Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2013 14:49:58 GMT -5
Is it difficult to get time off given the backlog and production expectations?
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Post by hod on May 25, 2013 15:59:35 GMT -5
You have just hit on one of the perks of odar. if you have earned leave there is usually no problem getting to take it off. perhaps the only caveat for an alj is that once your hearings have been scheduled it wreaks havoc on everyone trying. so a bit of planning is appreciated.
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mph
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Post by mph on May 25, 2013 20:17:23 GMT -5
You may be entitled to the leave, but since hearings are scheduled around three months out, you have to plan ahead. Also, productivity expectations are not adjusted for leave taken, as they are with other ODAR employees. You are expected to crank out the same 500-700 dispositions a year regardless of leave taken. I think many ALJ s are sitting on a lot of leave for this reason.
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Post by workdrone on May 25, 2013 20:47:02 GMT -5
Is it difficult to get time off given the backlog and production expectations? Not really. I hold 15 hearings a week for approximately 42 to 43 weeks a year, depending on how much vacation I decide to take. 15 x 42 comes out to 630 hearings a year, but some of them do get continued for one reason or another. So I usually end the fiscal year in the high 500s or low 600s. The only caveat is that as a hearing office usually schedules hearings about 90 day out, you need to plan your leave periods way in advance so as not to disrupt the hearing schedule. |
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Post by hamster on May 26, 2013 8:33:33 GMT -5
I doubt very much that I'm going to reach the 500 disposition goal this year. I do my work honestly and conscientiously, and care not one whit whether that means I fail to meet or I exceed that goal. It has NEVER been a problem to take leave--although do try to project it in advance so that day, that week, that fortnight, can be blocked off on your calendar.
Have a nice vacation and wear plenty of sunscreen!
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Post by prescient on May 26, 2013 14:10:42 GMT -5
But the reality is.... You don't have to give any notice. I've worked in offices where as the judge is signing out on a Friday afternoon will drop a "oh by the way, I'm going on vacation for the next 2 weeks"....
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Post by bartleby on May 26, 2013 14:39:50 GMT -5
Not if they had hearings scheduled you didn't.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2013 16:59:23 GMT -5
Thank you for all of the replies. Sounds like a win win for those of us that earn 8 hrs of leave Per Pay Period. That is if we get the job.
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Post by prescient on May 26, 2013 18:42:25 GMT -5
Not if they had hearings scheduled you didn't. Oh there most certaintly were hearings scheduled that had to be rescheduled |
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Post by bartleby on May 26, 2013 19:30:08 GMT -5
In 16 years I have never seen or heard of that. I find it not only unheard of, but totally unprofessional.
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Post by deltajudge on May 27, 2013 20:13:25 GMT -5
8-)Things have changed, 15 hearings a week? Is that the norm? In office hearings I scheduled I scheduled 3 days, Tuesday thru Thursday, 5 in the morning, 30 minutes apart, and two in the afternoon, same separation, so that was 21, barring any no-shows or cancellations. On travel cases, I would schedule a minimum of 30 for a week, using the same as the office schedule, but starting on Monday and ending on Friday with 6 cases. Depending on distance, I traveled on my own time on Saturdays or Sundays, no comp time. If close, would drive over the day of the haring. It seems with video hearings and all the new developments, more hearings could be held, in less time.
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Post by alj on May 27, 2013 20:15:46 GMT -5
In 16 years I have never seen or heard of that. I find it not only unheard of, but totally unprofessional. Agreed. I have never seen that in an office I have been in. |
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Post by hamster on May 28, 2013 17:29:44 GMT -5
My office schedules me for 15 hearings a week--five hearings 50 minutes apart three days per week. Except for an hour here and there, I don't give the agency "free time." Either I get paid for the time, or I get credit hours for the time. I'm not going to give up my weekends to do work, otherwise. I enjoy puttering in the garden, working on my car, getting caught up on my laundry, letting my kids wallop me on the Xbox, or laying in the deep grass on a hot, sunny day, pondering how infinite the sky is and wondering if that cloud looks more like a unicorn or my acting HOCALJ.
I love public service and all, but all of us deserve some balance in our lives--as do our families. Of course, YMMV.
Hamster
A relatively content ALJ
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