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Post by prescient on Aug 27, 2015 12:47:03 GMT -5
no, used to be a 2 year transfer. current system seems to work better, having seem both in play. gives people a shot to at least get back closer to home in less than 2 years. and i believe once a person transfers, they cannot retransfer for 2 years anyway. odar could look at encouraging people to stay in the above offices longer perhaps. ie, a person gets conditional offer. you get city x... but you have to willing to stay there 12 months, or maybe 18 or 24 months. i doubt it would get past union but given some of the turnovers, it could be looked at. The current system is not exactly working better for the claimant, who can't have a hearing b/c just as soon as a judge is able to hold hearings, he/she leaves. It's also a huge drain of manpower on the hearing office. There's only 1 HOSA in most offices, and getting the new judge up and running for reasons I can't explain, usurps the HOSA for an inordinate amount of time, backlogging anyone else in the office who may have an IT issue. Not to mention, the time donated by the rest of the office staff helping the new ALJ "learn the ropes". All of which is repeated Groundhog day style. The minimum time to transfer after initial hire should be much longer IMO
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Post by gary on Aug 27, 2015 12:50:10 GMT -5
on a different but still related topic, i suspect Funky and tiger have scared everyone away from Tupelo heck, Funky even scared tiger away and that takes some doing. on the plus side, i heard ole miss has the best tailgaiting in the country. how far away is ole miss from Tupelo funky? and i saw the movie Fargo, too much snow and bizarre murders for my taste!!! Funky also cleared out Middlesboro, which obviously has yet to recover.
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Post by ibnlurkin on Aug 27, 2015 12:58:35 GMT -5
I went to an experimental school, obviously. I deny that it was "special." I have to admit... your growing on me...
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Post by daisyjane on Aug 27, 2015 13:29:46 GMT -5
It's in situations like this where I would like to see ODAR develop a career ladder for Attorneys to be able to progress to Senior Attorney and then on to an AJ position (GS 14 & 15) similar to other Agency's like the EEOC.
Having been a Senior Attorney for years, I realize I appear biased for thinking this would be a good idea. However, I am experienced and could hit the ground running as an AJ and start putting a dent in the backlog. I have been through the ALJ process more than once, to DC, etc., and frankly, I am tired of waiting and not optimistic. My trouble primarily stems from overcoming the OPM hurdles of obtaining an ALJ position, and the emphasis they have always placed on litigation experience. I have been with ODAR since law school graduation.
I cannot tell you how many years I have personally helped new ALJ hires, as well as old timer's who never bothered to learn, understand SSA laws and regulations, how to apply them, and literally help carry them to meet their goals and mine. This is especially true with some of the old timer ALJ's of not so long ago. After all this time, I am very frustrated by the crazy hiring process to become an ALJ, and I would very seriously consider relocating to some of the cities on this list for an AJ position.
For years, I had the unique opportunity of having watched many of my colleagues unsuccessfully go through the ALJ hiring process more than once pre and post the Azdell litigation.
I also believe ODAR would greatly benefit from this in the long run. AJ's are not paid nearly as well as ALJ's, so money would be saved, and while the Agency's need for ALJ's would presumably lessen and be limited to more complex cases and circumstances, there would still be some need, but not necessarily to be placed in every hearing office.
Well, that is my biased two cents worth.
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Post by christina on Aug 27, 2015 14:26:13 GMT -5
So what's the word on harlingen other than it's new and out of the way. I know where it is. Looks pretty darn nice on Google images.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2015 14:37:37 GMT -5
At some point, video hearings may be a required and not be an option. This would save money. I could hold hearings from my ODAR office and make sure the claimants in these cities don't wait any longer for finality.
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Post by hopefalj on Aug 27, 2015 15:04:33 GMT -5
on a different but still related topic, i suspect Funky and tiger have scared everyone away from Tupelo heck, Funky even scared tiger away and that takes some doing. on the plus side, i heard ole miss has the best tailgaiting in the country. how far away is ole miss from Tupelo funky? and i saw the movie Fargo, too much snow and bizarre murders for my taste!!! Funky also cleared out Middlesboro, which obviously has yet to recover. I'm starting to wonder if he wasn't a writer in the Augusta office a few years back...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2015 15:32:16 GMT -5
on a different but still related topic, i suspect Funky and tiger have scared everyone away from Tupelo heck, Funky even scared tiger away and that takes some doing. on the plus side, i heard ole miss has the best tailgaiting in the country. how far away is ole miss from Tupelo funky? and i saw the movie Fargo, too much snow and bizarre murders for my taste!!! Funky also cleared out Middlesboro, which obviously has yet to recover. Clearly there is a pattern here!
