Commissioner's Update

[kingfisher]

"The Commissioner then talked about the potential hiring of 150 Administrative Law Judges (ALJs). The optimal number of ALJs is approximately 1250; SSA currently employs 1,050 ALJs and will suffer some attrition. It was recognized that the new hires will still not get us where we need to be. Astrue will look to hire this spring and hopefully some greater efficiencies in July. There are approximately 50 agency people on the OPM list of 600; a better percentage than in the past. Astrue was excited about the number of agency individuals on the list and indicated they would be able to “get up to speed” much more quickly than someone without an agency connection. He also expressed his support for changes in how "litigation experience was determined" so that credit is given for agency work. The Commissioner acknowledged that the placement of ALJs is driven by the location of office space which is related to contractual obligations. We indicated that the 150 new ALJs would not solve the backlog - we need the sitting ALJs for that. We also expressed our concern that ALJs without support staff is always problematic and he clearly understands that as well."

-from Minutes from the Meeting between the Federal Managers Association and Social Security Administration Commissioner Michael Astrue on November 5, 2007

I realize this does not shed much light on what is happening today, November 28th, but it just came to me via email today so wanted to pass it along. I know the waiting seems intolerable and every bit of information is better than silence.

[judicature]

Sounds like a pretty clear preference for those with ODAR experience.

[workdrone]

judicature said:

Sounds like a pretty clear preference for those with ODAR experience.

Yeah, althought it is probably conditioned on a track record of good performance. Being a known quantity is a double edged sword sometimes.

[3orangewhips]

50 agency people or 50% agency people on the list.?

I'd guess 50%

[odarite]

no, the report clearly said 50 people. That doesn't seem like an error these folks would make.

[3orangewhips]

odarite said:

no, the report clearly said 50 people. That doesn't seem like an error these folks would make.

I hope you are right, but that doesn't seem right to me.

[3orangewhips]

also, if the 50 number is correct, so much the AALJ lawsuit alleging that the process was rigged for SSA agency attorneys. 50 maybe a higher percentage than in the past but the register isnt exactly loaded with SSA attys.

[amporci]

Hard to believe only 50 total, given three in the one office I am in; there were at least six ODAR people there the day I took the WD (although 50 percent also seems like a stretch in the other direction).

[aljsouth]

I think the delay is the budget issue.

Now that I said that watch the interview offers go out tomorrow. I hope so for the sake of the candidates.

[learnedhand]

Thanks, Kingfisher, for the perspective. Interesting that SSA was able to find out how many agency people were on the list. Of course, there are inside ways of finding out but they would be more onerous. I assume what is meant by "greater efficiencies by July" is that the new judges will be working by then.

[morgullord]

Maybe "50" means 50 agency attorneys who have snowball's chance of being hired. Sorry, but after 19 years with OHA/ODAR, one learns that things are often not quite as presented.

[chinook]

The Commissioner’s comments are somewhat disconcerting to those of us who don’t work for Social Security. It appears that Social Security has a bias in favor of their own current employees. I don’t work at Social Security but I do work at another agency that has an ALJ Corps, just a small one. As is noted every now and again, the test was for all ALJs not just for Social Security. Considering most of the smaller agencies hire individuals who are already serving as an ALJ, it is difficult to get an ALJ job without going through Social Security. This bias discriminates against those of us on the register that don’t have Social Security experience and against smaller Agencies who don’t have the luxury of picking who they want which leads them not utilize the register. Under this approach they should not rank the register just let an Agency pick who they want from the register – it is what Social Security appears to be doing.

[southerner]

I agree that the 50 is rather small for the 600 on register.

When I went to take my WD, there were 6 of us from ODAR just around my seating area. Plus, I know of 3 in my office alone.

The number 50 just does not add up. 50% seems overly optimistic, too, just 1/12th of register as ODAR employees does not compute.

[crazybroad]

There are 3 from my office also that made the register. I met 3 others from ODAR at the exam the last week of WD/SIs. I kind of find it hard to believe there are only 50 of us with those odds. But probability and statistics were never my strong suit.

[3orangewhips]

In the real world, subject matter experience counts. SSA wants people who already know the program.

[morgullord]

I think you would be hard-pressed to find any of us who work for ODAR who believe that things are tilted in our favor. It has always been the opposite and, given that there has been no massive turn-over of personnel at OPM or SSA, it is hard for me to believe that there is a bias in favor of those of us in the agency.

[odarite]

chinook said:

The Commissioner’s comments are somewhat disconcerting to those of us who don’t work for Social Security. It appears that Social Security has a bias in favor of their own current employees. .

I really wouldn't be discouraged by this comment. There are a great many people who have done exactly what you contemplate doing, and I see no real barrier to your doing the same thing. When new ALJs are hired by SSA they are sorted into sheep and goats, er experienced and not. The experienced are agency employees and they have a shorter learning curve until they are expected to meet the same productivity goals as currently sitting judges. Non-experienced is everyone else, and a longer learning curve is expected. I would take the Commissioner's comments to mean that SSA will get more bang for the buck out of the SSA people sooner and that's about it. By the way, the long initial training class (four weeks) - ridiculous for agency staff - is intended to level the playing field for newbies to SSA. You are expected to learn not only from the instructors but also your experienced classmates. Hang in there.

[3orangewhips]

the more I think about it, the less I believe the 50 SSA atty number.

[jagghagg]

3orangewhips said:

the more I think about it, the less I believe the 50 SSA atty number.

I dunno.....my insider source tells me that the insider attorneys did fairly poorly on the application.

[Pixie]

The problem for OHA attorneys has always been getting beyond OPM. Once they get to OHA/ADAR, and if they have a good work record, the agency tries its best to find a place for them. Pix.