Ladies and Gentlement....Elvis has left the building!

[Deleted]

Ladies and Gentlemen..... Elvis (Forum Legend) has left the building....and maybe Tiger Law too! (I love Memphis, TN!)

Recently, without any notice or fanfare, we lost a great contributor to this board and a Forum Legend (he didn't die, just deleted his entire profile). He was a classmate of ours (Top of the Register Class) and one of the first 42 selected out of over 6,000 Attorneys that applied for this job in March of 2013. 

Today, FunkyOdar and I received an email from that Forum Legend stating why he no longer wishes to be a member of this board.
This Forum Legend could easily be the inside source of so much intel that Gaiden and Gary have recently shared to the benefit of all future ALJs (he is not, as hilltopper knows, oops!), but now........ Elvis has left the building!

 
Why? In his words….”I grew extremely frustrated by the increasing amount of misinformation being posted on there (THIS BOARD) by non-ALJs as “truth in practice” for new and wannabe ALJs……IMHO it appears the board is slowly but surely being hijacked by anonymous non-ALJs and management in effort to predispose new ALJs and wannabes that their way of work (management) is the only correct way and that new ALJs shall not argue when appointed to the job.”

   
This Forum Legend (Elvis) has repeatedly posted about a wide range of topics from his decades of practice as a Claimant’s Rep and now as a United States Administrative Law Judge and always with insight, wisdom, and a sense of humor only matched by the Great and Powerful FunkyOdar.

 
Listen, I am no FunkyOdar. But I have stayed plugged into this board over the years because I remember the frustration of waiting and not knowing what is going to happen next. If I had any inside information, I would pass it on. If I could give you some idea of how it is on this side of the robe, I would share it, but Ladies and Gentlemen....I'm not a happy camper at this moment.

I agree with Elvis in that there are TOO many "sheep" like pro-management posters trying to convince the next batch of new ALJs how they should bow down to management.

If you knew the "ALJ board name" of Elvis, you would be sad as you have laughed many times at his humorous wisdom and infinite knowledge of the inner workings of an ODAR office as an ALJ, but sadly he is gone!

Edit Note by Pixie: I deleted the last paragraph from this post to keep Tiger from getting in trouble with the board management (me). Pix.

[sxsw]

I am very sorry to hear that we have lost a valued member - please pass along my thanks for the guidance and humor over the last few years!

[Deleted]

Edit Note by Pixie: I deleted the last paragraph from this post to keep Tiger from getting in trouble with the board management (me). Pix.

Again, I don't think that most folks are getting the dissatisfaction that most sitting ALJs are having with the direction of this board.

But, if I'm wrong, Pixie and others just let me know, because I have better things to do and I will just join "Elvis" and others in the deleted land of "who cares" anymore!

Tiger

[Deleted]

And finally, the reason I can post so LATE at night is because I have dozens of credit hours (32) and my union contract gives me the right and discretion to take all credit hours that I have earned in this pay period, hence tomorrow, I'm off work. I didn't ask anybody's permission because I have a union contract that dictates when and where that I can take leave. Yes, I did submit an electronic leave request and I have no clue if it was approved or not, because MY CONTRACT says I have a right to take my credit hours whenever I want to. It is at my discretion.

Now that's how your job actually works as an ALJ, don't know about the "fantasy land" that others talk about on this board.

[happy]

It is sad that someone feels that way. I don't know if the "sheep" to which he refers are, in fact, non-ALJs unless they have self-identified as such.

I am, myself, generally pro-management, though I have been an ALJ since 2008. That is not to say that I don't think some things are ridiculous, including the emails sent by my Regional Office if a case in ALPO hits 31 days, alerting me to the "seriously delinquent" case that I have 15 days to rectify or they might suspend my telework. I truly dislike the centralization of the writing, because it makes my job at least twice as difficult, if not more. Actually, rather than say I am pro-management, perhaps I should say that I try to generate as few waves as possible, meet my goals the best I can, and not make anyone else's life harder than it needs to be.

However, as former management, I can tell you that they face their own challenges and pressures and we all have our jobs to do. From my perspective, we are paid to review, develop, hear, and decide cases. We are not paid to sit in the break room having coffee for an hour upon arrival at work, read the paper for 30 minutes, check our stocks, pay our bills online, take a 90-minute lunch, and sit and chit-chat with our colleagues for a half hour here and a half hour there. I've worked in six different hearing offices in my 18-year career with ODAR. I've seen all those things be a problem -- not just an "every now and then" kind of thing, but a sense of entitlement from judges that they have "arrived" and now they are somehow royalty without accountability.