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Post by christina on Aug 27, 2015 15:38:20 GMT -5
Hey funky are you willing to relocate briefly to my # 1 office choice?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2015 16:02:27 GMT -5
no, used to be a 2 year transfer. current system seems to work better, having seem both in play. gives people a shot to at least get back closer to home in less than 2 years. and i believe once a person transfers, they cannot retransfer for 2 years anyway. i doubt it would get past union but given some of the turnovers, it could be looked at. The current system is not exactly working better for the claimant, who can't have a hearing b/c just as soon as a judge is able to hold hearings, he/she leaves. It's also a huge drain of manpower on the hearing office. There's only 1 HOSA in most offices, and getting the new judge up and running for reasons I can't explain, usurps the HOSA for an inordinate amount of time, backlogging anyone else in the office who may have an IT issue. Not to mention, the time donated by the rest of the office staff helping the new ALJ "learn the ropes". All of which is repeated Groundhog day style. The minimum time to transfer after initial hire should be much longer IMO christian: I agree, the union fought for that change, and it has worked to the benefit of a huge number of new ALJs and I believe it's DOA, as far as the union or membership is concerned. It is a two year lock-in at the new duty station, absent a temp hardship situation that did not exist at the time of the transfer. prescient: Unless the office has scheduled hearings (already scheduled, not the ALJ's calendar) six months out, it has very little effect overall in my opinion. When I was offered my transfer on April 1st and I accepted immediately, I was scheduled 4 months out to almost the end of July. I did all of my scheduled hearings through June of my old office's calendar and immediately starting doing Region 8 hearings the first week of July. You don't get a "new" break-in period at the new office, so the same amount of hearing are being held, just in different offices and other Regions, more or less. As far as HOSA, a brand new outsider-ALJ might take a while to set up, but transferring from Region 4 to 8 wasn't a big deal, never the less, it is what it is. All of this will slow down once the Agency gets all the ALJ hiring done. Transfers will be harder to come by unless there is a mass exodus of older ALJs. IMHO tiger
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Post by christina on Aug 27, 2015 16:11:30 GMT -5
piping in again on transfers, i agree it could and likely is hassle for hosa. however, i tend to agree with tiger on rest of issues. Also, with a much wider availability of video hearings, i don't see a claimant's hearing be that delayed with ALJ transfers.
i would be willing to concede it has caused hassles for some offices, such as those listed by funky above but that is only a handful of offices. and it has worked out reasonably well for many other offices and certainly for the judges. Bad breaks for claimants in those areas? yeah, i'd be willing to look at that but that swings back to point that claimant may be able to ask for video hearing and then transfers in and out of the northern Michigan office for example would be irrelevant to the hypothetical claimant's hearing date.
also, even though an alj can transfer after 90 days, most transfers are not that quick so the office alj is transferring out of would usually be able to keep the alj longer than 90 days.
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Post by keepsake on Aug 27, 2015 16:25:43 GMT -5
Apologies if this has been brought up before - I used the search function but nothing hit - I thought this language from an SSA Document commenting on the FY16 Budget was appropriate for this thread in terms of "Interesting Times":
Addresses Increasing Wait Times for a Disability Appeal Decision. The Budget calls for hiring of additional Administrative Law Judges (ALJ). SSA’s workloads continue to increase as the baby boom generation enters its most disability-prone years. SSA was able to reduce the wait time down to a ten year low in 2011 and 2012, but due to years of funding constraints, the wait time has again begun to grow and is anticipated to rise to 470 days in 2015. Currently there are over one million people waiting for a disability appeals hearing decision from an ALJ. The Budget commits increased resources to hire more ALJs. But resources alone will not be enough. The process for hiring ALJs has not operated as efficiently as needed to fill vacancies even when funding is available. Therefore, the Administration is creating a workgroup led by the Administrative Conference of the United States and the Office of Personnel Management, along with SSA, the Department of Justice and the Office of Management and Budget to review the process of hiring ALJs and recommend ways to eliminate roadblocks, which may include proposing administrative reforms or legislative changes.
Of particular note for me was that last bit about the Administration creating a workgroup led by ACUS, OPM, SSA, DOJ and OMB to "review the process of hiring ALJs and recommend ways to eliminate roadblocks, which may included proposing administrative reforms or legislative changes." Anyone have any info on this? Talk about potential changes . . . . Again sorry if this has been brought up before.
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Post by saaao on Aug 27, 2015 16:38:09 GMT -5
Apologies if this has been brought up before - I used the search function but nothing hit - I thought this language from an SSA Document commenting on the FY16 Budget was appropriate for this thread in terms of "Interesting Times": Addresses Increasing Wait Times for a Disability Appeal Decision. The Budget calls for hiring of additional Administrative Law Judges (ALJ). SSA’s workloads continue to increase as the baby boom generation enters its most disability-prone years. SSA was able to reduce the wait time down to a ten year low in 2011 and 2012, but due to years of funding constraints, the wait time has again begun to grow and is anticipated to rise to 470 days in 2015. Currently there are over one million people waiting for a disability appeals hearing decision from an ALJ. The Budget commits increased resources to hire more ALJs. But resources alone will not be enough. The process for hiring ALJs has not operated as efficiently as needed to fill vacancies even when funding is available. Therefore, the Administration is creating a workgroup led by the Administrative Conference of the United States and the Office of Personnel Management, along with SSA, the Department of Justice and the Office of Management and Budget to review the process of hiring ALJs and recommend ways to eliminate roadblocks, which may include proposing administrative reforms or legislative changes. Of particular note for me was that list bit about the Administration creating a workgroup led by ACUS, OPM, SSA, DOJ and OMB to "review the process of hiring ALJs and recommend ways to eliminate roadblocks, which may included proposing administrative reforms or legislative changes." Anyone have any info on this? Talk about potential changes . . . . Again sorry if this has been brought up before. I hadn't heard of this before now, but it is certainly not surprising. Given the number of stakeholders mentioned, it will probably take a full year just to get the workgroup stood up, and I it will probably be an eternity before they can come to a consensus on what changes they want to propose.
