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Post by funkyodar on Feb 7, 2014 8:39:36 GMT -5
I also heard from a judge who knows a judge that just accepted a transfer. he also said he heard in a discussion with some higher ups that hiring this year may be up to 150. He then did say that he has heard 90 to 100 more often and from more sources. I reported this in another thread.....that a high person in the galactic senate said between 100 and 125 by September with several from Medicare too. Given these numbers GAL might not be a big issue in the first cert cause I don't think crapville has 100 plus slots.... I think you may be unpleasantly surprised DLOS. Odar has 10 regions encompassing 189 national offices, regional offices, hearing offices and sattelite offices. I'm gonna bet no more than 10% of those offices fit the "noncrapland" definitions that have been used here (ie, near a coast, large metropolitan area, generally more people wanting in than out). Lets throw in another 10% as "close enough" to those shining cities. That's maybe 38 (rounded up) non crapland cities. Leaving 151 for those of us with no distaste for flyover america. Considering that most positions in paradise cities are filled from transfers, I gotta think the vast majority of openings odar will be filling from the new register will be crapland slots. I suspect gal will be the key to many jobs. There are quite a few that will see their dream die with the old register due to having a very limited gal despite great scores,interviews and references.
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Post by redryder on Feb 7, 2014 9:04:11 GMT -5
In the hire in 2010, multiple slots in the same office and new offices in the upper midwest (Ohio,Michigan,Indiana). Lots of those judges have transferred out to various other places since then. Otherwise, there was seldom more than 1 slot in any given office in the country and most of those were in region 4. For what is it worth, I look for Toledo, Detroit, Mt. Pleasant, Akron/Cleveland, maybe a national hearing center or two to be the hotbeds for hires. While a vacant ALJ office is one of the considerations, management should also be looking at the available staff and the pending workload. As one other poster noted, an office short on staff doesn't need the extra work of a judge. Nor does one with a low workload.
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Post by Dark Lord of the Sith on Feb 7, 2014 10:27:17 GMT -5
I reported this in another thread.....that a high person in the galactic senate said between 100 and 125 by September with several from Medicare too. Given these numbers GAL might not be a big issue in the first cert cause I don't think crapville has 100 plus slots.... I think you may be unpleasantly surprised DLOS. Odar has 10 regions encompassing 189 national offices, regional offices, hearing offices and sattelite offices. I'm gonna bet no more than 10% of those offices fit the "noncrapland" definitions that have been used here (ie, near a coast, large metropolitan area, generally more people wanting in than out). Lets throw in another 10% as "close enough" to those shining cities. That's maybe 38 (rounded up) non crapland cities. Leaving 151 for those of us with no distaste for flyover america. Considering that most positions in paradise cities are filled from transfers, I gotta think the vast majority of openings odar will be filling from the new register will be crapland slots. I suspect gal will be the key to many jobs. There are quite a few that will see their dream die with the old register due to having a very limited gal despite great scores,interviews and references. Thanks for the reality check Funky... Good for me though that Mrs. Dark Lord would love to move to some parts of crapland i.e. Akron/Cleveland,Detroit, Mt. Pleasant, etc...(just no KY IN MS) I grew up in a military family...and chewed dirt in places worse than Tatooine and planets on the outer rim....I learned to play the game and play it well....get the job...get the career appointment....and request a transfer if it become too unbearable...thought not guaranteed at least it is still an option....don't know for how long....but it is an option.
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Post by hopefalj on Feb 7, 2014 11:26:53 GMT -5
In the hire in 2010, multiple slots in the same office and new offices in the upper midwest (Ohio,Michigan,Indiana). Lots of those judges have transferred out to various other places since then. Otherwise, there was seldom more than 1 slot in any given office in the country and most of those were in region 4. For what is it worth, I look for Toledo, Detroit, Mt. Pleasant, Akron/Cleveland, maybe a national hearing center or two to be the hotbeds for hires. While a vacant ALJ office is one of the considerations, management should also be looking at the available staff and the pending workload. As one other poster noted, an office short on staff doesn't need the extra work of a judge. Nor does one with a low workload. How often does an ALJ get an initial assignment to a NHC?
