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Post by Serious, J. on Feb 15, 2016 13:40:54 GMT -5
My last name is near the beginning of the alphabet. Score? Who knows. But I've received no email re status change.. Test date was early October. SSN begins with a low number. Geographic location is Midwest.
SOL regarding the ability to see my status could translate into SOL on this round of testing. Could it be that OPM assigned the data entry to various people based on something as random as days of the week or something even more random than that?
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Post by christina on Feb 15, 2016 13:47:51 GMT -5
or our scores?? who knows?? And i mean that maybe i got a 60 and well below an 82 so they have not gotten to mine yet.
hate to say this but lots of differences between us on other ares you noted :/
and it could be random as the person entering our info left at 12 on Friday for a 3.5 day weekend.
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Post by Serious, J. on Feb 15, 2016 14:34:13 GMT -5
This may have already been discussed in this thread or a thread related to the last round of NORs, but since I couldn't find an answer to my question, I'll post it here: Does anyone remember if, in the past, a person who received a "Complete" status did NOT make it onto the register? Not sure. But here's some comfort to others like me who (1) can't access our application manager to see if there has been a status update, and (2) did not get any email about a status change. At least one applicant in the same situation last fall reported receiving the email with the NOR without any problems, was picked up on a cert, and was hired.
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Post by christina on Feb 15, 2016 14:43:54 GMT -5
not to mention i realized one of our fluent in Spanish board members is in see details status. at least i think that is right. Imagine SSA's "delight" if a full blown Spanish speaker does not make the register given SSA's desperate need for fluent in Spanish judges at the moment. i believe the Miami OMHA office has a similar, but not as pressing need so they may not be too keen on such developments either.
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Post by lizdarcy on Feb 15, 2016 14:44:58 GMT -5
I think Funky is probably right. I believe those who got their SSN numbers in East Coast locations were first up for the exams in 2013 because the numbers are lower. I was scheduled for a NY group but took it a few months later because of an accommodatin.
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Post by gary on Feb 15, 2016 14:45:38 GMT -5
I doubt that fluency in Spanish or lack thereof will affect OPM's scoring of a person's WD and/or SI.
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Post by christina on Feb 15, 2016 14:46:26 GMT -5
I doubt that fluency in Spanish or lack thereof will affect OPM's scoring of a person's WD and/or SI. it wont but it may show the process is lacking. Hard to have proper due process in PR if SSA can't even get enough names on the register of people who can handle cases down there . And what our informal surveys show 4 fluent people on this board, or at least in pending status, not too many attorneys out there who can handle that kind of a caseload. of course, if we want to do it truly right, we should look for judges, at least a small handful, in other languages too, i've met some interpreters, they do a great job, but stuff can get lost in translation. Better to have a judge who knows exactly what the claimant is saying.
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Post by gary on Feb 15, 2016 14:48:05 GMT -5
I doubt that fluency in Spanish or lack thereof will affect OPM's scoring of a person's WD and/or SI. it wont but it may show the process is lacking. Hard to have proper due process in PR if SSA can't even get enough names on the register of people who can handle cases down there I don't see how it would do that. I don't think the process is shown to be lacking if people who don't make the grade otherwise are not allowed on the register because they are Spanish-speakers.
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Post by christina on Feb 15, 2016 14:51:52 GMT -5
Since we're in the States, i agree with you Gary, but have you ever seen the level of accuracy used in the UN when interpreting? it is good but not that good at SSA.
Eons ago, i represented a guy from an Eastern European country, i have more to say so bear with me . His brother had to translate for me because i do not speak whatever his language was. The interpreter was someone they knew. Where we lived, there was pretty much no way to get someone to interpret who did not know the family. As the attorney on the case, that was actually a plus this time around cause maybe the interpreter said things that were a little more helpful to his friends.
The judge and i had to hope the interpretation was accurate. i am not implying the interpreter was playing games. however, if he had been, there is NO way the judge would have known nor would have i known.
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Post by gary on Feb 15, 2016 14:56:03 GMT -5
Since we're in the States, i agree with you Gary, but have you ever seen the level of accuracy used in the UN when interpreting? it is good but not that good at SSA It sounds like SSA has a problem getting enough Spanish speaking ALJs willing to accept positions in PR, from which it is reportedly very hard to transfer. However, I think diluting the requirements for ALJs because of that problem would create other problems that should not be created.
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Post by christina on Feb 15, 2016 14:58:02 GMT -5
i agree. why should someone who can handle PR take your spot in minnesota cause they had a score of 30.. for example
but with all respect to you, if they are not a blithering idiot and i doubt anyone who has made it this far is, they may be a better choice for PR than you. or we have to pay a lot more for our interpreters and get ones like at the UN.
See my notes above. i used an example of another language(and a real one at that) as to where problems can arise.
i have been in hearings where judges happened to speak the language of the witnesses. Some were pretty coy about and then nailed anyone who was lying cause they could tell right away.
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Post by gary on Feb 15, 2016 15:04:35 GMT -5
Do you know if they've made any effort to identify Spanish-fluent ALJs in non-PR offices to have them pick up some of the slack by doing video hearings?
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Post by christina on Feb 15, 2016 15:08:36 GMT -5
Do you know if they've made any effort to identify Spanish-fluent ALJs in non-PR offices to have them pick up some of the slack by doing video hearings? yeah, papajduge made some comments on that awhile back
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Post by malshalj on Feb 15, 2016 15:10:05 GMT -5
Ooh. I'm fluent in Spanish. Add me to the informal survey. Nice to know there are at least 4 others.
