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Post by prescient on Dec 2, 2014 12:47:30 GMT -5
I think the most troubling aspect of the rise of the NCACs is the further degradation by management that both the ALJ and writing positions are widget/mechanical jobs, that should be accomplished without any form of communication. Like Hopefalj indicated, not all writers or ALJs are the same. In person communication about particular issues on cases is vastly more efficient than attempting to do so electronically.
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Post by hopefalj on Dec 2, 2014 13:19:03 GMT -5
Fraud? Threatening/harassing fellow employees? Violating federal law by double dipping and collecting your ALJ salary while receiving military pay? While I know the inevitable "But management was complicit!!!!" response is coming, that has very little effect on my feelings towards the judges removed. As an attorney (and hopefully judge one day), what others might let me get away with or even encourage should have no bearing on my ethical standards. Management's blind eye doesn't absolve a judge's improper or illegal conduct.
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Post by moopigsdad on Dec 2, 2014 13:56:26 GMT -5
Bad equals in my opinion what hopefalj just stated above. It means not conforming to basic standards of ethics. It means taking money from representatives to pay cases of non-deserving claimants. It is just wrong, and you know it is wrong when you hear or see it.
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Post by mamaru on Dec 2, 2014 14:40:27 GMT -5
I started at an NCAC and moved to a HO, where I do a lot of work for other offices in my region. The main difference is that the NCAC standard is a draft. The HO standard seems to be a decision that can be signed without significant editing. The NCAC model has changed since I left, allowing email communication between judges and writers and assigning writers to specific offices. To me, the main drawback was working with coworkers who were all as new as I was and supervisors (with a couple of exceptions) who had no writing experience. NCAC East has hired some experienced writers as GS's and has detailed "mentors" working in their own offices to assist the new writers which should help their development. Like it or not, it's the wave of the future.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Dec 2, 2014 15:40:14 GMT -5
I agree with Hopefalj that with telework there is very little in person contact now anyway. I can talk on the phone, email, or send an instant message if I have a question for the ALJ. It is very rare to have an in person visit from any ALJ, so I see the NCAC as being a good way to provide more uniformity across the board. If a claimant in city x has a hearing and their hearing office is months behind in getting the decision written, assistance from the NCAC is the answer. The ability to move cases around electronically to get those cases written in a more timely manner is key. I see the writing units as the way to even the playing field across the nation so claimants do not have to wait forever for a decision in one city, while getting a timely decision in another. Same thing with video hearings... yep, waive of the future!
With all of that said, yes, there are always good writers and bad writers, good and bad ALJs. There are ALJs who are on board and provide adequate writing instructions and those who just do not want to change and do not even remotely meet the minimum. It's all a bell curve and this job is no different. There is always good and bad with everything new, and NCACs will work out the bugs. I have to respectfully disagree with my esteemed friend MPD. I do not think the NCACs will fail. I think they will succeed and thrive. With so many writers in one place, they will have the ability to keep up with best practices and have consistent writer training. Mamaru started when they were just starting the NCACs I bet, and things have improved and will continue to improve.
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Post by mamaru on Dec 2, 2014 15:53:04 GMT -5
Yes, I was in one of the two original units. One closed quickly and the other has been very successful. As I tried to point out, there have been significant improvements that have been incorporated in the opening of the new Baltimore writing center, such as hiring GS's with writing experience and detailing mentors. I agree that it's a great way to balance out the work and get out more timely decisions. In retrospect, I think the NCAC's got a bad rap simply because they had all beginning writers and we all learn from experience. I left not because I didn't like the NCAC, but it was still temporary and I welcomed the security of being in a permanent hearing office.
