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Post by JudgeRatty on Dec 30, 2014 11:33:22 GMT -5
There were five interview panels last time and four interviews times a day. It seems that would equal up to 20 interview a day times 3 days or a total of 60 interviews maximum this time. Hence, there will likely be 60 or less interviews this time, so if there are new certs it won't be many new candidates added as at least 20 of 60 were people who didn't get to interview last time. Look for a fast turnaround post-interview for offers to come out, if some don't come out even prior to that time. I think the only way offers can come out prior to completion of this round of interviews is if there is no overlap between the people who are being interviewed this round with the city getting an offer prior to completion of interviews. OR, the city with an early offer has a person who clearly has a higher score and those up for interviews would not be reachable. I can see that too. I still think they will wait until completion of all these next interviews to see who they have before making hiring choices for this next hiring class. That way they can decide which cities to fill first. They may see a need to hire one city before another to reach a candidate they want to reach.
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Post by hondo35 on Dec 30, 2014 12:07:34 GMT -5
Okay, so I have absolutely no knowledge or skills at poll-making, but can someeone throw together a quick poll to see which cities are on the GAL for those being interviewed this round? Gaidin, maybe, please?
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Post by Gaidin on Dec 30, 2014 12:27:15 GMT -5
Okay, so I have absolutely no knowledge or skills at poll-making, but can someeone throw together a quick poll to see which cities are on the GAL for those being interviewed this round? Gaidin, maybe, please? The problem here is that I have intel that at least some of the people being interviewed have a GAL that includes cities not on the most recent set of certs. That means that really what we would need is a poll with all ODAR offices on it. That is really 3 polls since you can't put more than 50 responses on a poll. It also requires that you make the polls where multiple responses are possible and could quickly lead to FFV. In this instance I believe the danger of FFV causing trauma to someone's psyche (namely my own) to outweigh the usefulness of the poll. What I would ask is that if a high scorer with a wide open GAL will send me or someone else a list of their ranking sheet if/when a new one comes out. Then I can make a poll with some legs to stand on.
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Post by hondo35 on Dec 30, 2014 12:31:13 GMT -5
Ugh! Should have waited for this thoughtful response before I tried to make my own stupid poll. Well, I put one up, but if you think I should close it or delete it, let me know.
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Post by hondo35 on Dec 30, 2014 13:08:12 GMT -5
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Post by almostheaven on Dec 30, 2014 21:38:12 GMT -5
I give you a thumbs up for learning how to create a poll, although I think it will take time to reach the skill set of Gaidin, the current Master of the Polls. ?
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Post by hilltopper on Dec 31, 2014 0:45:54 GMT -5
Okay, so I have absolutely no knowledge or skills at poll-making, but can someone throw together a quick poll to see which cities are on the GAL for those being interviewed this round? Gaidin, maybe, please? The problem here is that I have intel that at least some of the people being interviewed have a GAL that includes cities not on the most recent set of certs. That means that really what we would need is a poll with all ODAR offices on it. That is really 3 polls since you can't put more than 50 responses on a poll. It also requires that you make the polls where multiple responses are possible and could quickly lead to FFV. In this instance I believe the danger of FFV causing trauma to someone's psyche (namely my own) to outweigh the usefulness of the poll. What I would ask is that if a high scorer with a wide open GAL will send me or someone else a list of their ranking sheet if/when a new one comes out. Then I can make a poll with some legs to stand on. I called Bob earlier today on another issue. When we were done, I asked him about the timing and likelihood of the next certs coming out. Bob's response was that OPM's new cert method was making it tougher to put together larger classes. So, we can expect a number of smaller overlapping certs with all of the training classes being smaller sized. Bob was pretty certain they would be able to hire 250 new ALJ's this year. None of this is news, I know. But what it does tell me is that where we have been used to getting large certs with a large number of new interviews -- so we could put together good polls with lots of cities -- what we should expect to see is small certs of 25-30 cities with anticipated hires of 40-45 per class happening about every 6 weeks or so. I also suspect the training cadre will be spending a lot of time in FC and at the Residence Inn at Pentagon City over the next 8-10 months. The transfer system is going to get awful messy with a lot of emails going out. I hope the union can keep track of it. Bottom line ... I'm not certain this thread title is entirely accurate. I suspect we could see 5-6 small certs (and as many training classes) before the end of the FY. Just remember. Don't panic. Keep breathing. ht
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Post by sealaw90 on Dec 31, 2014 9:42:29 GMT -5
Good intel HT - perhaps we should go with a "February '15 FC class", a "March '15 FC class", a "May '15 FC class", etc. as a way to group folks/cities/polls/etc.
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Post by hilltopper on Dec 31, 2014 14:15:02 GMT -5
Good intel HT - perhaps we should go with a "February '15 FC class", a "March '15 FC class", a "May '15 FC class", etc. as a way to group folks/cities/polls/etc. I like your suggestion. And If I were ALJD or Pixie, I'd adopt it. By the way, after being on the board since 9/6/2007 (one week after it went live), I am finally about to hit "Legend" Status. To bad the system will convert my status automatically ... KittyLaw would probably argue ... rightly so ... that I am more an Elder and less a Legend. And if he doesn't, believe me, Mrs. Topper will remind me. HillTopper
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Post by Gaidin on Dec 31, 2014 20:24:13 GMT -5
HT you are most definitely a legend.
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Post by gary on Dec 31, 2014 20:31:02 GMT -5
Come on ht--one more post'll do it.
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Post by anotherfed on Jan 1, 2015 0:16:17 GMT -5
HT, you rock!