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Post by klinger77 on Aug 27, 2015 17:11:30 GMT -5
Hello all. I'm 59 years old, a highly experienced litigator (state and federal), and my score was well over 70. I lived in Tupelo for 13 years and it's on my GAL. I'm also a non-veteran outsider. I've been on the current registry since the beginning. Am I not qualified for an ALJ slot in Tupelo???
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Post by keepsake on Aug 27, 2015 17:31:07 GMT -5
Sorry you've no been picked up yet. Good luck - there are many waiting to be picked up all over I'd imagine and the SSA selection process is a mystery separate and apart from one being deemed qualified by OPM to be an ALJ.
And - not to make light of such waiting in any way - I tend to think of it in terms of football terms for some reason. While you might be an eligible receiver on a given play, that in no way guarantees the ball is coming your way; but if it does, you can catch it (hopefully for a TD)!
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Post by owl on Aug 27, 2015 18:02:15 GMT -5
So what's the word on harlingen other than it's new and out of the way. I know where it is. Looks pretty darn nice on Google images. I have nothing against the Valley - I lived in Texas for many years and if it were just me in the equation I would be more than ok with returning to warm weather year round, no state income tax, and the Tex-Mex food that I miss so darn much. (Maybe from a work standpoint you'd have to do more hearings with an interpreter there than in other places, which may not be everybody's cup of tea, but that's probably the case in Miami, too, for instance, and there's no shortage of people willing to transfer there.)
But I do have a family that I would be leaving behind if posted outside my home area and would need to do a lot of weekend commuting - maybe for 6 months, a year, two years, who knows. Southwest does fly in and out of Harlingen but there isn't a lot of volume or competition on the route between there and my home city, so the airfares are pretty high.
I'm pretty sure every city on the "relo" list has its charms and positives, nice people, etc. - I hope to visit them all in due time! But some just don't work as well as others if you think you will need to be a weekend road warrior.
For me, being located within about 5-6 driving hours of my home city, or within 100 miles of an airport that is serviced by multiple airlines that compete on the route to my home city (and hopefully including low-cost carriers like Southwest, Spirit, etc.), would be a must. Quite a lot of cities fit that bill actually but a few do not.
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Post by beenlurking on Aug 27, 2015 18:05:03 GMT -5
Hello all. I'm 59 years old, a highly experienced litigator (state and federal), and my score was well over 70. I lived in Tupelo for 13 years and it's on my GAL. I'm also a non-veteran outsider. I've been on the current registry since the beginning. Am I not qualified for an ALJ slot in Tupelo??? klinger77, maybe you're on deck.
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Post by ba on Aug 27, 2015 18:13:10 GMT -5
Hello all. I'm 59 years old, a highly experienced litigator (state and federal), and my score was well over 70. I lived in Tupelo for 13 years and it's on my GAL. I'm also a non-veteran outsider. I've been on the current registry since the beginning. Am I not qualified for an ALJ slot in Tupelo??? It is possible that you are on deck, but that they don't have two other people who have Tupelo to get their minimum of three to select from. In other words, it may not be you. It may be them. I know that sounds like breakup advice, but just putting it out there.
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Post by sealaw90 on Aug 27, 2015 18:22:15 GMT -5
Hello all. I'm 59 years old, a highly experienced litigator (state and federal), and my score was well over 70. I lived in Tupelo for 13 years and it's on my GAL. I'm also a non-veteran outsider. I've been on the current registry since the beginning. Am I not qualified for an ALJ slot in Tupelo??? Klinger. You didn't state whether you have made the cert for Tupelo, or how many times you did. You certainly sound qualified, and assuming you have made a cert and interviewed and all your references have checked out, I agree that you would be a great fit for Tupelo. But I have to ask, with a name like Klinger, don't you want to go to Toledo??
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Post by zepplin on Aug 27, 2015 18:27:39 GMT -5
Hello all. I'm 59 years old, a highly experienced litigator (state and federal), and my score was well over 70. I lived in Tupelo for 13 years and it's on my GAL. I'm also a non-veteran outsider. I've been on the current registry since the beginning. Am I not qualified for an ALJ slot in Tupelo??? It is possible that you are on deck, but that they don't have two other people who have Tupelo to get their minimum of three to select from. In other words, it may not be you. It may be them. I know that sounds like breakup advice, but just putting it out there. Pretty sure they have three for Tupelo.
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