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Post by moopigsdad on Dec 2, 2014 16:11:52 GMT -5
I agree with Hopefalj that with telework there is very little in person contact now anyway. I can talk on the phone, email, or send an instant message if I have a question for the ALJ. It is very rare to have an in person visit from any ALJ, so I see the NCAC as being a good way to provide more uniformity across the board. If a claimant in city x has a hearing and their hearing office is months behind in getting the decision written, assistance from the NCAC is the answer. The ability to move cases around electronically to get those cases written in a more timely manner is key. I see the writing units as the way to even the playing field across the nation so claimants do not have to wait forever for a decision in one city, while getting a timely decision in another. Same thing with video hearings... yep, waive of the future! With all of that said, yes, there are always good writers and bad writers, good and bad ALJs. There are ALJs who are on board and provide adequate writing instructions and those who just do not want to change and do not even remotely meet the minimum. It's all a bell curve and this job is no different. There is always good and bad with everything new, and NCACs will work out the bugs. I have to respectfully disagree with my esteemed friend MPD. I do not think the NCACs will fail. I think they will succeed and thrive. With so many writers in one place, they will have the ability to keep up with best practices and have consistent writer training. Mamaru started when they were just starting the NCACs I bet, and things have improved and will continue to improve. I love your passion, knowledge and skill sratty and you very well may be right. Only time will tell, but I can tell you based upon some personal observations in state government as well as the business world, that trying to do what SSA is attempting to do here doesn't always have the desired outcome. In a majority of the cases, it becomes a failed experiment and things revert back to past practice. I am willing to wait and see what happens in the long run and see if you or I am right here.
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Post by redryder on Dec 2, 2014 16:17:51 GMT -5
Arguing about whether or not the national centers will succeed is useless. Unless Congress suddenly decides to get very generous with the budget, there is no money to keep operating as we always have. The workplace model is changing. If a writer is at home 3 days per week, why should SSA pay for the square footage for an office? Likewise, if that ALJ is out of the office on flexplace 8 days per month and in a hearing room for 10 days per month,is there really a need for an office for 2 days?
We cannot demand better service or more staff without considering the entire budget picture. If money is going to these needs, where is it to be cut? Someone has determined the cuts will be in the size of the physical footprint of SSA and ODAR.
Another area looked at is travel. Experts are testifying by telephone rather than being paid to travel to the hearing site. Judges are strongly encouraged to do video hearings instead of in person hearings to avoid those travel expenses.
The times they are a-changin'. One of the best qualities a candidate for this job can have is flexibility. If you come with a lot of preconceived notions about how you are going to do this job, you may be in for a rude awakening.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Dec 2, 2014 16:20:08 GMT -5
I have to respectfully disagree with my esteemed friend MPD. I do not think the NCACs will fail. I think they will succeed and thrive. With so many writers in one place, they will have the ability to keep up with best practices and have consistent writer training. I love your passion, knowledge and skill sratty and you very well may be right. Only time will tell, but I can tell you based upon some personal observations in state government as well as the business world, that trying to do what SSA is attempting to do here doesn't always have the desired outcome. In a majority of the cases, it becomes a failed experiment and things revert back to past practice. I am willing to wait and see what happens in the long run and see if you or I am right here. We move cases around to the NCACs now, and have been doing so more and more in our office. I think that since I am already used to dealing with the ALJs by communication means other than in person, it is not as far fetched as it may be for others. I am not sure how other offices are doing things, but ours is already sending cases out for workup and for writing on a consistent basis. I guess this is why I see it as a success.
