|
Post by 71stretch on May 2, 2013 8:39:36 GMT -5
For those of you who received this email, there are several past threads on appeals. Here's one: www.aljdiscussion.proboards.com/thread/1670/appeals I did a search for threads only, with appeal in the title, and qualifications as a keyword. Interestingly, one of the posters in the linked thread in this post, peterprinciple, (he may have been the OP) won his appeal and later got an appointment as an ALJ. So, there is hope. Thanks! I was going to do that myself but I am finding the new forum setup not that user friendly, then again it could just be me Actually, the search function in the new format is better than in the old one, IMO... this is the first time I've used it, and was pleasantly surprised. Hope you and the others get the instructions email soon. Good luck!
|
|
|
Post by hopefalj on May 2, 2013 9:22:37 GMT -5
I wish everyone the best of luck with their appeals. I have little doubt that if one of your reviewers looked over my application and the person that approved me looked over yours, our roles could be reversed. I really wish that everyone that had applied had found this board first and had the time to review prior posts regarding the application process, the potential pitfalls, and the strategy to be used. This initial stage is nothing more than a tool to winnow out applicants and narrow the pool from 5000+ to a more manageable size. The key is to avoid giving OPM any reason not to move you on to the next phase.
Hopefully a new set of eyes through the ALJ Appeals Panel will give you the result you are looking for, but it's going to require a lot of patience. It appears that the Appeals Panel won't convene until after all testing is done and a register has been created. However, you need to file an appeal within 30 calendar days of receiving your NOR, so keep that deadline in mind.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 2, 2013 9:26:00 GMT -5
From the announcement:
Appeals Process: An ALJ Appeals Panel (Panel) will be convened to adjudicate any appeals after all final numerical ratings have been assigned to all applicants who applied during this ALJ Job Opportunity Announcement open period. The Panel will accept and adjudicate an appeal from the following four categories of applicants who believe their ratings were assigned in error:
1. An applicant who received a NOR indicating "ineligible" at any stage of the ALJ assessment process.
2. An applicant who received a NOR indicating that his/her SJT, Writing Sample, and Experience Assessment score was not within the range for the higher-scored sub-group of all the eligible applicants and therefore did not receive further consideration for this current ALJ Job Opportunity Announcement.
3. An applicant who did not receive a minimum required score on the WD and/or SI, did not receive a final numerical rating, and was not placed on the ALJ register.
4. An applicant who received a NOR with a final numerical rating, for appeal of the entire examination.
The Panel has the authority to affirm, raise, or lower the rating; change a rating from eligible to ineligible and remove an applicant from the register; or remand for further development. An appeal must be filed by email within 30 calendar days from the date of the NOR. Appeals are adjudicated based on the record. The decision of the Appeals Panel is final, and exhausts further administrative appeal rights. Additional details regarding the appeal process will be provided once the NOR has been issued.
|
|
|
Post by hod on May 2, 2013 9:30:50 GMT -5
Here is the thing-they sent out about three form rejection letters. No bar;unclear experience and maybe one other. There is no effort to state what you specifically did to "mess up." Further-even if you were to put down criminal litigator/ada 1985 through 1999 and did not put in the exact months the word "through" or the dash is generally seen as stating that the months were inclusive in those years. The months, even if knocking off the beginning and ending years (and assuming that you did not do 12 months those two years) is sufficient to show seven years.
I am sorry that you all are going through this-especially you who are experiencing the arb and cap of OPM for the first time. Those of us who have done this several times are fully aware of the randomness of the process. APPEAL APPEAL APPEAL You will get an email soon telling you how to do this. Good Luck
|
|
|
Post by justamessenger on May 2, 2013 9:56:46 GMT -5
I would like to wish each of you the best of luck in pursuing your appeals. Given the information in most of the posts of those who received NORs it would seem likely that you will be successful should you pursue the appeal process vigorously.
