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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2015 22:25:09 GMT -5
Please do not delete this post. I am saddened by the fact that my last thread was "locked." I posted an honest sentiment that goes to the heart of becoming an ALJ for SSA- specifically, do we have independent decision-making authority? The censorship on this forum has deeply concerned me. I am a practicing attorney with a strong resume- experience in many areas of litigation, past work as a top producing ODAR decision writer, and also as an executive decision maker at the state level for two terms- appointed by the Governor of the State of Ohio to oversee Ohio's nursing homes and revocation of nursing home administrator licenses.
Nevertheless, I feel that I have been shut out from this process. I will not apply for an ALJ post in the future, so less competition for others in line. In then end, the censorship of this forum, with emphasis on the continual postings of a few "in charge", has deeply concerned me.
I hope that the forum administrators will not delete this post. Rather, let the response ensue, under the First Amendment. If my sentiments are consistently rejected, so be it. But please, for the sake of true government, let me write and publish these sentiments as they do have great value- if only to a minority.
Otherwise, why are any of us lawyers?
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Post by JudgeRatty on Feb 27, 2015 22:30:56 GMT -5
You freely admit you will not apply for an ALJ position. This is not the forum for your post. This site is for the ALJ application process and not for reps who take issue with the disability process. Period.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2015 22:35:25 GMT -5
This forum is for those seriously considering applying for the job. You are taking too much authority here, and it distresses me.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2015 22:36:56 GMT -5
Again, I ask the forum administrators to keep this thread alive It addresses some very important issues about the forum at large. The minority needs to freely speak.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Feb 27, 2015 22:44:04 GMT -5
I have zero authority. The administrators will do as they will. But clearly your agenda is self serving and not in the interest of ALJ hiring. Good luck to you. No ill will here. I have no vested interest. I just call it like I see it. Wrong forum for your issues. That's all.  |
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Post by gary on Feb 27, 2015 23:00:05 GMT -5
"First Amendment?"
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Post by thankful1 on Feb 27, 2015 23:14:06 GMT -5
Scary. Can a thread be deleated rather than just locked? If so, I would vote to delete. |
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Post by JudgeRatty on Feb 27, 2015 23:46:12 GMT -5
Yeah me too. But it may also be instructive to leave it. Ugh. The administrators will know what to do.
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Post by 71stretch on Feb 28, 2015 4:42:05 GMT -5
All internet forum sites have, and are allowed to have, their own rules. The First Amendment doesn't apply. Your concern was addressed before the thread was locked. As far as I'm concerned, there are no "issues about the forum at large" for those of us who understand and accept its scope.
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Post by mikeinthehills on Feb 28, 2015 6:13:56 GMT -5
Hannah, as several have noted, your topic is outside the scope of this forum. Robg created a separate forum to address SSA/ALJ topics beyond what is permitted here for those people interested in addressing those topics. That forum is here:
grownupconversation.freeforums.net/
Many members of this forum are also members of that forum. Your topic will be welcome there I'm sure, and to the extent people are interested in discussing it, it will be addressed.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 9:05:16 GMT -5
Thank you to mikeinthehills for at least acknowledging that my comments have value but may be better addressed in another forum. That said, I maintain that the ongoing decline in ALJ grant rates is a very relevant issue to this forum. It is quite understandable that an individual considering the job as a future career option think long and hard about this trend and if it will have an impact on their future job performance and satisfaction.
As I will not be applying for the position at a future date (and I joined this forum with the intention of applying at the next refresh, so I do in fact "belong" here), I will no longer be participating in discussions. It's important that qualified prospective candidates have the opportunity to join and participate in this forum without being made to feel unwelcome as being outsiders to the "real" members (those who have already applied).
Finally, a word to Stratty. You called me "self-serving." That is no small thing. I work hard and care deeply about my clients and about the state of the system at large. You have been rude to me in the past, on this board. At times, your comments are condescending. While I will not receive any "likes" for this post, as, understandably, people on this forum do not want to jeopardize their job prospects, there will be some silent cheering in the background when my honest response to you is published.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 9:13:24 GMT -5
I saw this thread and its prior locked out thread. The gist concerns approval rates of ALJs. Having now been on both sides of the fence I can say that any reference herein to an ALJ denial/approval rate percentage, by the agency itself or by private disability boards, is pure and utter nonsense and waste of bytes.
