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Post by morgullord on Jan 11, 2008 18:03:23 GMT -5
SSA released the information to the media after getting tweaked by Congress persons.
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Post by southerner on Jan 11, 2008 18:18:06 GMT -5
I happened to notice that the local hearing office here (Iowa) put out a hiring notice for a GS-13 intake clerk earlier this week. It is remotely possible that it could be part of a larger picture as the support staff groundwork is completed in anticipation of new ALJ arrivals. Don't know if similar hiring notices may have popped out of the other 71 locations looking to hire, and if so, if a pattern might emerge from how many intake clerks are being hired at each location. GS-13 intake clerk? |
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Post by extang on Jan 11, 2008 18:50:26 GMT -5
On a regional conference call within the last week, the numbers of 150 ALJ hires and about 90 staff [the number 92 comes to my mind but it might not be precisely accurate] hires were reiterated. These numbers are, of course, absurd. I have nothing against you guys and gals getting hired, but the staff/ALJ ratio is already too low, and hiring more ALJs without hiring adequate support staff will create more problems.
By the way, I can only agree with Southerner re the GS-13 intake clerk: huh?
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Post by workdrone on Jan 11, 2008 19:15:03 GMT -5
 Only GS-13 I know of in an ODAR field office are Senior Attorneys or Group Supervisors. It's probably a typo or faulty memory. Did a search and didn't see it in USAJOBS either, so who knows.
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Post by Pixie on Jan 11, 2008 20:07:24 GMT -5
I happened to notice that the local hearing office here (Iowa) put out a hiring notice for a GS-13 intake clerk (or some such, I did not bank either the exact title or paygrade in my memory banks) earlier this week. It is remotely possible that it could be part of a larger picture as the support staff groundwork is completed in anticipation of new ALJ arrivals. Don't know if similar hiring notices may have popped out of the other 71 locations looking to hire, and if so, if a pattern might emerge from how many intake clerks are being hired at each location. Powerties, what you are suggesting is logical and should be the standard practice--hire the staff and then bring the judges on board. Won't happen. Has never happened. Won't happen this time either. Standard practice is to hire the judges for an office and not hire any additional staff to support them. Instead of having eight judges dividing 375 worked up cases between them, there are now ten judges with the same number of cases. Hence the comment by Extang above. It has to make sense somewhere, I just haven't figured it out yet. Perhaps as I grow older, I will grow wiser. Then it will fall into place for me. I plan on growing older, but I hope to never grow up. Pix. |
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Post by govtattorney on Jan 12, 2008 14:13:52 GMT -5
Any word on Florida and Texas?
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Post by kingfisher on Jan 13, 2008 21:05:49 GMT -5
IMHO an empty office no longer guarantees that an ALJ will be placed in that office.
There are several empty offices being watched by a friend on the inside. The friend has recently been told by one in charge that those offices will not be filled at this time.
Word has it that another "needs assessment" will be done in about April. This is presumably to allow the dust to settle on all of the ongoing transfers and the upcoming new ALJ hires.
My understanding is that the needs assessment process is akin to shooting at a moving target. It keeps changing position and is very hard to hit.
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Post by testtaker on Jan 14, 2008 10:21:23 GMT -5
Early last week Albany had "2" listed. Why is there only "1" listed now?
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Post by aljsouth on Jan 14, 2008 10:43:23 GMT -5
IMHO an empty office no longer guarantees that an ALJ will be placed in that office. There are several empty offices being watched by a friend on the inside. The friend has recently been told by one in charge that those offices will not be filled at this time. Word has it that another "needs assessment" will be done in about April. This is presumably to allow the dust to settle on all of the ongoing transfers and the upcoming new ALJ hires. I have never known SSA/ODAR to ever do a needs assesment. Which is one reason why there is such a discrepancy in the HO's concerning the size of judge's dockets. ODAR is unwilling to admit that the number of filings in a site have anything to do with backlogs. Some sites have a low number of cases per judge and others very high. This has been true for years. Yet not once has ODAR ever hired judges based on the number of filings. Politics, both congressional and internal, has driven the sites to which judges are selected. My understanding is that the needs assessment process is akin to shooting at a moving target. It keeps changing position and is very hard to hit. |
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Post by crazybroad on Jan 14, 2008 11:21:53 GMT -5
I actually heard from a good source that Albany is getting 3.
