. Then I had a few travel dockets close together, and had quite a few cases per month, two months in a row. These past months, I've been doing 8 a day 2 days a week, every week. That's working well, but I'm moving to 6 a day, 2 days a week, every week, to have more time for review and processing. There is an endless variety of ways in which the docket can be structured. Important to keep in mind is that many people besides the judge are affected by the shape of the docket, including (not least of all) the claimants, the reps, the HRs, the VEs, the experts, the schedulers, the other judges competing for hearing rooms, the security personnel, and more. You do need to plan ahead for any vacation or personal life you may wish to have. My particular office provides, I think, a very good balance between work and home life. Various offices apparently differ widely. Interested to hear other views.
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Post by arkstfan on Jun 16, 2011 10:01:25 GMT -5
I have my dates through December but until the hearings are actually scheduled I can tweak it some and that gives me a chance to make changes until about 60 days out.
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Post by mcb on Jun 16, 2011 12:56:25 GMT -5
You can actually carry over 24 credit hours (CHs) from a prior pay period, earn more CHs in the first week of a current pay period (28.5 CHs is possible, for a total of 52.5 CHs), then take off the next week (40 CHs), so that you're back down to 12.5 CHs carried over at the end of the pay period. Under this scenario, one doesn't have to use any annual leave days or do it on a holiday week to lessen the annual leave used, to have a week off. Yes, 24 credit hours can be carried over, but the maximum number of credit hours that may be accrued in a pay period is 28. Well, 52 CHs instead of 52.5.
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Post by alj on Jun 16, 2011 17:17:14 GMT -5
Once 28 credit hours are accrued, no more may be added. When the pay period ends, the total, if not used, drops to 24. Not sure where you are getting the number 52?
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Post by mcb on Jun 16, 2011 20:08:05 GMT -5
Once 28 credit hours are accrued, no more may be added. When the pay period ends, the total, if not used, drops to 24. Not sure where you are getting the number 52? You have 24 that you carry over from the prior pay period, then you can earn 28 more in the first week of the current pay period and use them up in the second week of the current pay period so that you're down below 24 when the current pay period ends. I've used 40 CHs to take a week off twice since I became an ALJ last September and have used 32 hours along with a holiday three times. The 24 hours you carry over were earned during a prior pay period. ( see ALJ CBA below) Then the 28 you accrue in the first week of the current pay period are earned during a different pay period. You can have up tp 52 CHs - 24 carried over from a prior pay period & 28 earned in the current pay period - as long as you get back to 24 CHs or less by the end of the current pay period. From the ALJ CBA, Article 14, Section 5 - Credit Hours: ... 4. A Judge may earn no more than twenty-eight (28) credit hours per pay period. (emphasis added) ... 6. The maximum number of credit hours a Judge may carry over from one (1) pay period to the next is twenty-four (24).
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