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Post by southeastalj on Feb 7, 2014 13:15:36 GMT -5
In the hire in 2010, multiple slots in the same office and new offices in the upper midwest (Ohio,Michigan,Indiana). Lots of those judges have transferred out to various other places since then. Otherwise, there was seldom more than 1 slot in any given office in the country and most of those were in region 4. For what is it worth, I look for Toledo, Detroit, Mt. Pleasant, Akron/Cleveland, maybe a national hearing center or two to be the hotbeds for hires. While a vacant ALJ office is one of the considerations, management should also be looking at the available staff and the pending workload. As one other poster noted, an office short on staff doesn't need the extra work of a judge. Nor does one with a low workload. How often does an ALJ get an initial assignment to a NHC? It's been fairly common since the St Louis NHC opened. Its quite large (built for 18 judges) and hasn't been a popular with sitting ALJ's to go to or stay. I don't think any of the other NHC's have gotten new hire with the possible exception of Falls Church right after it expanded its size.
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Post by southeastalj on Feb 7, 2014 13:28:14 GMT -5
And just as an aside, new hires who are selected for an NHC get an additional one or two weeks of management training in Falls Church after the main 4 week training all new hires go through
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Post by deltajudge on Feb 7, 2014 15:54:22 GMT -5
8-)I guess from the posts, crapland is what is often referred to as the "rustbelt." Region IV and VI have many jewels in the rough, and if you are not too old or young and full of adventure and a new life, go there. From what I gather from the posts, the whole process, selection, transfers, whatever, is mass confusion.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2014 19:26:16 GMT -5
8-)I guess from the posts, crapland is what is often referred to as the "rustbelt." Region IV and VI have many jewels in the rough, and if you are not too old or young and full of adventure and a new life, go there. From what I gather from the posts, the whole process, selection, transfers, whatever, is mass confusion. Crapland has taken a beating here lately in some the comments. As a 10 pointer, I have over 90 locations on my GAL and none are in California, Florida, or major cities anywhere. Tupelo, MS, Memphis, TN, West Virginia, Kentucky and anywhere else that is considered “crapland” by some works wonders for me. I hate the cold, but Boise, ID or Billings, MT will be great for me if I am offer a position. I spent 20 years in the Army as an enlisted man and I was not crazy about Africa during the Rwanda Relief Effort, Saudi Arabia/ Kuwait/ Iraq during the Gulf War, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, England, or Haiti….so if I get Cow Dung Kansas, I will love every minute of it as it is in the United States of America and that’s good enough for me.
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Post by alj on Feb 9, 2014 18:42:20 GMT -5
While a vacant ALJ office is one of the considerations, management should also be looking at the available staff and the pending workload. As one other poster noted, an office short on staff doesn't need the extra work of a judge. Nor does one with a low workload. You would think that is the way it works, but it's not. OCALJ determines which offices get new judges. This determination is made without consideration of the staffing in a particular office. Region makes the determination as to staffing. The major factor OCALJ looks at is office availability. Now, granted, there are hearing offices that have vacant judges' offices, and have had them vacant for years. This usually means the hearing office was overbuilt from its inception, and those spaces may never be filled. Nor is pending workload a major factor. I believe most, or even all, of the hearing offices have video capability. If the workload in a given area slows, then the office will do more video hearings. Or, as in our situation, we are current on our local cases, so we help out several other hearing offices with their backlog of cases. When a judge's office becomes available in our hearing office, it will be filled even though we have no backlog with our local cases. We do more video hearings than we do in person hearings. So, there is always a need for judges wherever they can be fitted in.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2014 9:27:48 GMT -5