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Post by christina on Feb 15, 2016 15:10:53 GMT -5
From what i have heard, there is a huge need in PR. some of our fraud cases, at least those we are investigating for fraud, in fact, there are A LOT of such cases. i need to limit my wording that there are "concerning" cases in PR and it's a mess as some have stated. i think this has been in the news. i have not paid too much attention to all the details since im not involved in it at all.
But from what i have heard, including what was noted on this board, but also from shall i say my work talks, SSA is doing everything they can to get ANYONE fluent in Spanish to help out. Transfer there, paid travel there, video hearings, anything. and given that there may be concerning cases, there is something be said to have judges who can fully speak the language to do this.
I've also heard on here that OMHA would like more Spanish speaking judges. presumably for Miami but im not sure it's only Miami. although was there not also a discussion on here that there is a separate register for different languages, at least for Spanish. is that accurate?
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Post by gary on Feb 15, 2016 15:20:23 GMT -5
From what i have heard, there is a huge need in PR. some of our fraud cases, at least those we are investigating for fraud, in fact, there are A LOT of such cases. i need to limit my wording that there are "concerning" cases in PR and it's a mess as some have stated. i think this has been in the news. i have not paid too much attention to all the details since im not involved in it at all. But from what i have heard, including what was noted on this board, but also from shall i say my work talks, SSA is doing everything they can to get ANYONE fluent in Spanish to help out. Transfer there, paid travel there, video hearings, anything. and given that there may be concerning cases, there is something be said to have judges who can fully speak the language to do this. Though it has obvious deficiencies, SSA may be forced into using translators for some cases.
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Post by christina on Feb 15, 2016 15:31:23 GMT -5
We have interpreters. that is not the issue. But at UN and maybe at other agencies, it is a very very skilled interpreter. Almost like an excellent court reporter is what we need at any recorded legal proceeding if it is done right. if you follow me, the interpreter needs to be as skilled at interpreting as a court reporter is as taking down a legal proceeding.
Even someone who is fluent in another language may not be that great at going back and forth between the 2 languages and making a verbatim interpretation. there are folks who can do it, it's a special skill set and such folks are paid quite nicely to do this.
A judge does not need to be at the interpreter level to hold the hearing in another language but if a judge is not fluent, honestly, the interpreter should be one of those incredibly good ones, who can do a verbatim translation, and not just someone who speaks both languages fluently.
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Post by christina on Feb 15, 2016 15:44:36 GMT -5
i should add as has probably become obvious, English is not my only language. unfortunately, i do not happen to be fluent in Spanish so no point in me looking up flights to San Juan!! i do know important words such as tequila and bano at least!!!
However, since i speak other languages, i have seen and heard some hearings when stuff was lost in the translation. At a point when i was particularly NOT enjoying law school, i considered studying interpreting and as a young attorney, i did some freelance translating while building up a law practice. so sorry to go on a tangent here although some was in response to Gary and questions and concerns he raised. But this happens to be a non law topic i know more about than the average person.
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Post by HappyDaze on Feb 15, 2016 23:55:19 GMT -5
Ooh. I'm fluent in Spanish. Add me to the informal survey. Nice to know there are at least 4 others. Me too! In addition to all of SoCal, Miami and PR are on my GAL. I don't think being a Spanish speaker is the "be all", but it can't hurt. I am one of two Spanish speaking people at my current job and we rely heavily on court interpreters - even if we speak Spanish we have to use the interpreters. Although I understand that in PR the hearing themselves are all done in Spanish. I was curious about the comment Gary made about it being difficult to transfer out of PR. Is it PR specifically, or is it difficult to transfer in general?
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Post by christina on Feb 16, 2016 0:09:56 GMT -5
Ooh. I'm fluent in Spanish. Add me to the informal survey. Nice to know there are at least 4 others. Me too! In addition to all of SoCal, Miami and PR are on my GAL. I don't think being a Spanish speaker is the "be all", but it can't hurt. I am one of two Spanish speaking people at my current job and we rely heavily on court interpreters - even if we speak Spanish we have to use the interpreters. Although I understand that in PR the hearing themselves are all done in Spanish. I was curious about the comment Gary made about it being difficult to transfer out of PR. Is it PR specifically, or is it difficult to transfer in general? not sure, i have heard all sorts of things about PR and don't know what is fact and fiction. i heard there was only one ALJ but i think there are more. Based on the CBA, a person would have to be able to eventually get out of there if they request a transfer to a city easy to transfer to. it is possible the agency asks/begs people to stay there longer due to need for Spanish speakers. Overall, transferring is based on the union contract, which i think boils down to date a person requested a transfer, where they requested a transfer to, and how many people requested a transfer to the same city before them. plus is there an opening where they want to go? on paper, a new judge has to stay at their hiring office for at least 15 months(this is very new change), once a person transfers, they cannot request another transfer for 2 years, and i think you can only request up to 5 offices to transfer to at one time. and by on paper i mean you can't expect to be at your first office 15 months and one day, and assume a transfer door will open. there has to be an opening where you want to go. the rumors about atty/paralegal offices being available to judges before too long may make it easier to transfer. But at this point, the NTEU attorneys(which covers most but not all the ODAR attorneys) are not required to office share yet. We will be, most likely sooner, rather than later, if we telework a lot, but my long winded point is the hoped for extra judge offices are not available yet. and now that we have video hearings, not sure how that will impact transfers. needless to say, it is quicker to get to places with no to a a couple of people on the transfer list than a place with 2O transfer requests before you. i think i am right or at least close on these provisions but a sitting judge would know this info better than me so hopefully one will chime in.
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