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Post by aaa on Apr 24, 2009 16:25:58 GMT -5
FWIW, I found this manual to be helpful reading while I was in the process. You may or may not find this helpful.  www.ualr.edu/malj/malj.pdf |
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Post by decadealj on Apr 27, 2009 9:05:12 GMT -5
AAA- as I recall you were the HOD in Kansas City before being appointed an ALJ so I think you should no better than to post the ALJ Manual. Your posting suggests SSAs HALLEX, POMs, SSRs and other procedural obstacles to a quasi-judicial procedure envisioned by the APA are remotely possible by an SSA ALJ. ALJs have been disciplined for even the most fundamental efforts to ensure a complete record prior to the hearing, getting an attorney rep to submit a brief or amend an onset date to other than the day he/she got laid-off when the plant closed. Candidates reading this Board need to know it ain't what the APA envisioned. My region won't even enforce a subpoena to a treating source for the only records in a case other than a half-hour CE! One of my colleagues who had been an appellate criminal justice judge asked after attending the training session in DC "if this was all a joke- where are the procedures listed in the APA in SSA proceedings such as something simple as issuing a subpoena for records?" I would be very interested in your posting the realities of the job as you have performed it this past year as compared to the posted ALJ Manual.
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Post by valkyrie on Apr 27, 2009 9:27:39 GMT -5
Yikes. I guess all regions are not created equal. In region IV we get amended onsets, briefs, and subpeona power.
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Post by decadealj on Apr 27, 2009 10:33:17 GMT -5
I think you may have hit the nail on the head. Some of the worst interference I have heard is from Region 5 (Chicago) but maybe some other folks will weigh-in. For outsiders, the federal rules of evidence and procedure do not apply to SSA hearings.
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Post by benchsitter on Apr 27, 2009 11:12:40 GMT -5
Is Region 5 that bad throughout or just in the Chicago office?
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Post by privateatty on Apr 27, 2009 12:23:30 GMT -5
AAA- as I recall you were the HOD in Kansas City before being appointed an ALJ so I think you should no better than to post the ALJ Manual. Your posting suggests SSAs HALLEX, POMs, SSRs and other procedural obstacles to a quasi-judicial procedure envisioned by the APA are remotely possible by an SSA ALJ. ALJs have been disciplined for even the most fundamental efforts to ensure a complete record prior to the hearing, getting an attorney rep to submit a brief or amend an onset date to other than the day he/she got laid-off when the plant closed. Candidates reading this Board need to know it ain't what the APA envisioned. My region won't even enforce a subpoena to a treating source for the only records in a case other than a half-hour CE! One of my colleagues who had been an appellate criminal justice judge asked after attending the training session in DC "if this was all a joke- where are the procedures listed in the APA in SSA proceedings such as something simple as issuing a subpoena for records?" I would be very interested in your posting the realities of the job as you have performed it this past year as compared to the posted ALJ Manual. Disciplined for what? Doing their job? And how come the APA doesn't apply? Little wonder you folks need a Union. |
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Post by decadealj on Apr 27, 2009 12:49:08 GMT -5
bencsitter- Cleveland comes to mind. PA- use search feature at top for "Chicago 8 grievance". Shoot the messenger if you want but don't tell anyone later you were not forewarned! Anybody following this board knows from Pix and anyone who's been around awhile that this agency eats its young.
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Post by workdrone on Apr 27, 2009 12:54:20 GMT -5
Anybody following this board knows from Pix and anyone who's been around awhile that this agency eats its young. I think the key to survival is to keep your head in the trench under cover. Gotta watch out for those incoming rounds.  |
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Post by benchsitter on Apr 27, 2009 13:28:04 GMT -5
Thanks decadealj; interesting read.
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Post by aaa on Apr 28, 2009 16:11:56 GMT -5
Reading the ALJ manual helped me prepare for the OPM portion of the process is apparently what I should have said.
After being in the ALJ job since last year, I find I love the job. I feel the record is nearly always complete enough for me to make a decision that is legally sufficient. To date I've not had difficulty with most of the representatives who appear in front of me, nor have I had any problem getting records after issuing a subpoena. I knew prior to accepting the position that actually enforcing a subpoena was difficult, if not impossible, because it ranked low on the totem pole. I accepted this job knowing many of the idiosyncracies to expect. I do the best with the tools I've got to work with; for me to do otherwise is not productive for either the job or myself. My exposure to the APA other than specifically for this Agency is limited. The serenity prayer works for me when I stop to think about what I can change, what I can't and whether or not or why it's important. I do try to uphold the APA standards to the best of my ability and most times I think I succeed.
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Post by decadealj on Apr 28, 2009 17:09:56 GMT -5
aaa- Kansas City has always had a pretty fair reputation so your answer doesn't surprise me. I also find the serenity prayer helpful- I keep a copy on my dresser and in my wallet As I have noted on this site before, the tragedy is that we have (at least in our office) lost the feeling of involvement in our cases by the staff because of HPI and no one seems accountable for anything. E-file has just aggravated the situation. It is also noteworthy that NOSSCRs heavy hitters are all down here (Glancys, Wittenburg, et al.) and the agency seems terrified to do anything to make them help us be more productive. It wasn't like that 15 years ago. I spent my entire life in criminal and civil litigation and the vast majority of attrorneys that "practice" before me couldn't make a living outside of SSA. The reason I post links like above is that I am not alone. I know of at least 15 colleagues who I knew in my prior life and I can assure you that we are unanimous in our opinions of what has happened the past 15 years. I am not going to cry over spilt milk but the outside folks who have spent theit lives litigating need to know what they are getting into. Think I'll change my handle to Don Quixote!
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Post by alj on Apr 28, 2009 20:06:20 GMT -5
aaa- Kansas City has always had a pretty fair reputation so your answer doesn't surprise me. I also find the serenity prayer helpful- I keep a copy on my dresser and in my wallet As I have noted on this site before, the tragedy is that we have (at least in our office) lost the feeling of involvement in our cases by the staff because of HPI and no one seems accountable for anything. E-file has just aggravated the situation. It is also noteworthy that NOSSCRs heavy hitters are all down here (Glancys, Wittenburg, et al.) and the agency seems terrified to do anything to make them help us be more productive. It wasn't like that 15 years ago. I spent my entire life in criminal and civil litigation and the vast majority of attrorneys that "practice" before me couldn't make a living outside of SSA. The reason I post links like above is that I am not alone. I know of at least 15 colleagues who I knew in my prior life and I can assure you that we are unanimous in our opinions of what has happened the past 15 years. I am not going to cry over spilt milk but the outside folks who have spent theit lives litigating need to know what they are getting into. Think I'll change my handle to Don Quixote! Don Q, a post that is spot on. |
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Post by decadealj on Apr 30, 2009 7:59:51 GMT -5
Interesting to see GAO appears to have changed its tune on HPI. I don't have the technical expertise to copy it to this board but you can find it at the House Ways and Means Committee website for the hearing held on Tues, April 28.
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