8-)I guess from the posts, crapland is what is often referred to as the "rustbelt." Region IV and VI have many jewels in the rough, and if you are not too old or young and full of adventure and a new life, go there. From what I gather from the posts, the whole process, selection, transfers, whatever, is mass confusion. Crapland has taken a beating here lately in some the comments. As a 10 pointer, I have over 90 locations on my GAL and none are in California, Florida, or major cities anywhere. Tupelo, MS, Memphis, TN, West Virginia, Kentucky and anywhere else that is considered “crapland” by some works wonders for me. I hate the cold, but Boise, ID or Billings, MT will be great for me if I am offer a position. I spent 20 years in the Army as an enlisted man and I was not crazy about Africa during the Rwanda Relief Effort, Saudi Arabia/ Kuwait/ Iraq during the Gulf War, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, England, or Haiti….so if I get Cow Dung Kansas, I will love every minute of it as it is in the United States of America and that’s good enough for me. I said more than a few times that ALJ candidates should learn to love samll-town America. (1) I think if you're willing to relocate to the deep South, among other places, you improve your chances of nabbing a slot. (2) An ALJ can live like a king in small rural town. ( I bet my class-mate Jersymom could second that one.) I remain mystified as to what some love some much about the big city and the Eastern and Western coasts. High property values, overcrowding, long commutes? What do they have there that would make you want to put up with that? I dunno...Opera? Otherwise, our small town theatre shows exactly the same movies, carries the same junk in the Mall, has the same chain resturant, and probably has an identical Wal-mart. Good luck Tigerlaw, you're gonna love being an ALJ in flyover-land!
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Post by bartleby on Feb 10, 2014 11:21:04 GMT -5
I found Toledo to be a delightful clean town. Many businesses had closed due to the auto industry diminishing, but many Mom and Pop places stayed open. There was a good size population of artist and having been the Glass City at one time, there was a lot of glass interest and classes in blowing glass offered. Many, many good local restaurants where the special of the day would be ham and scalloped potatoes just like Mom made. Great air port an hour away (Detroit). All of the people were hard working with friendly personalities. They put Southern hospitality to shame. Our office was beautiful and the support staff was excellent. The reps were almost all good as they were in front of you so frequently. Cost of living was as good as anywhere. The deal killer for me was the 17 semi-truck loads of "stuff" that I would have had to do something with and the cold. One thing I would recommend, if you happen to be a hoarder or have lived in the same place 20 or so years, you may want to start discarding excess stuff now. When the offer comes it is too late. I am very glad I had my Toledo experience. May I wish the same for you.
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Post by jonmom on Feb 10, 2014 12:13:26 GMT -5
Went back to the thread on Transfer list that had the new Union agreement on how transfers will be made. With Dragonfly reporting having received "Reassignment Register Inquiry" emails, it looks like they are following this. aljdiscussion.proboards.com/thread/2344/transfer-list-question?page=2Quick reassignment timeline: 5 Days to respond to inquiry; 3 Days to accept or decline offer reassignment; 45 Days to report after accepting. Looks like it moves quickly. :-) ARTICLE 20 REASSIGNMENTS AND HARDSHIPS Section 3 G. Prior to making any offers to Judges on the reassignment register for an office with at least one (1) vacancy, the Employer shall send an e-mail to the office e-mail of all judges on the register for that office in advance of any anticipated reassignments to that office. This e-mail will not be an offer of reassignment, but shall inquire of each Judge as to whether he or she would be willing to accept a transfer to that office, should the Employer make such a reassignment offer within the next ninety (90) calendar days. The e-mail shall state that all Judges must respond within five (5) working days of receipt of the e-mail. If a Judge does not respond within five (5) working days of receipt of this inquiry, the lack of reply shall be deemed to be a waiver of reassignment. However, this would not change the ranking of a Judge on the reassignment register for that office. After the five (5) business day response period, the Employer will commence making offers for reassignment from the affirmed list in accordance with Section 3(F), above. If a Judge responds to the e-mail inquiry stating that he or she would accept such a reassignment if offered and then subsequently declines an offer when it is made, the Judge will be removed from the register for that location for a period of one (1) year. H. If, upon consideration, the Employer does not offer a reassignment to the Judge who is first on the affirmed list in accordance with Section 3.F., above, for a hearing office with a permanent opening, the Employer will provide its reason(s) in writing for the non-selection to the Judge not selected. The Parties agree that the following reasons may justify the non-selection of an otherwise eligible Judge: factors set forth in cases dealing with the employment relationship. Although not inclusive, examples of cases containing agreed upon factors are set