|
|
|
Post by JSteele on May 2, 2013 10:40:17 GMT -5
From the announcement: Appeals Process: An ALJ Appeals Panel (Panel) will be convened to adjudicate any appeals after all final numerical ratings have been assigned to all applicants who applied during this ALJ Job Opportunity Announcement open period. The Panel will accept and adjudicate an appeal from the following four categories of applicants who believe their ratings were assigned in error: 1. An applicant who received a NOR indicating "ineligible" at any stage of the ALJ assessment process. 2. An applicant who received a NOR indicating that his/her SJT, Writing Sample, and Experience Assessment score was not within the range for the higher-scored sub-group of all the eligible applicants and therefore did not receive further consideration for this current ALJ Job Opportunity Announcement. 3. An applicant who did not receive a minimum required score on the WD and/or SI, did not receive a final numerical rating, and was not placed on the ALJ register. 4. An applicant who received a NOR with a final numerical rating, for appeal of the entire examination. The Panel has the authority to affirm, raise, or lower the rating; change a rating from eligible to ineligible and remove an applicant from the register; or remand for further development. An appeal must be filed by email within 30 calendar days from the date of the NOR. Appeals are adjudicated based on the record. The decision of the Appeals Panel is final, and exhausts further administrative appeal rights. Additional details regarding the appeal process will be provided once the NOR has been issued. Lovely - yet another way we are getting screwed by this process. We have only 30 days from date of NOR (which looks like everyone got it yesterday) to appeal and yet we have no email informing us how to appeal. And judging by the 'speediness' so far, who knows at what point we will get the email!
|
|
|
Post by ruthvadi on May 2, 2013 10:42:27 GMT -5
I had the same problem. Can someone please tell me how to appeal. Thanks.
|
|
|
Post by zeedog on May 2, 2013 10:56:54 GMT -5
I received the same as many:
At the time of your application submission, you did not describe your experience sufficiently to clear the preliminary qualification screening and/or your narrative did not provide sufficient detail to demonstrate that you completed the full seven years of qualifying experience. You must have quantified the time associated with any claimed experience in terms of the specific period during which the experience was acquired, including the month and year for the start and end dates (e.g., May 2006 1320 December 2006). In addition, if qualifying experience examples were provided that overlap with non-qualifying experience, you must have provided the percentage of time spent on each type of work.
A separate email explaining your appeal rights will follow this message.
Who in the world reviewed these?
I have been handling state & federal litigation since 1988. I have represented Claimants in SSD cases since 1980, first as a paralegal and then as an attorney since 1988. I have done hundreds of disability and non-disability administrative appeals over the years. I have been a trainer at CLE sessions on SSD. I have filed and won SSD appeals in federal Court and have argued cases in the Federal court of Appeals. I don't have 7 years experience...Really! I look forward to filing my appeal.
|
|
|
Post by bootstrap on May 2, 2013 11:57:59 GMT -5
jsteeleky,
In response to your post regarding intel on appealing NORs based on experience, I will copy and paste from posts past on this issue. Teh first is from Zero, dated September 11, 2007, under the thread, Real Info on Appeals:
from my source inside OPM: 1. Composition of the reviewing panel: The panel reviewing the applications was comprised of members taken from OPM’s Human Resources Products & Services Division, the Human Capital Leadership & Merit Systems Accountability Division and the Office of the General Counsel. 2. All applicants who failed to achieve a qualified rating from the review panel for experience were assigned an arbitrary value of “0.” 3. There have been a substantial number of appeals from applicants who were rated ineligible for further consideration based on experience; 4. Appeals will be addressed after those rated “eligible” had completed the evaluation process and a register had been developed. 5. The appeal process will probably carry into October.
|
|
gman
Member
Posts: 28
|
Post by gman on May 2, 2013 12:55:38 GMT -5
From reading the posts in this thread and several others, it seems plain that most (if not all) of those receiving NOR emails have requisite experience. I fully expect that the denials are just for technical reasons - failing to identify month/year for the start and/or end of certain experience, leaving off a bar number, or some other nit-picky reason not related to actual experience. My impression is that the people reviewing the applications are HR types, and not lawyers, and they're looking for buzzwords and using a checklist. It's Draconian.