Basic middle school math is why.
A percentage by definition means a multiplication/division "of something". Saying an ALJ has a 45% approval rate has absolutely no meaning. None, zilch, nada. You must have a reference base. The ALJ has a 45% approval rate...of what? Nobody ever completes that mathematical progression.
Here is where the difference lies.
As a private practioner, I would carefully screen all incoming cases. I would not accept no merit, dead on arrival, nonfeasible, and frivolous cases. Thus my reference base contained only winnable claims. When representing same I could proclaim I had a high award rate (lets just for fun, say) of 80% of my prescreened winnable claims. However, if I was forced to accept any and every claim that walk through the door, then my reference base contains all claims. My award rate woud certainly drop down by at least half, probably to 40% of every claim that walked through the door. However, I could still mathematically claim an award rate of 80% if I used the prescreened reference base.
Now as an ALJ, I have no right or opportunity to prescreen cases. Any and every claim (dead on arrival, nonfeasible, completely frivolous) must be adjudicated. My ALJ award rate is thus based on a percentage of every claim that walks through the door. Lets say there are 100 cases coming in the ALJ door. If 45 of those claims (not uncommon) immediately have no merit, then automatically my denial rate is a minimum of 45%. Of the remaining cases with merit (55) I award 44 (80%) and deny 11, then, my ALJ approval rate is actually 80% of the claims with merit. Yet for reporting purposes where ALL cases are the reference base, my reported approval rate will be much much lower; i.e., I deny 56% and award only 44% of ALL claims. This reported 56% "denial rate" is thus a false statistic when reported as my ALJ denial rate. My actual denial rate for claims with merit is actually only 20%. But that will never be reported.
See the difference? The reference base (that nobody ever mentions) is the key to any percentage approval rate. Whenever anyone (government agency or private party) starts quoting award/denial percentages numbers for ALJ one must always ask "percentage of what reference base?" for an accurate rating. Otherwise that person is simply spouting nonsense.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 9:20:01 GMT -5
I do see the difference. However, even with all of these factors involved, at the end of the day, an ALJ who has a 24% grant rate (however skewed that final figure may be) and an ALJ with a 60% grant rate (also skewed) render very different decisions. Also, the denial rate has steadily increased in recent years, per NOSSCR reports.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 9:22:32 GMT -5
aaauuuggh... you missed the point entirely. A percentage "of what"? You must present a reference base to have mathematical sense, simple quotes of random percentages alone are completely and utterly meaningless.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 9:33:29 GMT -5
I didn't miss the point. Year after year, all judges are faced with the same waves of claimants; some with merit, some without. When you shake down the numbers, they reflect some kind of pattern that indicates the way that an ALJ leans in his or her decision making.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 9:35:36 GMT -5
I must also give up on this thread. Sorry but I fail to follow its purpose or logic. Moving on.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 9:42:26 GMT -5
Reasonable minds can differ. And so, I will also give up this thread and all future threads. I wish everyone on this forum well.
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Post by Missundaztood on Feb 28, 2015 9:44:22 GMT -5
I didn't miss the point. Year after year, all judges are faced with the same waves of claimants; some with merit, some without. When you shake down the numbers, they reflect some kind of pattern that indicates the way that an ALJ leans in his or her decision making. Huh. And here I thought one would look at a judge's actual decisions and see if they are legally supported by the application of the facts of the individual case to the law. Silly me! |
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Post by 71stretch on Feb 28, 2015 9:46:14 GMT -5
Hannah, you don't seem to understand that you don't get to decide what issues are relevant to this forum. You've already gotten the message by the locking of the other thread. Your stubbornness is a useful quality elsewhere, perhaps, but not in this context.
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Post by Missundaztood on Feb 28, 2015 9:51:11 GMT -5
Reasonable minds can differ. And so, I will also give up this thread and all future threads. I wish everyone on this forum well. They shouldn't about straight up rules of the board. Like not attacking another member. |
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