forth in Appendix A. I. Upon notification that he or she has been selected for a requested reassignment, a Judge will accept or decline within three (3) working days of the notification. If a Judge declines an offer of reassignment three (3) times, regardless of location, his or her name will be removed from the register for all locations for a period of at least two (2) years. J. If a Judge accepts a reassignment his or her name shall be removed from the register for other offices and he or she must report to the new office within forty-five (45) days of acceptance or as otherwise mutually agreed by the Parties. A Judge who accepts a reassignment shall continue to hear and decide cases that have been scheduled for him or her in the hearing office he or she is leaving and will coordinate his or her travel plans with the gaining hearing office to facilitate the scheduling of hearings to be held upon reporting for duty at the new location. K. A Judge may have his or her name removed from any voluntary reassignment register by sending a written request to the Office of the Chief Administrative Law Judge’s specified e-mail box with copies to the proposed gaining and losing Regional Chief ALJ(s) and the AALJ President or designee. In the actual e-mail the OCALJ's office is sending out, this is what it says: ------- According to our records, you have requested reassignment to the XXXX hearing office. Pursuant to Article 20, section 3 (G) of the IFPTE contract, this email is to inquire as to whether you would accept an offer of transfer to that office. Please note this is not an offer for you to transfer. We will make transfer offers pursuant to other provisions in the article. You must respond within five working days of receipt of this email, indicating your intention to accept or decline. If you do not respond within five days, the lack of a reply will be deemed a waiver of reassignment. However, this will not change your standing on the list for the office. Similarly, a negative response will not affect your status. While the Collective Bargaining Agreement does not require a response, we kindly ask you to provide a response by email as soon as possible. If you respond that you are willing to accept an offer of reassignment and subsequently decline a reassignment offer, you will be removed from the reassignment register for that office for one year. If you have any questions please contact ODAR.OCALJ.ALJ.Requests@ssa.gov. Office of the Chief Administrative Law Judge ------- Looking closely, they do not include the wording "if offered within 90 days." So does this mean the Ageny does not need to make the offer within 90 days after all? I also found it interesting that the OCALJ's email says "a negative response will not affect your status" [on the list for the office]. However, if you say "no" to the inquiry, you will not be called with an offer to transfer, right?
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Post by mcb on Feb 10, 2014 14:10:36 GMT -5
I found Toledo to be a delightful clean town. Many businesses had closed due to the auto industry diminishing, but many Mom and Pop places stayed open. There was a good size population of artist and having been the Glass City at one time, there was a lot of glass interest and classes in blowing glass offered. Many, many good local restaurants where the special of the day would be ham and scalloped potatoes just like Mom made. Great air port an hour away (Detroit). All of the people were hard working with friendly personalities. They put Southern hospitality to shame. Our office was beautiful and the support staff was excellent. The reps were almost all good as they were in front of you so frequently. Cost of living was as good as anywhere. ... I am very glad I had my Toledo experience. May I wish the same for you. My first assignment was also Toledo. I second the Scrivener's words.
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Post by 71stretch on Feb 10, 2014 14:14:09 GMT -5
mcb- I remembered your past comments about Toledo when I read bartleby's post. Good to know.
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Post by Dark Lord of the Sith on Feb 10, 2014 16:05:37 GMT -5
I like small town America; some of my favorite places are small towns: Malibu, Dana Point, Hillsborough, Woodside, Kaanapali, the list goes on . . . . I too like small town America: some of my favorites are Beverly Hills; Martha's Vineyard; Lake Oswego; Lake Success, NY; Del Mar, CA; Chevy Chase Village, MD; Medina, WA; Altos Hill, CA; and Jupiter Island, FL.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Feb 10, 2014 16:53:55 GMT -5
I remain mystified as to what some love some much about the big city and the Eastern and Western coasts. High property values, overcrowding, long commutes? What do they have there that would make you want to put up with that? . . . our small town . . . has the same chain resturant, and probably has an identical Wal-mart. I can breathe in deep and not breathe in .... farm animal methane..... This had me rolling...you would NOT like where I live! LOL!
