Post by workdrone on Jun 29, 2013 9:50:56 GMT -5
Please do not lump Drew Swank with Daugherty from WVa. Yes, Judge Swank denied many cases others of us would probably have paid and that he arguably should have paid. But, Judge Swank also wrote many scholarly articles about problems with the SSA system (over several years) and risked considerable wrath in so doing.
Swank does write good scholarly articles, and I agree with a significant number of his reform proposals. This, however, doesn't change the fact that I think he was a subpar ALJ with an agenda to protect the trust fund.
Our cases deal in human misery, and most of our claimants are in dire straits. While quite a few of them don't meet SSA disability standards, we should be cognizant of their situation, treat them with dignity, and give them a fair hearing. If you're telling me the guy who only approves 16% of all cases before him when the Virginia state average is 42% (AND Swank's 16% approval rating includes his significant number of AC and DC remands) doesn't have an agenda, you might as well as pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.
Swank was a disgrace from what I read and heard of him. Go read Loving v. Astrue (2012 EDVA) to see what the District Court thinks of him. Daugherty had an agenda to pay everyone, Swank had an agenda to deny everyone, they are two sides of the same bad coin IMHO.
Chinook, this is where you're wrong. You get put on a Registry and get interview offers from various agencies, then you make the affirmative decision on whether you're willing to go work for an agency if you get an interview request from them. Despite the fact that SSA is the largest ALJ employer, no one is forcing you to go interview with it.
By accepting SSA's interview request, you ARE making an affirmative step to apply for the "SSA ALJ gig." And if you are lucky enough to get an offer from SSA, you are accepting a SSA ALJ position, not with ITC, FERC, Labor, Medicare, etc. While it is true that most people that want to be ALJs travel through SSA, the Agency has no legal or regulatory obligation to be the hiring pool for smaller agencies. SSA hires ALJs for disability adjudication, not to groom them for the smaller DC agencies.
There is plenty of information on this board telling everyone the pros and cons of SSA life. Like the Army, SSA is a large, lumbering bureaucracy with its own set of rules and customs. Absent Congressional action, it's not going to change. It is also clear that most of the ALJ positions are with SSA and stepping from SSA to another agency is far from being a sure thing.
So all I'm saying is for folks without SSA experience who wants to become an ALJ with another agency, do your research ahead of time and read up on what life is like being an SSA ALJ (See Valkyrie's post, 4th down on the page. If you can accept the good with the bad and can envision yourself doing it for the foreseeable future until you might be able to get a transfer to the agency of dream, then proceed ahead.
If voluminous record review, repetitive fact patterns, the inability to sanction lazy reps, and the constant drumbeat for doing at least 500 cases a year make your blood boil, do the world a favor and don't interview with SSA. Because even if you get the job, you'll hate it with a passion and make life miserable for everyone around you. This is not the glamorous litigation judge gig you're looking for.