A little more listening and understanding on both sides, and a little less ego and turf-protection, might result in a more effective ODAR all around. There's no need to delete one's profile, though. If you are burned out on the Board, just don't log on for awhile. Or be more judicious as to the threads you choose to read -- you can often tell by the subject whether it is likely to be a series of rants.

[woody]

In the past, whenever I tried to post the reality, the flames would shoot and the accusations fly. I understand that the newbies and the wannabies are excited and don't want to hear 'bout it, I too thought I had won the lottery when I got this job. 15 years later, not so much. And looks like we have a newbie coming to my office, so.....PLEASE read your contract. And then read it again. And then listen to what you are being told in training with a grain of salt. Plus side of the job- great leave advantages including credit hours with the union negotiating even a better deal for us now. Telework two days a week. Pay in the account every two weeks. No billable hours or overhead. And I'm done. You will not be treated like a judge and you need to fight like mad to preserve every protection we are afforded under the APA. We are moving into what they are calling a 'distributed work environment.' You have no say in this and management does not care to hear what you think. This means that every clerical person in the office will have their hands on your cases. In my office, the distribution is random so you have no idea who is doing what or when. Management is not keeping track of who is doing what, so if something is done poorly they cannot correct the employee. Therefore, the quality of the clerical assistance is in the toilet and nobody is being held accountable. All of the efficiencies I have developed over the years that helped I disagreeigned staff take care of work on their own are out the window. I am being bothered every day with anonymous questions that were previously addressed by my standing orders. In the past week I have had 3 cases moved to the status where I could decide them (ALPO) while dozens sit ready to be acted on, but nobody is acting. I have asked, requested, begged, pleaded with every level of management in my office for nearly a year now to no avail. The regional chief has assured us that this is a great idea. And the drumbeat continues from on high requesting more and more production. And let me WARN you- management's solution will be for the judge to do more- they want us to input data, move cases around, write your own decisions etc., etc. In the past I have been asked to carry around equipment to remote locations because they didn't buy enough. I beg you, remember in training your job is to hear and decide cases. Period. Welcome to the rabbit hole.

[Deleted]

Jan 22, 2016 8:55:52 GMT -5 happy said:

 
 "We are not paid to sit in the break room having coffee for an hour upon arrival at work, read the paper for 30 minutes, check our stocks, pay our bills online, take a 90-minute lunch, and sit and chit-chat with our colleagues for a half hour here and a half hour there. I've worked in six different hearing offices in my 18-year career with ODAR. I've seen all those things be a problem -- not just an "every now and then" kind of thing, but a sense of entitlement from judges that they have "arrived" and now they are somehow royalty without accountability."

Good God almighty, Happy, I would be pro-management too if I ever saw the above activities going on in an office on a regular basis!

I have only been here since 2014 and it has been hard for me to get 5 minutes with another ALJ to discuss a problem case that I am having, let alone to BS about the weekend, stocks or a 90 minute lunch.   Please PM me your location (sounds like the South or Memphis) and I will put it on my transfer list next year!!!

Tiger

[woody]

I swear, I will stop after this. I sound cranky because I am. I will have to account for why only a few cases were decided this week but nobody will take responsibility for the fact that the staff is not moving the cases.

On the issue of 'turf protection,' the problem is that once you take on the duty assignment of any other employee (who is till getting paid to do the job) it will become yours forever, but you will never be given any credit for doing it nor will you be relieved of the responsibility for deciding whatever arbitrary number of cases management says you must decide. So sure, I could do the clerical work for the staff, I could also answer the phones....is this and ego issue? I don't think so.

[Deleted]

Jan 22, 2016 8:55:52 GMT -5 happy said:

If you are burned out on the Board, just don't log on for awhile. Or be more judicious as to the threads you choose to read -- you can often tell by the subject whether it is likely to be a series of rants.

Happy you are right about the above, but Elvis wasn't like you, you seem to only posted every now and then (I say that from your total number of posts), he was in the hundreds if not thousands of posts....but you have great advice as to just back off a while. 

But, I likewise can see Elvis' viewpoint, we are too busy as ALJs to waste time fighting with pro-management insiders, most that are not even ALJs, telling other outsiders how the "real world" of being an ALJ! 

Heck, I haven't ever seen ALJs doing what you described in your post and I have been in two Regions and two offices since 2014.

