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Post by hopefalj on Jun 30, 2014 7:08:58 GMT -5
You didn't upset anyone! It's all good. No worries. When I started at ODAR I was happily shocked about the ability to earn OT when offered. Several years ago we could earn up to 18 hours a week if desired but we have not had authorization for that much in recent years. Still it is a nice treat when available. Not upset at all. To reassure the outsiders reading this that SSA is a good steward of your tax money, OT does need to be pre-approved for both exempt and non-exempt employees at SSA to avoid a situation where employees retroactively claim OT for hours when they are "suffered or permitted" to work without prior authorization. In the offices where I have worked, OT has been a great incentive to get writers to work down the backlog. I remember working a few weeks of 18 hours of OT - it was like being back in private practice. True, but it was also entirely voluntary and for extra pay, which was quite a bit different than my experience in private practice.
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Post by mamaru on Jun 30, 2014 7:21:24 GMT -5
Not upset at all. To reassure the outsiders reading this that SSA is a good steward of your tax money, OT does need to be pre-approved for both exempt and non-exempt employees at SSA to avoid a situation where employees retroactively claim OT for hours when they are "suffered or permitted" to work without prior authorization. In the offices where I have worked, OT has been a great incentive to get writers to work down the backlog. I remember working a few weeks of 18 hours of OT - it was like being back in private practice. True, but it was also entirely voluntary and for extra pay, which was quite a bit different than my experience in private practice. You're right - it's kind of like comparing apples and oranges. As for the extra pay, when I was working those 18 hours of OT at SSA I was earning the equivalent of what I had earned in private practice for about the same number of hours, but I clearly had the option to say "no" without getting fired. There are lots of good things about being a SSA attorney. I am very happy in my current job. Although I will be disappointed if I don't get an ALJ offer, the status quo is sweet.
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Post by Ace Midnight on Jun 30, 2014 8:21:19 GMT -5
Just in case people are too busy with their lives to look at the calendar - tomorrow is July 1st.
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Post by moopigsdad on Jun 30, 2014 9:02:41 GMT -5
Ace you are correct and the day after tomorrow is July 2nd. LOL! I know what you are saying, but trying to have a little fun, too.
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jmgjr
Full Member
Posts: 57
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Post by jmgjr on Jun 30, 2014 10:27:38 GMT -5
Ace, I hear you. I have been counting the days until July 1.
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Post by anotherfed on Jun 30, 2014 17:47:34 GMT -5
Just in case people are too busy with their lives to look at the calendar - tomorrow is July 1st. Really? I thought this year it would be different ... Anxious much, Ace?
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Post by Ace Midnight on Jul 1, 2014 7:21:37 GMT -5
Ace, I hear you. I have been counting the days until July 1. ....and here it is. Welcome to July, folks the month it might just happen...
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Post by funkyodar on Jul 1, 2014 7:27:16 GMT -5
Ace, I hear you. I have been counting the days until July 1. ....and here it is. Welcome to July, folks the month it might just happen... Yep. 16 months of applying for the same job. We finally reach a month where for some it will end. For better or worse. For others, more waiting for a second or later cert. For still others its more waiting for appeal decisions and hoping for an opportunity to wait some more. What a long and winding road. Good luck everybody.
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Post by Ace Midnight on Jul 1, 2014 8:50:52 GMT -5
Just like that Beatles song...
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Post by moopigsdad on Jul 1, 2014 9:34:05 GMT -5
At least you have had a shot ace at the final hurdle, because as funky stated in another thread, there are many still waiting for the opportunity of being on a cert and performing an ODAR interview. I do wish you and the others well for the existing cert, but I hope the rest of us get an opportunity soon, too.
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Post by hopefalj on Jul 1, 2014 9:48:36 GMT -5
At least you have had a shot ace at the final hurdle, because as funky stated in another thread, there are many still waiting for the opportunity of being on a cert and performing an ODAR interview. I do wish you and the others well for the existing cert, but I hope the rest of us get an opportunity soon, too. And of course, there are people in worse spots than those on the register but not the first cert, like the folks frustratingly waiting for the past 15 months just to have someone look at their experience and properly credit their 20+ years of litigation rather than dinging them for not meeting the experience requirement in the eyes of some GS-6 employee. And their reward? Trying to navigate the minefield that is phase II and phase III and possibly trying to appeal adverse results at that level.