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Post by moopigsdad on Dec 2, 2014 16:34:18 GMT -5
I love your passion, knowledge and skill sratty and you very well may be right. Only time will tell, but I can tell you based upon some personal observations in state government as well as the business world, that trying to do what SSA is attempting to do here doesn't always have the desired outcome. In a majority of the cases, it becomes a failed experiment and things revert back to past practice. I am willing to wait and see what happens in the long run and see if you or I am right here. We move cases around to the NCACs now, and have been doing so more and more in our office. I think that since I am already used to dealing with the ALJs by communication means other than in person, it is not as far fetched as it may be for others. I am not sure how other offices are doing things, but ours is already sending cases out for workup and for writing on a consistent basis. I guess this is why I see it as a success. Is your office that far behind in finishing written decisions sratty? Why would your office need to send out cases for writing unless there was a shortage of writers in your office, is this the case? Curious as to why your office would need to use a national writing center.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Dec 2, 2014 17:15:58 GMT -5
We move cases around to the NCACs now, and have been doing so more and more in our office. I think that since I am already used to dealing with the ALJs by communication means other than in person, it is not as far fetched as it may be for others. I am not sure how other offices are doing things, but ours is already sending cases out for workup and for writing on a consistent basis. I guess this is why I see it as a success. Is your office that far behind in finishing written decisions sratty? Why would your office need to send out cases for writing unless there was a shortage of writers in your office, is this the case? Curious as to why your office would need to use a national writing center. The whole point in using the NCACs is to share the wealth and get the decisions out faster. Many many offices all across the nation are utilizing the NCACs.... that is the whole point. Were else would they get cases to write? They do not do hearings there. But yes, we are behind in writing. Offices who are able to get their cases written within a month of the hearing are rare. We are about 3 months behind from hearing to decision, excluding any sort of critical status of course. Those are expedited. Also, as attrition takes its toll on writers with retirements etc., they are not replacing them since we have the NCACs to take up the slack. The point is to decrease the footprint of SSA by eventually not having all the rented space we have now. Eventually, I think the goal is to office share and to space share with other parts of the agency so there are not as many leased buildings. This can be accomplished by having NCACs, NHCs, and telework.
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Post by jerseymom on Dec 2, 2014 19:26:27 GMT -5
Ok everyone, let's take a breath and relax. The NCACs and RCACs are national and regional case ASSISTANCE centers.. They are not hearing office replacement centers. Given the budgetary constraints, they are an efficient way to get cases written and pulled. The backlog of unwritten cases is over 35,000. That is a lot of people waiting for a decision. The new NCAC has given the new writers better training and more supervision than in the past. It is much more cost effective to have trainers travel to a center rather than pay for an entire class of writers to travel to a training site. Also, when hearing offices hire writers, these writers may have to wit until enough writers are hired to form a training class. The NCACs hire multiple classes at a time. ALJs and writers will use the phone, email and instant messaging to communicate. Given all those who telework, there aren't many face to face discussions any more. Bart is wrong about judges writing their own decisions and writers not being needed. At least not before I get into work in my flying car! An ALJ position is a lifetime appointment subject to review by the MSPB. Google recent cases where removal was upheld. I don't think you will disagree. An ALJ is a public servant. The Agency is looking for hard working, policy compliant judges. Do the right thing and you won't have any problems. Lastly, ALJ hiring is priority #1. Look for start dates in January, March, May. July, and September. 2015 will bring 250 new ALJs. Good luck to all those waiting for a call.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Dec 2, 2014 19:32:24 GMT -5
Ok everyone, let's take a breath and relax. The NCACs and RCACs are national and regional case ASSISTANCE centers.. They are not hearing office replacement centers. Given the budgetary constraints, they are an efficient way to get cases written and pulled. The backlog of unwritten cases is over 35,000. That is a lot of people waiting for a decision. The new NCAC has given the new writers better training and more supervision than in the past. It is much more cost effective to have trainers travel to a center rather than pay for an entire class of writers to travel to a training site. Also, when hearing offices hire writers, these writers may have to wit until enough writers are hired to form a training class. The NCACs hire multiple classes at a time. ALJs and writers will use the phone, email and instant messaging to communicate. Given all those who telework, there aren't many face to face discussions any more. Bart is wrong about judges writing their own decisions and writers not being needed. At least not before I get into work in my flying car! An ALJ position is a lifetime appointment subject to review by the MSPB. Google recent cases where removal was upheld. I don't think you will disagree. An ALJ is a public servant. The Agency is looking for hard working, policy compliant judges. Do the right thing and you won't have any problems. Lastly, ALJ hiring is priority #1. Look for start dates in January, March, May. July, and September. 2015 will bring 250 new ALJs. Good luck to all those waiting for a call. Many thanks for the post!!!!