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Post by Pixie on Jan 1, 2015 8:33:12 GMT -5
Good intel HT - perhaps we should go with a "February '15 FC class", a "March '15 FC class", a "May '15 FC class", etc. as a way to group folks/cities/polls/etc. The problem I see with that approach is when the phone calls start coming in for the interviews, which is usually the first indication that a new class is forming, we don't know the start date of the class. We just know, as in this instance, the third class from the new register is forming* (Second Round of the Second Certificates). Of course after the offers go out, or after the start date is known, then the ones selected for that class could group themselves accordingly. Pix. ____________ *I believe it is the third class, but I could have missed one.
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Post by gary on Jan 1, 2015 11:52:22 GMT -5
Good intel HT - perhaps we should go with a "February '15 FC class", a "March '15 FC class", a "May '15 FC class", etc. as a way to group folks/cities/polls/etc. The problem I see with that approach is when the phone calls start coming in for the interviews, which is usually the first indication that a new class is forming, we don't know the start date of the class. We just know, as in this instance, the third class from the new register is forming* (Second Round of the Second Certificates). Of course after the offers go out, or after the start date is known, then the ones selected for that class could group themselves accordingly. Pix. ____________ *I believe it is the third class, but I could have missed one. 1. SSA hired two classes from its first round of certs and interviews; one started in August 2014 and the other started in September 2014 (I'm using the dates the new ALJs reported to their offices to designate the classes rather than the start of their FC training). 2. SSA just hired a third class starting 26 Jan 2015. 3. So my count has it that the next class hired will be the fourth class from this register. 4. I agree about the timing of our learning of the new class(es) starting date(s). We had unusually early knowledge of the 26 Jan 2015 date only because we heard from a handful of first certers who were hired for that class in September or October (I forget which) 2014.
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Post by Pixie on Jan 1, 2015 12:46:50 GMT -5
Gary, thank you. Yes, it is the fourth class forming. Pix.
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Post by funkyodar on Jan 6, 2015 8:19:05 GMT -5
As additional confirmation of the numbers we have heard, please note the following passage from Judge Bice's message in the most recent "From the Bench":
"We are aggressively hiring judges in order to increase our adjudicative capacity. We hired 71 judges in FY 2014 and have just completed offers to 47 judges who will report the end of January. Our plans are to hire 250 judges this fiscal year. We are also front-loading staff in anticipation of these ALJ hires. I want to be up-front with you--we will continue to centralize our writing resources in NCACs and RCACs so that we can provide writing assistance wherever it is needed. Thanks to our senior attorneys who are providing mentoring and reviewing so that these new writers can produce quality decisional drafts as soon as possible. However, we have provided staffing ceilings to the regions so that hiring of legal assistants can be done in the local hearing offices where they are needed."
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Post by maquereau on Jan 6, 2015 10:19:36 GMT -5
Ahh, more "writing" factories .... yes, I'm familiar with the kind of product they produce.
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Post by moopigsdad on Jan 6, 2015 10:40:48 GMT -5
As additional confirmation of the numbers we have heard, please note the following passage from Judge Bice's message in the most recent "From the Bench": "We are aggressively hiring judges in order to increase our adjudicative capacity. We hired 71 judges in FY 2014 and have just completed offers to 47 judges who will report the end of January. Our plans are to hire 250 judges this fiscal year. We are also front-loading staff in anticipation of these ALJ hires. I want to be up-front with you--we will continue to centralize our writing resources in NCACs and RCACs so that we can provide writing assistance wherever it is needed. Thanks to our senior attorneys who are providing mentoring and reviewing so that these new writers can produce quality decisional drafts as soon as possible. However, we have provided staffing ceilings to the regions so that hiring of legal assistants can be done in the local hearing offices where they are needed." Therefore, there are 203 ALJs yet to be hired this fiscal year if Chief Judge Bice's number of 250 is correct. This would mean approximately hiring four classes of 50 or so ALJs each time.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Jan 6, 2015 10:44:09 GMT -5
As additional confirmation of the numbers we have heard, please note the following passage from Judge Bice's message in the most recent "From the Bench": "We are aggressively hiring judges in order to increase our adjudicative capacity. We hired 71 judges in FY 2014 and have just completed offers to 47 judges who will report the end of January. Our plans are to hire 250 judges this fiscal year. We are also front-loading staff in anticipation of these ALJ hires. I want to be up-front with you--we will continue to centralize our writing resources in NCACs and RCACs so that we can provide writing assistance wherever it is needed. Thanks to our senior attorneys who are providing mentoring and reviewing so that these new writers can produce quality decisional drafts as soon as possible. However, we have provided staffing ceilings to the regions so that hiring of legal assistants can be done in the local hearing offices where they are needed." Therefore, there are 203 ALJs yet to be hired this fiscal year if Chief Judge Bice's number of 250 is correct. This would mean approximately hiring four classes of 50 or so ALJs each time. Agree. 203 more chances! Not enough time to do 5 or more classes before fiscal end if the pattern is every other month for starting: March, May, June, & Sept. Two classrooms of 25 each for each hire. That sounds logical and practical.
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Post by gary on Jan 6, 2015 11:50:39 GMT -5
Therefore, there are 203 ALJs yet to be hired this fiscal year if Chief Judge Bice's number of 250 is correct. This would mean approximately hiring four classes of 50 or so ALJs each time. Agree. 203 more chances! Not enough time to do 5 or more classes before fiscal end if the pattern is every other month for starting: March, May, June, & Sept. Two classrooms of 25 each for each hire. That sounds logical and practical. It all depends. While 4 classes averaging 51 each may be more likely, it is not the only way they could get to 250. Now that they've got the system down and running more smoothly, they could do 5 classes averaging about 41 if they wish by reverting to the practice of hiring two classes starting in consecutive months.
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