Assuming there is an avenue for appeal for a technical denial, appeal it!
I wish everyone success. I admit I would be equally heartbroken and angry were I in your shoes.
|
|
|
Post by aljmaybe on May 2, 2013 13:48:52 GMT -5
I honestly just cannot figure out why I received a technical denial. I set forth each position/detail I have had with the agency (where I have been employed for more than 7 years), including specific start/end dates. The only thing I can think of is that I didn't affirmatively state that each position was full-time and thus done for 100% of the time. The fact that these positions were all full-time seems self-evident to me as people will usually only specifically note when a position is anything other than full-time. But obviously some of the people at OPM reviewing these applications are not brimming over with common sense.
|
|
|
Post by bootstrap on May 2, 2013 14:24:57 GMT -5
There are snippets of good news regarding prior successful appeals on this board which, at the very least, suggest appealing is not completely futile. Below is a post from Bartleby dated February 28, 2008 on the Appeal Info thread:
"My wife received an e-mail today stating they had reviewed her appeal and decided that she had enough experience afterall. They said they will grade her experience and if her scores are high enough she would move on to the examination and interview phase. Has anyone else received this and any ideas as to what this means regarding getting on the register or the future?? Thanks"
|
|
|
Post by aljmaybe on May 2, 2013 14:45:38 GMT -5
aljfaq - I've been an attorney with ODAR for more than seven years. I started as an attorney adviser and made my way up to senior attorney, then did details to the VSU. I was very specific about the dates of each position/detail and the functions of each. I also used what I thought were appropriate buzzwords - pre/post hearing review for ALJs - memorandums describing factual/legal issues to be resolved and recommendations for how to dispose of cases - draft legally defensible decisions supporting the ALJs conclusions - pre-hearing review, development and adjudication of cases. I went into very great detail for each position/detail describing exactly what I have done as an attorney since starting with the agency. I'm honestly at a loss right now because clearly being an AA and SAA should both count towards the experience requirement.
|
|
|
Post by wisher on May 2, 2013 14:47:11 GMT -5
Mine said I did not provide sufficient license information to pass the preliminary qualification review. I provided the state I am licensed in, the month and year I was admitted, but not the actualy day, since it was 18 years ago and I don't remember, and my bar ID number. I am mystified unless they wanted the actual day. How would I remember that? If that is what doomed my application, then I am STEAMING MAD. How ridiculous.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 2, 2013 17:06:25 GMT -5
Best of luck guys, this is a long process and I can see it is also a minefield that many of us may not be able to negotiate till the end. I am sure many of you will prevail on your appeals but there continue to be other obstacles to make it onto the register and even if you make it on the register it does no mean you will be hired from what I have read on this board.