Again, PM me with your location, it will go on my top 5 cities to transfer to as the workload "must" be different than the rest of the ODAR world. 

Tiger

[Deleted]

Jan 22, 2016 9:03:36 GMT -5 woody said:

In the past, whenever I tried to post the reality, the flames would shoot and the accusations fly. I understand that the newbies and the wannabies are excited and don't want to hear 'bout it, I too thought I had won the lottery when I got this job. 15 years later, not so much. And looks like we have a newbie coming to my office, so.....PLEASE read your contract. And then read it again. And then listen to what you are being told in training with a grain of salt. Plus side of the job- great leave advantages including credit hours with the union negotiating even a better deal for us now. Telework two days a week. Pay in the account every two weeks. No billable hours or overhead. And I'm done. You will not be treated like a judge and you need to fight like mad to preserve every protection we are afforded under the APA. We are moving into what they are calling a 'distributed work environment.' You have no say in this and management does not care to hear what you think. This means that every clerical person in the office will have their hands on your cases. In my office, the distribution is random so you have no idea who is doing what or when. Management is not keeping track of who is doing what, so if something is done poorly they cannot correct the employee. Therefore, the quality of the clerical assistance is in the toilet and nobody is being held accountable. All of the efficiencies I have developed over the years that helped I disagreeigned staff take care of work on their own are out the window. I am being bothered every day with anonymous questions that were previously addressed by my standing orders. In the past week I have had 3 cases moved to the status where I could decide them (ALPO) while dozens sit ready to be acted on, but nobody is acting. I have asked, requested, begged, pleaded with every level of management in my office for nearly a year now to no avail. The regional chief has assured us that this is a great idea. And the drumbeat continues from on high requesting more and more production. And let me WARN you- management's solution will be for the judge to do more- they want us to input data, move cases around, write your own decisions etc., etc. In the past I have been asked to carry around equipment to remote locations because they didn't buy enough. I beg you, remember in training your job is to hear and decide cases. Period. Welcome to the rabbit hole.

Woody, don't stop brother!!!  Elvis, if he was alive on this board, would be singing your praises!  Join the battle and help others on this board educate the future ALJs as to the road that they will soon travel.  We have way too many PRO MANAGEMENT comments on this board already.  You have my respect and gratitude.  Tiger

[Deleted]

Jan 22, 2016 9:16:19 GMT -5 @tigerlaw said:

Jan 22, 2016 8:55:52 GMT -5 happy said:

 
 "We are not paid to sit in the break room having coffee for an hour upon arrival at work, read the paper for 30 minutes, check our stocks, pay our bills online, take a 90-minute lunch, and sit and chit-chat with our colleagues for a half hour here and a half hour there. I've worked in six different hearing offices in my 18-year career with ODAR. I've seen all those things be a problem -- not just an "every now and then" kind of thing, but a sense of entitlement from judges that they have "arrived" and now they are somehow royalty without accountability."

Happy, are you telling this board that in the last 8 years as an ALJ that you are in an office that the ALJs, to include YOU, do the following:

"have coffee for an hour upon arrival at work, read the paper for 30 minutes, check our stocks, pay our bills online, take a 90-minute lunch, and sit and chit-chat with our colleagues for a half hour here and a half hour there."

Happy, is this the office that you have been working in for the past 8 years as an ALJ? 

If that's your office, I can see why your board name is "Happy"!  IMHO  Tiger

[Propmaster]

Everyone, including you, knows that some judges do this and have done this in the last 8 years without any repercussions from management.

Oct 7, 2013 18:51:31 GMT -5 @tigerlaw said:

I have been interviewed and broadcast on at least a half dozen occasions in my life and criminal defense practice and never did I like how the "broadcast cut" worked for me. Sometimes the focus of the segment seems overly broad as in this case, but a good Attorney could review additional evidence such as the Senate Report and the 2.5 hours of hearing today and deduce that last night’s “60 Minutes” show dealt solely with the one office, which there are individuals in that office and surrounding law offices that are in desperate need of a serious conversation in a Federal Criminal Courthouse near Huntington West Virginia! IMHO!!

Before you joined the agency, before "Huntington," Happy's description was all too common. The rogue ALJ's actions in Huntington were accompanied by whistleblower retaliation and other complicating circumstances, but the repercussions hit everyone in this agency hard - including contributing to the loss of progress on backlog reduction. You see less of that kind of behavior now because, primarily, management dropped hammers on 'outlying' offenders and they have resigned in droves. I decry management's extra-CBA techniques for accomplishing their goals; I have criticized management heavily on this board. But what you see among judges in your two offices right now is not the experience you would have had 3 years ago, much less 8.

