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Post by northwest on Jun 16, 2011 20:29:42 GMT -5
"Not sure where you are getting the number 52?" I think it's because 24 we can roll over plus 28 we can earn in any given pay period adds up to 52. Because you can earn only 2.5 per day, the only way you could earn more than 25 credit hours in a pay period is by working weekends. To maximize days in a row of vacation using mostly credit hours without working weekends: accumulate your 24 hours prior to the first Monday of a pay period. Then start accumulating in that pay period more credit hours (up to the maximum of 2.5 in a day). If you earn the maximum, you'll have 12.5 credit hours in the first week (5 working days) of the pay period. 24 + 12.5 gives you 36.5 credit hours. You only need 3.5 vacation hours to make up the difference to get a 40 hour (one week) vacation, which you'll take the second week of the pay period. Adding the two weekends either side, that's 9 days in a row. If you plan it so it's a before a holiday weekend, you'll get 10 days in a row off. Alternatively, if the holiday is during the week of your vacation, you're only taking 4 days (32 hours) of vacation, so you could use only credit hours and no vacation hours. It's easy to find calendars online that show you the federal pay periods. Example: www.cpms.osd.mil/ASSETS/DDCE81E7F0954FC8B0975760740F7666/2011%20Pay%20Period%20Calendar.pdfPS: Another plug for the AALJ Union here: Some local managers apparently were attempting to limit ALJs' accumulating credit hours on weekends. Per the most recent AALJ newsletter, the Union got management to put an end to that. I, personally, have never worked a weekend since I started this job, but I recognize that it's an important right for many. PPS: I was writing this before the prior reply got posted, so sorry for a bit of redundancy
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Post by mcb on Jun 16, 2011 20:38:09 GMT -5
PPS: I was writing this before the prior reply got posted, so sorry for a bit of redundancy Likewise. While I was editing my post, you posted yours.
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Post by grassgreener on Jun 16, 2011 20:54:06 GMT -5
I usually hold 6 hearings (sometime 7) either 3 or 2 days a week. For those of you holding 6 or more hearings a day, how long do you allot for each hearing?
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Post by mcb on Jun 16, 2011 21:03:08 GMT -5
I usually hold 6 hearings (sometime 7) either 3 or 2 days a week. For those of you holding 6 or more hearings a day, how long do you allot for each hearing? 1 hour. 8:30 AM, 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 1:00 PM, 2:00 & 3:00. My last hearing is usually pro se, who often don't show or decide to get a rep. If they go forward with the hearing unrepped, you usually have to update med rcs post-hearing.
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Post by onepingonly on Jun 16, 2011 22:57:01 GMT -5
"For those of you holding 6 or more hearings a day, how long do you allot for each hearing?" Mine are scheduled 30 minutes apart. I allow an extra 30 minutes if I have a medical expert (which is rare -- mostly if ordered on appeal). There is a fairly high no-show rate here, and between the no-shows and postponements to get a rep, there are usually a few gaps in the docket, which allows for a little expansion of other cases, as needed. I read the record very thoroughly prior to the hearing, so the hearing itself is mainly to clarify any major questions (current treatment, drug and alcohol issues, oddities in the medical records, etc.), to assess credibility, and of course to allow the claimant and/or rep an ample opportunity to make their case.
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Post by arkstfan on Jun 17, 2011 12:54:36 GMT -5
"For those of you holding 6 or more hearings a day, how long do you allot for each hearing?" Mine are scheduled 30 minutes apart. I allow an extra 30 minutes if I have a medical expert (which is rare -- mostly if ordered on appeal). There is a fairly high no-show rate here, and between the no-shows and postponements to get a rep, there are usually a few gaps in the docket, which allows for a little expansion of other cases, as needed. I read the record very thoroughly prior to the hearing, so the hearing itself is mainly to clarify any major questions (current treatment, drug and alcohol issues, oddities in the medical records, etc.), to assess credibility, and of course to allow the claimant and/or rep an ample opportunity to make their case. I schedule 35 minutes apart. Every hearing I'm going to verify work and treatment but after that it depends on what I've seen in the record. When I was going 45 minutes apart I'd find myself with 30-45 minutes of down time at a site with no network connection or a really slow connection and had dead time with no way to use the time toward productivity.
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Post by tigerfan on Jun 17, 2011 14:10:12 GMT -5
I wrote my decision instructions between hearings, or at the end of the day. Kept very few in ALPO.
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Post by mcb on Jun 17, 2011 14:54:31 GMT -5
I wrote my decision instructions between hearings, or at the end of the day. Kept very few in ALPO. That's what I try and do. Also, once one is put in edit, like to get it out ASAP.
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Post by southerner on Jun 17, 2011 15:30:58 GMT -5
Generally, I do hearings an hour apart so I can write instructions between hearings, I like to avoid ALPO and rarely use it, unless case in POST and awaiting additional mer and then I use ticklers so it can be reviewed timely and move it. 7 a day is regular schedule, though more when on travel docket (no interruptions on travel so more can be done), usu. 9 per day.
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Post by alj on Jun 17, 2011 19:58:35 GMT -5
MCB and Northwest, thanks for the heads up.
