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Post by hilltopper on Jul 21, 2014 19:31:09 GMT -5
Okay, so the "OMHA Update" Thread has taken off in a new and interesting direction. I have split it off into a separate thread with a heading designed to pique the interest of current serving ALJs.
Coffee, Gaidan, HAL3000, and others are curious about the differences between serving as an ALJ with ODAR or its precursor SSA/OHA and serving as an ALJ with OMHA.
There's got to be a number of current OMHA ALJs who monitor this board from time to time and a host of ODAR ALJ's who have good friends serving over at OMHA. Can you share your experiences and/or knowledge with the rest of us mere mortals, yet to be inducted into the robed fraternity?
Can you tell us:
1. Do the same transfer rules apply at OMHA as at ODAR?
2. If you go to Cleveland could you be stuck there for a very long time?
3. Can you apply for and possibly get jobs at other agencies?
4. Are current OMHA ALJ's leaving to do lateral transfers?
And a derivative of that question ...
5. Do people begin working at OMHA and then obtain a position with Social Security?
6. Are OMHA ALJs part of the same union as ODAR ALJ's (Those who join)?
7. Do OMHA ALJs feel the same way about their jobs as ODAR ALJs do? Do they like their jobs better? Or not as much?
These questions are courtesy of HAL3000 for whom full attribution is provided ... Good questions H3K!
Current serving ALJ's your pithy and enlightening comments would be greatly appreciated!!
ht
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Post by omhalj on Jul 22, 2014 0:36:36 GMT -5
Okay, hope this helps...
1. It is my understanding that you can have your name placed on a transfer list to one of the three (soon to be four) other offices after 90 days, but it may be a long time before you can transfer. Since there are currently only four offices, there is much less movement between offices. As such, you may spend a few years in an office before being able to transfer. It all depends on where you are and where you want to transfer, as some locations are more desirable than others. As for transferring from OMHA to ODAR, not sure how that works.
2. Quite possibly. See above.
3. Yes, as far as I know, once you are an ALJ with any federal agency you are free to apply to openings (vacancy announcements soliciting sitting ALJs) at other agencies.
4. I only know of one in the past several years. Truth be told, OMHA judges generally like working at OMHA and don't leave. There are many ODAR judges who now work at OMHA and I don't know of any OMHA judges who currently want to leave OMHA to go to another agency. That's not to say there aren't any, just none that I am aware of.
5. I have never heard of any OMHA judge going to ODAR. Again, that's not to say it hasn't happened, I just have never heard of it happening. Conversely, there are many OMHA judges who transferred from ODAR to OMHA.
6. OMHA judges are supervisors and, as such, are not able to join a union. We generally supervise a team consisting of two attorneys, and two legal assistants (or one legal assistant and one paralegal).
7. There are similarities between the work OMHA judges do and the work ODAR judges do. Both agencies are high volume agencies with a backlog. As such, you will hear many of the same complaints with regard to productivity expectations, etc. On the other hand, the great majority of OMHA hearings are telephonic, some are VTC (video), and a very small percentage are in-person. I'd guess the in-person hearings are less than 5%. As for liking their jobs better than ODAR, I think most OMHA judges would tell you they prefer OMHA to ODAR, which is why they are at OMHA. If you prefer to deal with mostly "professional appellants" (representatives for providers, suppliers, etc.) and mostly hold telephonic hearings, then you will likely prefer OMHA to ODAR. On the other hand, I'm sure there are many ODAR judges who really enjoy working for ODAR. However, I will also say that I have heard there are quite a few ODAR ALJs who have contacted OMHA to inquire about transferring to OMHA.
Bottom line: I think the great majority of ALJs who are hired by OMHA will decide to stay at OMHA (geographic considerations aside) once they discover what the job entails. I once heard an ALJ from another agency refer to being hired by OMHA as "winning the ALJ lottery". Of course, everything is always relative and there are those for whom the grass is always greener on the other side. So...while no agency is perfect, in my humble opinion, OMHA really is a great place to work as an ALJ.
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Post by hal3000 on Jul 22, 2014 5:30:17 GMT -5
Thanks-- that was very helpful.
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Post by hal3000 on Jul 22, 2014 6:21:34 GMT -5
Where is the 5th location going to be?
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Post by aqua96 on Jul 22, 2014 6:46:35 GMT -5
Where is the 5th location going to be? Kansas City, opening in August 2014, I believe. The four current offices are Cleveland, Arlington, Miami, and Irvine.