|
|
|
Post by hod on May 2, 2013 17:19:17 GMT -5
Well I finally received a response via email at 10:35 PM EST, albeit not the one I expected. I have over 7 years of experience litigating at the state administrative hearing level as well as over 7 years as a judge advocate however this is the response I received: . . . I haven't received the appeal email yet. I'll be filing one for sure though! Anyone else receive anything!?!? Also, my status in application manager is still "see details tab" but now under messages it includes the NOR of today. When I first log into USAJOBS under status it says "minimum qualifications not me." I'm sorry you got a NOR, J from Steele, KY. Going back and looking at your initial posts in the Application Status Question, your thread now reads like a horror movie: it starts out pleasant with an aura of suspicion, and then starts snowballing into extreme suspense until it culminates in the brutal slaughter of the protagonist. I feel bad because I moved on, even though I am more than indifferent about it all, and it seems like so many that were rejected had this at the center of their heart's desire. Maybe it is like marriage. Those who are anxious to get married and trying desperately to do so never get there, while those who don't want it or aren't looking for it are quickest to find it. You know it is not that it is at the center of everyone's heart's desire. It is that we are all people who are successful and cannot comprehend an unknown entity telling us that we didn't meet the requirements to even apply for the job. This is especially true when you look at the experience people put down and realize that they have had years of qualifying experience that anyone with an ounce of intelligence would see. Further-to be told that failure to put a DAY down on the part acknowledging when licensed is just ridiculous. What difference does the day make to the process? It was 1980-hello-that was 33 years ago. Gore had not yet invented the internet. And before anyone gets all up in arms to announce that "well they said date and anyone knows that date means day also-" Let me just say, I have been through this multiple times and I have always put down the month and year. Further, I would be impressed by the "picky nature" of this entire process if the people behind the process had an ounce of professionalism or competency. Letters going out saying we said you were good to go-but now we are saying that you are not. Letters going out saying we said you were rejected, but we made a mistake. Refusal to respond to e-mails and phone calls. Does anyone really think that this arbitrary,capricious, unorganized, and inconsistent system will stand up to the appeals? Further, for those who are first timers out there and who may not have gone through this insane process numerous times-just answer their questions. Would it kill us to be kind to each other? So what someone has asked before. This is a huge board and people are understandably anxious and upset. Basically some unknow entitiy has written an email telling them that they are incompetent. No matter how much or how little one wants the job-the e-mail in and of itself is enough to cause the need to vent. OK rant over. To everyone going on with the program-Good luck! And if you ever get in a place of power Be the change you want to be. To those that have received rejection letters, joint the fight-we are a great group of people to have on your side!!!!
|
|
|
Post by bootstrap on May 2, 2013 17:51:29 GMT -5
Hod, well-stated.
|
|
|
Post by JSteele on May 2, 2013 19:32:00 GMT -5
If it's any consolation, I received the rejection email too, but ironically, am on the current cert. I will most likely appeal, but it's somewhat of a relief to get off the roller coaster ride for awhile. Seriously!? That exemplifies the inconsistency in the review process. Oye.....
|
|
|
Post by McLovin' on May 2, 2013 19:40:32 GMT -5
hod, you are exactly right.
Today I happened to be listening to the 12/12/12 CD, the benefit concert for Hurricane Sandy. I listened to REM's Losing My Religion. As a person whose application was rejected, I got a good chuckle from the lyrics, "Oh no, I've said too much. I haven't said enough." One minute I say one thing about my application and the next minute I say the other.
As for some posts I have seen, I don't really want to be told that I am obsessing or taking things too serously. None of us got where we are today by being totally cavalier about everything we've ever done!
|
|
|
Post by dcflyer on May 2, 2013 20:37:10 GMT -5
Sorry for posting this to more than one thread, but I just found this one...
I can't believe it. I heard nothing on my application, and just last night, 5/1, I received a generic email (significant portion pasted below) saying that I do not meet the minimum qualifications due to failure to demonstrate seven years of experience.
I have 25 years of experience, 22 of them at the U.S. Dept. of Justice. For the first 18 years, I was sole counsel in hundreds of federal cases, including a dozen federal appeals, and for the past four years have held a senior position in my Division. I detailed this in my application, with a description of the work I did, the number of cases I tried, settled, and the number of appeals in which I represented the government. I feel sick about this. I can't tell from the generic email why they thought my application was deficient - I gave dates, numbers, described my responsibilities... Is there anything I can do? Is there any way for me to find out why, specifically, they didn't think I met the requirement? The email said that I would receive another message about my appeal rights, which I haven't received yet.
"At the time of your application submission, you did not describe your experience sufficiently to clear
the preliminary qualification screening and/or your narrative did not provide sufficient detail to
demonstrate that you completed the full seven years of qualifying experience. You must have
quantified the time associated with any claimed experience in terms of the specific period during which
the experience was acquired, including the month and year for the start and end dates (e.g., May 2006 1320
December 2006). In addition, if qualifying experience examples were provided that overlap with
non-qualifying experience, you must have provided the percentage of time spent on each type of work."
|
|