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Post by jonsprag1 on Dec 2, 2014 20:11:04 GMT -5
As far as I know, almost ALL of the new writer positions are term so they can test drive the applicants before making them perm. This is a wise move. It is much more difficult to fire a bad writer (or any bad federal employee) than it is to just let the term expire. This is not new and has been typical in the past few years. There are exceptions of course, but most are only term now. But every new federal employee is a probationary employee for a year. They can be terminated for almost any non-discriminatory reason, especially for being a bad writer. Unfortunately, I have seen too few supervisors take advantage of the "fire before day 365" rule and yes, then you are stuck with a crappy employee! So do you think the national writing center is a good idea? Will it really work? I think sssao has some good points. I started my current job as a term, as did most of the others in my unit, and was "promoted" to career conditional, then permanent, after 2 1/2 years---It's a way agencies can deal with unsatisfactory employees---once an employee becomes career conditional, they can only be fired for cause, and then only after progressive discipline if they are in a bargaining unit--you're right, its far easier just to let the term run out
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Post by valiant on Dec 2, 2014 20:27:23 GMT -5
Yes, I was in one of the two original units. One closed quickly and the other has been very successful. As I tried to point out, there have been significant improvements that have been incorporated in the opening of the new Baltimore writing center, such as hiring GS's with writing experience and detailing mentors. I agree that it's a great way to balance out the work and get out more timely decisions. In retrospect, I think the NCAC's got a bad rap simply because they had all beginning writers and we all learn from experience. I left not because I didn't like the NCAC, but it was still temporary and I welcomed the security of being in a permanent hearing office. 150 attorneys, soon to be 230 working in cubicles, stuffed in an old Sam's Club with room for up to 500. Not all the GS's have writing experience...what could possibly go wrong?
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Post by eyre44 on Dec 2, 2014 20:33:27 GMT -5
Ok everyone, let's take a breath and relax. The NCACs and RCACs are national and regional case ASSISTANCE centers.. They are not hearing office replacement centers. Given the budgetary constraints, they are an efficient way to get cases written and pulled. We recently had a meeting with our RCALJ and RMO. We were told there will be absolutely no replacement of writing staff that leaves the hearing office through attrition. No writers were hired in our region in the last year and none will be hired for the foreseeable future. All money freed up by attrition will go to the NCACs and RCACs. So I would argue that the NCACs and RCACs are there to replace the writer's located in hearing offices. It seems clear that current hearing offices will eventually be closed and co-located with other SSA offices, including Field Offices. This won't happen right away, it will take time. But it is the plan. I am not arguing about whether this is good or bad. I worked in a "national writing center" back in the day and I think I was pretty good. I think it's funny that I'm finally old enough to be one of the "been there, done that" employees. The "national writing center" I was in, eventually bit the dust. 40 writer's dispersed to the wind. But now the agency is trying it again. It appears this time though on an even bigger scale.
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Post by jerseymom on Dec 2, 2014 23:18:36 GMT -5
Co-located hearing sites will happen only when it is cost-effective and will serve the public needs. Hiring freezes will thaw eventually. The future may bring more, smaller hearing offices in more locations, including co-located sites. For those applying for an ALJ position, no need to worry about these changes. The biggest concern should be the almost 1,000,000 claimants waiting for a hearing.
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Post by FlaTreeFarm on Dec 3, 2014 12:57:29 GMT -5
Lastly, ALJ hiring is priority #1. Look for start dates in January, March, May. July, and September. 2015 will bring 250 new ALJs. Great info! Thanks! Are these dates an educated guess, or do you have intel?
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Post by moopigsdad on Dec 3, 2014 13:19:17 GMT -5
Lastly, ALJ hiring is priority #1. Look for start dates in January, March, May. July, and September. 2015 will bring 250 new ALJs. Great info! Thanks! Are these dates an educated guess, or do you have intel? Jerseymom has credibility and insider knowledge as far as I am concerned. She has yet to give us bad intel.
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Post by grassgreener on Dec 4, 2014 8:58:21 GMT -5
Hot off the press - or perhaps old news - new ALJ class consist of between 20 - 30 new ALJs with start date on Jan. 25.
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