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Post by onepingonly on Jun 17, 2011 22:46:11 GMT -5
I schedule 35 minutes apart. Every hearing I'm going to verify work and treatment but after that it depends on what I've seen in the record. When I was going 45 minutes apart I'd find myself with 30-45 minutes of down time at a site with no network connection or a really slow connection and had dead time with no way to use the time toward productivity.[/quote][/i] Yes, that was also my reason for going from 45 to 30, and I write my instructions after the hearings are finished for the same reason, unless they are very, very simple (or I issue a bench decision). So far so good.
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Post by mcb on Jun 17, 2011 23:48:41 GMT -5
MCB and Northwest, thanks for the heads up. Always happy to help out.
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Post by arkstfan on Jun 20, 2011 7:58:00 GMT -5
Yes, that was also my reason for going from 45 to 30, and I write my instructions after the hearings are finished for the same reason, unless they are very, very simple (or I issue a bench decision). So far so good. I also do my instructions on the bench either to write or for post-hearing development and upload my notes to the e-file if I have connectivity.
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Post by allrise on Jun 22, 2011 16:19:56 GMT -5
Can a new ALJ work a 4/10 schedule or do you have to wait 1 year? Can you work credit hours during the first year?
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Post by mcb on Jun 22, 2011 16:51:01 GMT -5
Can a new ALJ work a 4/10 schedule or do you have to wait 1 year? Can you work credit hours during the first year? Nit sure about the first query (I came from private practice). Yes, to the second.
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Post by southerner on Jun 22, 2011 17:47:40 GMT -5
Yes, per the contract a new ALJ can work 4/10 before 1 year anniversary and can work credit hours first year. However, although permitted, it is not encouraged, particularly if you are new and relatively unfamiliar wih Social Security law and regulations. I came from inside as a Senior Attorney and waited about 6 months before commencing 4/10. But, it is up to the individual ALJ. I would encourage not starting that too soon and wait till more experienced, but it is up to the individual.
The 1 year wait is to work at home.
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Post by onepingonly on Jun 22, 2011 18:58:36 GMT -5
Yes, per the contract a new ALJ can work 4/10 before 1 year anniversary and can work credit hours first year. However, although permitted, it is not encouraged, particularly if you are new and relatively unfamiliar wih Social Security law and regulations. I came from inside as a Senior Attorney and waited about 6 months before commencing 4/10. But, it is up to the individual ALJ. I would encourage not starting that too soon and wait till more experienced, but it is up to the individual. The 1 year wait is to work at home. Sound advice.
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Post by northwest on Jun 22, 2011 19:45:51 GMT -5
An alternative point of view: I don't see anything wrong with starting the 4/10 or flexible schedule as soon as one starts as an ALJ. The main thing is to ease yourself into the hearing schedule, and not schedule more hearings than you can handle. You will need more time to review the record and the law compared with more experienced ALJs, not to mention the intricacies of the computer system, staff protocols, etc. You're not required or encouraged to schedule too many hearings to start out. They will tell you the expectations at the time of the training. (The expectations start low and build up month by month). But, as with any ALJ "goals" or "expectations" these are just goals, not requirements. They also recognize that people from outside the agency will normally take a bit longer to work up to a full schedule.
You will probably not be spreading your hearings out over the whole week. The hearing reporters and vocational experts will want to have 5 or more hearings scheduled in a day. (They get paid by the case, so it's not worth their time to come in for just a couple hearings). So, for example, you might schedule 2 hearing days with 5 hearings each day at the beginning. It doesn't matter whether you're working late in the evening 4 days a week, or working 5 days a week to do the prep work for those 2 days. It depends on how you work best. {{Some offices do things differently, and ALJs schedule hearings all 5 days of a week and then take a whole week off for prep work; that's not the way it's done in my office, and I personally would find that system difficult.}}
Flex time is a wonderful thing. You can work 8 hours some days and up to 10.5 hours other days, and save up the extra credit hours to use later. No-one told me on my first day about how to sign up for flex time, or even where the sign-in sheet was, so be sure to ask about this right away. If you sign up for flex time, you could be working a de facto 4/10 schedule, and if this doesn't work for you you're not locked into it. I frankly can't see why anyone would choose anything other than a flex schedule.
Another thing: Work an honest day, and record your time correctly. Don't give away time by working after 6:00 pm or lose credit hours by having more than 24 at the end of a pay period.
Enjoy! This is a wonderful job. Along with the serious responsibilities, you have a great deal of flexibility in how you handle the docket. Look and see how other ALJs work, and then choose the path that works best for you.
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Post by christina on Jul 31, 2014 9:02:28 GMT -5
i don't think so unless u are in national hearing center. and then technically, you could have a 6 AM start so you still would not accrue credit hours until the end of the day
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Post by tinman on Nov 13, 2014 10:24:14 GMT -5
Can someone confirm that the above quote from 2011 re Article 14 is still in effect? I gather that, as with my current agency, an ALJ can choose to work 4 10-hour days. Does a new SSA ALJ have to wait a year (as with telecommuting) to chose an alternative work schedule?
I ask because my family's personal situation is somewhat changed from March 2013 when this process started. My wife and I are much less willing to move and uproot our lives (really our growing children's lives) than we once were. As we consider whether to move, to turn down an offer, etc., one option we are considering having me work a 4/10 schedule, commute home on the long weekends, and defer the decision about moving for perhaps a year while we see if I can get a transfer to crapland where --to our surprise-- we now want to live. (As you can gather, I'm paying the price for being somewhat shortsighted in my GAL.)
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