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Post by privateatty on Feb 10, 2014 16:59:28 GMT -5
I remain mystified as to what some love some much about the big city and the Eastern and Western coasts. High property values, overcrowding, long commutes? What do they have there that would make you want to put up with that? . . . our small town . . . has the same chain resturant, and probably has an identical Wal-mart. I definitely get the "live like a King in cheap America" argument; it's a strong one. But here is where you may be mistaken on a couple facts. Where I live (not sure I could stay here on ALJ salary), we don't have Wal-Mart and almost no chain restaurants (unless 2 or 3 is a chain). But I don't have to wear a jacket any day of the year; or turn on any AC; or carry an umbrella; or worry about lotion for dry skin or baby powder for humidity. On any day, I can surf, camp, hike, go to the opera, watch a live NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB game, eat at a 5 star restaurant, ride a roller coaster, deep sea fish, sail, jet ski, go to a museum, bla, bla, bla (and ski during winter months). I can breathe in deep and not breathe in smog, pesticides, humidity, farm animal methane. I can look out my window and see rolling hills and ocean and redwood trees and clear, non brown skies. The people walking around are not fat and ugly (well, ugly is debatable). And if you lose your job it is fairly easy to find another one. So that might be worth paying a high cost of living. Methinks the partnership track is for you. Swim like a shark, pucker like a guppy, backslap like a pol.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Feb 10, 2014 17:03:08 GMT -5
I definitely get the "live like a King in cheap America" argument; it's a strong one. But here is where you may be mistaken on a couple facts. Where I live (not sure I could stay here on ALJ salary), we don't have Wal-Mart and almost no chain restaurants (unless 2 or 3 is a chain). But I don't have to wear a jacket any day of the year; or turn on any AC; or carry an umbrella; or worry about lotion for dry skin or baby powder for humidity. On any day, I can surf, camp, hike, go to the opera, watch a live NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB game, eat at a 5 star restaurant, ride a roller coaster, deep sea fish, sail, jet ski, go to a museum, bla, bla, bla (and ski during winter months). I can breathe in deep and not breathe in smog, pesticides, humidity, farm animal methane. I can look out my window and see rolling hills and ocean and redwood trees and clear, non brown skies. The people walking around are not fat and ugly (well, ugly is debatable). And if you lose your job it is fairly easy to find another one. So that might be worth paying a high cost of living. Methinks the partnership track is for you. Swim like a shark, pucker like a guppy, backslap like a pol. And the comment about "fat" people....really? Yikes.
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Post by funkyodar on Feb 10, 2014 17:30:37 GMT -5
Everytime aljfaq has asked for advice, I have consistently told him that a gov gig just doesn't seem right for him based on his comments.
From his reports on his current job ($350k/yr biglaw), to his disdain for ssa work (which makes up over 95% of all alj jobs), to this current description of shangri la where he lives, there is no doubt he will be miserable as an alj.
Sorry bud, but I just can't imagine someone with your expressed desires, likes and needs ever being happy as a govt employee. Even as a judge. You, living where they tell you, dealing with typical govt employees and bureacracy and dealing with the typical claimants? Not in a million years.
I wouldn't presume to tell you what to do, but I am supremely confident you will be miserable if you land a gig and will likely, through no fault of your own, spread that misery to others.
Just being real bro.
Of course, if the tone and tenor of your posts bled through to your interview, the fates may ensure you never have to make the choice.
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Post by lawbird on Feb 10, 2014 19:22:00 GMT -5
Alfaq, I'm concerned about your judicial temperament. Fat people will appear before you. Gay people will appear before you. All manner of minorities will appear before you. Not everybody you deal with in life is going to look just like you, and please your sensibilities. I rarely post, but I just had to agree with sratty and funky, and could not let this pass.
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