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Post by morgullord on Jan 15, 2008 16:33:10 GMT -5
I dropped Albany from 2 to 1 after changing my format to take into consideration that each of the 71 locations listed on the FEAI would receive at least one judge. Therefore, the revised list shows the number of extra judges above and beyond the one per office.
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Post by corrina on Jan 16, 2008 9:04:22 GMT -5
I'm not sure about whether this is the right thread for the following information. Feel free to transfer it to another thread:
There is now a posting for an HOCALJ in Portland, Oregon. The tone of the posting suggests
that SSA seeks an SSA ALJ for the position.
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Post by morgullord on Jan 16, 2008 9:09:32 GMT -5
The impact will depend upon the current location of the individual ultimately selected to be HOCALJ.
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Post by aljsouth on Jan 16, 2008 14:22:15 GMT -5
I'm not sure about whether this is the right thread for the following information. Feel free to transfer it to another thread: There is now a posting for an HOCALJ in Portland, Oregon. The tone of the posting suggests that SSA seeks an SSA ALJ for the position. This should have no impact on the current hiring. I don't believe that site was on the FEAI. BTW, HOCALJ's come and go like mayflies over a trout stream. |
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Post by camedlaw on Jan 16, 2008 14:23:13 GMT -5
198.173.77.57/ssas/oha_phone.pdf is SSA's (somewhat dated) directory that includes office locations and SSA ALJs. Now I find several past JAG acquaintances who have been working as ALJs for some time!
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Post by nonamouse on Jan 16, 2008 19:10:35 GMT -5
I'm through with trying to figure out how SSA is working this selection and placement of new ALJs.
I found out (through the interoffice grapevine) that Ft. Worth just received a new ALJ on transfer after issuance of the certificate. It was on the certificate despite the HOCALJ having already stated that he did not believe they had sufficient workload for an additional ALJ. Houston was also on the certificate and someone was subsequently given a transfer in. I feel like I should call over and find out if these offices still have an open ALJ office, but what good will that do anyway. . .
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Post by Propmaster on Jan 18, 2008 0:49:10 GMT -5
I dropped Albany from 2 to 1 after changing my format to take into consideration that each of the 71 locations listed on the FEAI would receive at least one judge. Therefore, the revised list shows the number of extra judges above and beyond the one per office. Now I'm confused. I'm sure Creve Coeur is only getting one judge (unless someone overruled the chief judge and you know about it), but you have one on your list. Shouldn't it be 0? (to show that you have information). |
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Post by odarite on Jan 18, 2008 8:05:02 GMT -5
Since transfers are still ongoing to the best of my knowledge, the vacancies are a moving target. This supports my speculation in another string that not all 150 will be hired from this certificate, but a supplemental certificate will issue. Example: on the certificate there was an opening for East Elbow. 3 candidates were interviewed for East Elbow, but a judge from West Elbow (which was not on the certificate) was reassigned (transferred) to EE. Now no vacancy in EE, but one in WE which will be backfilled because WE is in Michi-hio and has the worst backlog in the nation, so a supplemental certificate is issued and WE gets one of the 150. Again, no facts here, so this is just FWIW.
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Post by Waffle on Jan 21, 2008 7:08:05 GMT -5
Can someone on the "inside" tell me if Dover, DE., is an existing hearing office location, or one to be added in the near future. I do not see it in the directory of SSA office/ALJ locations that was previously posted on this board, but it is one of the locations on the FEAI (?).
Many thanks in advance!
Waff'
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Post by odarite on Jan 21, 2008 7:49:23 GMT -5
Yes, Dover is a real office. In fact, that brief glimpse you got of a hearing room in the CBS "investigative report" was in Dover.
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Only GS-13 I know of in an ODAR field office are Senior Attorneys or Group Supervisors. It's probably a typo or faulty memory. Did a search and didn't see it in USAJOBS either, so who knows.