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Post by Ace Midnight on Jul 1, 2014 10:07:39 GMT -5
At least you have had a shot ace at the final hurdle, because as funky stated in another thread, there are many still waiting for the opportunity of being on a cert and performing an ODAR interview. I do wish you and the others well for the existing cert, but I hope the rest of us get an opportunity soon, too. There is no question that I feel very fortunate to be in this position right now. That could change, depending on the selection - I could end up being just as "not hired" as those not on the register. However, I really see this as a culmination of almost 5 full years of work now - since I saw the 2009 announcement while I was still in Iraq. The fact that I'm here, on the cusp of this decision (yes or no), has taken on an almost dreamlike quality. I'm not sure I can fully express it in words.
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Post by moopigsdad on Jul 1, 2014 10:14:56 GMT -5
I understand your viewpoint ace and this is why I wish you good luck in the selection process. I think a lot of us on the Register as well as others (as hopefalj points out who were cut during the process) are in the same boat and hoping to end the culmination of a dream with an ALJ position. However, I realize that a lot of us will end up disappointed in the end either by never making a cert or by never receiving the call for a position. Hence, while the overall odds are against all of us, we all have the same dream ace. Good lucky my friend with having your dream fulfilled.
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Post by zepplin on Jul 1, 2014 11:14:47 GMT -5
Is there anyone else whose credit report has not been checked? Seems like a bad sign to me, but who knows?
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Post by hopefalj on Jul 1, 2014 11:22:00 GMT -5
Is there anyone else whose credit report has not been checked? Seems like a bad sign to me, but who knows? Aren't you a recent insider? Perhaps you've been deemed okay on that basis? Or maybe you're a highly recommend and such an automatic hire that they told them not to bother with it?
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Post by zepplin on Jul 1, 2014 11:26:24 GMT -5
Thanks for the hope, but I don't think I am highly recommended. Not an insider, either. I am a private attorney.
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Post by moopigsdad on Jul 1, 2014 11:32:00 GMT -5
Thanks for the hope, but I don't think I am highly recommended. Not an insider, either. I am a private attorney. It may mean they just have not checked it yet and may do so later. Is your credit history a problem? If not, don't worry as some people aren't fully vetted until actually hired according to past reports on this Board. All you can do is wait and see. Good luck zepplin. I absolutely love the avatar photo. Of course, I am partial to photos of all kinds of dogs.
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Post by Ace Midnight on Jul 1, 2014 12:50:43 GMT -5
Is there anyone else whose credit report has not been checked? Seems like a bad sign to me, but who knows? Aren't you a recent insider? Perhaps you've been deemed okay on that basis? Or maybe you're a highly recommend and such an automatic hire that they told them not to bother with it? FWIW - I don't know what the definition of a "recent" insider is - but I'm about 50 months in - and my credit was checked. I also had my military TS/SCI renewed a couple of years ago, so I'm definitely outside of a reinvestigation window. As long as the standard isn't higher than that, I should have smooth sailing...
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Post by hopefalj on Jul 1, 2014 13:06:19 GMT -5
Aren't you a recent insider? Perhaps you've been deemed okay on that basis? Or maybe you're a highly recommend and such an automatic hire that they told them not to bother with it? FWIW - I don't know what the definition of a "recent" insider is - but I'm about 50 months in - and my credit was checked. I also had my military TS/SCI renewed a couple of years ago, so I'm definitely outside of a reinvestigation window. As long as the standard isn't higher than that, I should have smooth sailing... You are an insider. I unfortunately had zeppelin confused with another poster who had recently left the agency in the previous couple of years. But thanks for the info on how things have played out for you so far as you did answer the question of whether insiders are being thoroughly (or semi-thoroughly) vetted.
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Post by Ace Midnight on Jul 1, 2014 13:08:31 GMT -5
This will now be my 3rd background investigation in 4 years.
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