My first day of training as a manager included instructions to check the shredding bin for paper files a certain high-producing ALJ would throw away if he thought they were too big to work on right then. If he succeeded, the office would have to hunt for the 'lost' file and then waste time recreating it.

The next day, I found one - much to my surprise and disappointment. My questions at the time of my managers about how this was allowed were answered with reference to his production numbers. So, yes, I bristle at the attitude that an ALJ can do anything he wants if his numbers are good. That has caused A LOT of trouble and suffering. We've been there.

[Deleted]

Oh please,

Happy is talking from his experience in six (6) different offices of Judges, including Happy, that ...."have coffee for an hour upon arrival at work, read the paper for 30 minutes, check our stocks, pay our bills online, take a 90-minute lunch, and sit and chit-chat with our colleagues for a half hour here and a half hour there."

I was talking about criminal conduct in one office that has nothing to do with the type of behavior above!

Finally, NO! Since 2014, I have been an ALJ (not Group Sup, HOD, janitor, Security Guard??, SCT?, whatever?) Other than welcome lunches/going away brunches, I have never, HELLO MCFLY, NEVER seen more than two ALJs in one location! Sorry, maybe I have worked around a lot of hard working dedicated ALJs, but no.....NEVER since 2014 have I seen the type of conduct that Happy is happy to be around!

[Pixie]

This thread needs to pick itself up from the attacks it has dropped to. We can discuss without attacking.

I have deleted one attacking post. I don't want to take the time to constantly monitor the board to ensure everyone is behaving him/herself.

We are close to locking the thread, so my day won't be spent giving it constant attention. Pixie.

[pugetsoundgirl]

I really enjoy reading what the long-term ALJs  have to say about the job.  Those are the comments I pay the closest attention to.  I hope Elvis comes back.

[Deleted]

Jan 22, 2016 11:50:22 GMT -5 Pixie said:

This thread needs to pick itself up from the attacks it has dropped to. We can discuss without attacking.

I have deleted one attacking post. I don't want to take the time to constantly monitor the board to ensure everyone is behaving him/herself.

We are close to locking the thread, so my day won't be spent giving it constant attention. Pixie.

I can see why nqcebxxte is a Deleted Member.

[Pixie]

Jan 22, 2016 12:32:11 GMT -5 @tigerlaw said:

Jan 22, 2016 11:50:22 GMT -5 Pixie said:

This thread needs to pick itself up from the attacks it has dropped to. We can discuss without attacking.

I have deleted one attacking post. I don't want to take the time to constantly monitor the board to ensure everyone is behaving him/herself.

We are close to locking the thread, so my day won't be spent giving it constant attention. Pixie.

I can see why nqcebxxte is a Deleted Member.

She deleted herself; I had nothing to do with it.

And I should have mentioned the post I deleted was one that was a nasty attack on Tiger Law. Pix.

[71stretch]

I guess I must be looking at a different board. I'm not seeing "too many pro-management" people taking over the board.

No job is perfect for everyone. Over the years, clearly, different ALJs perceive this job, and do this job, in their own ways. I would be more suspect if everyone described the various aspects of the job the same way, and felt the same way about management or the work or the people they deal with.

Sorry that someone no longer feels like paying here any more, but IMO, creating drama by starting this thread about it was unnecessary and counterproductive, and makes too much work for Pix and ALJD.

JMHO, as always.

[Deleted]

Jan 22, 2016 12:14:34 GMT -5 pugetsoundgirl said:

I really enjoy reading what the long-term ALJ's have to say about the job.  Those are the comments I pay the closest attention to.  I hope Elvis comes back.

Well, stay strong pugetsoundgirl, maybe there will be more like Grampop and Tigerlaw in the future, but I'm just a few posts away from being gone myself.  Fighting the insiders and Pixie no longer seems to be a good value of my time.

There is such a strong anti-United States Administrative Law Judge vibe that it is simply not worth my time.  Our time as United States Administrative Law Judges is better focus in the Union fighting the attitudes of the insiders and moderators of this board that protect the insiders.

Like Elvis, Tiger will soon depart this building!

[gary]

I hope you won't go Tiger. I appreciate having your perspective on management/labor issues of the ALJ job. I also think just how valuable a member of this Board you are is underappreciated by the vast majority here.