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Post by hilltopper on Jul 22, 2014 6:51:43 GMT -5
Where is the 5th location going to be? Kansas City. [While I debated the merits of providing more info and went through 3 iterations of the above opting eventually for brevity, Aqua96 apparently beat me to the send button] ht
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Post by hal3000 on Jul 22, 2014 7:10:19 GMT -5
I really appreciate it-- thanks again!
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Post by funkyodar on Jul 22, 2014 7:44:49 GMT -5
What I am about to pass on is complete hearsay.
We know the original rumor was the new omha office was gonna be in Denver and it was ultimately announced it was KC.
One of our members that ultimately turned down omha advised me in a pm that they told Judge Moore at omha the limited locales of that agency was the deciding factor. They were reportedly told that there are still plans to open an office in Denver sometime in the not too distant future.
Again, can't vouch for it and someone with omha may be better suited to support or refute that info. But, if true, that could be a sixth office for them a little down the road and be a pretty sweet option.
Just passing along...
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Post by moopigsdad on Jul 22, 2014 8:11:57 GMT -5
Funky is at it fanning the flames of the funky rumor mill about possible rumors. Of course, I can't say much since lately I have fanned a few flames of rumors myself. I just wish we had more concrete evidence rather than rumor or innuendo about things. However, when we are left in the dark about so many things during this process, even the slightest rumor or innuendo gives us the slightest sliver of light and hope for answers.
Now, funky and I are not being DLOTS and passing on what was said to us as Gospel. We are only passing on what was PM'ed to us as a possibility of what might be happening. So, please understand we are just the messengers of others, we are not the actual starter of the rumor or innuendo. We just hope we can be somewhat of a service in supplying some slivers of light and hope throughout this grinding process, but we cannot verify the actual veracity of anything we pass on from others. In my case, I can verify the quality of the Board member giving me the information, but whether the Board member received the information correctly from another source cannot be verified by me or the Board member PMing me about the rumor.
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Post by thelonestranger on Jul 22, 2014 9:13:38 GMT -5
Two OMHA ALJs from Irvine went back to ODAR. One is still there and one just came back. Other OMHA ALJs tried to go to ODAR, but had no experience with them and were not picked up. (This is from several years ago.)
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Post by funkyodar on Jul 22, 2014 10:53:37 GMT -5
What I am about to pass on is complete hearsay. We know the original rumor was the new omha office was gonna be in Denver and it was ultimately announced it was KC. One of our members that ultimately turned down omha advised me in a pm that they told Judge Moore at omha the limited locales of that agency was the deciding factor. They were reportedly told that there are still plans to open an office in Denver sometime in the not too distant future. Again, can't vouch for it and someone with omha may be better suited to support or refute that info. But, if true, that could be a sixth office for them a little down the road and be a pretty sweet option. Just passing along... Since posting the above this morn, a very valued omha insider source confirmed the plan was to open Denver in 2014 and KC in 2015 but problems with the office space in Denver prompted a flip flop. The reported hope is to open Denver in 2015. No guarantees all will work out, of course. In any event, if you are interviewing and considering omha but are hesitant based on the geographical constraints, looks like Denver may be an option in the near future.
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Post by Gaidin on Jul 22, 2014 10:57:07 GMT -5
What I am about to pass on is complete hearsay. We know the original rumor was the new omha office was gonna be in Denver and it was ultimately announced it was KC. One of our members that ultimately turned down omha advised me in a pm that they told Judge Moore at omha the limited locales of that agency was the deciding factor. They were reportedly told that there are still plans to open an office in Denver sometime in the not too distant future. Again, can't vouch for it and someone with omha may be better suited to support or refute that info. But, if true, that could be a sixth office for them a little down the road and be a pretty sweet option. Just passing along... Since posting the above this morn, a very valued omha insider source confirmed the plan was to open Denver in 2014 and KC in 2015 but problems with the office space in Denver prompted a flip flop. The reported hope is to open Denver in 2015. No guarantees all will work out, of course. In any event, if you are interviewing and considering omha but are hesitant based on the geographical constraints, looks like Denver may be an option in the near future. I would take the job in Denver without any questions or complaints about moving expenses. I can promise that I wouldn't ask to transfer out or complain about anything either.
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Post by funkyodar on Jul 22, 2014 11:01:56 GMT -5
And you may get that chance G. Who knows when they might start hiring for that office and where they will be on the reg by then. I would think you would be well ensconced at odar by then, but at the pace odar is going who knows.
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Post by Gaidin on Jul 22, 2014 12:46:56 GMT -5
And you may get that chance G. Who knows when they might start hiring for that office and where they will be on the reg by then. I would think you would be well ensconced at odar by then, but at the pace odar is going who knows. Thanks Funk. I hope you're right.
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