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Post by doctorwho on Jan 31, 2008 8:23:29 GMT -5
From the Wild Wild West -- Can Anybody Verify?
NOTE: THIS IS NOT MY POST -- I'M SEEKING COMMENTS
Author Topic: Additional Hirings (Read 6 times)
ODARhottie
Guest
Additional Hirings
« Thread Started on Today at 8:12am »
From Astrue yesterday:
25 more to be hired in July of this year to start right after the other three classes already set.
200 more -- that was not a typo -- TWO HUNDRED MORE to be hired next fiscal year.
Firm commitment to Congress that there will be 1250 ALJs by the end of next year. The only way to do that with the massive retirements taking place in the next 18 months is as described above. The money is already in place. Remember the $100 million already appropriated. That ain't going for paperclips.
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Post by skibum on Jan 31, 2008 8:34:15 GMT -5
It's always nice to get good news from the doctor...and that would be good news, indeed, if true.
I hope the support staff gets a corresponding bump.
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Post by aaa on Jan 31, 2008 10:06:33 GMT -5
I am hearing the same thing - 25 more hires this year due to the $$ over the President's Budget for SSA. I am also hearing more $$ to add staff. That would be great!
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Post by jagghagg on Jan 31, 2008 10:56:00 GMT -5
I am hearing the same thing - 25 more hires this year due to the $$ over the President's Budget for SSA. I am also hearing more $$ to add staff. That would be great! Yay from TripleA! |
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Post by jagghagg on Jan 31, 2008 11:39:24 GMT -5
Sorry. You can't post here. You don't exist. ;D Yeah, I read that with my imaginary eyes..... |
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Post by doctorwho on Jan 31, 2008 17:32:07 GMT -5
Looks like we have confirmation from Pix (in a different thread) at least for the 25 "in the fall."
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Post by jagghagg on Jan 31, 2008 17:46:18 GMT -5
Looks like we have confirmation from Pix (in a different thread) at least for the 25 "in the fall." 25, but I'd be very surprised if the other 200 proved to be true. Double the money; double the support....Congress might just say, "Whoa." |
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Post by privateatty on Jan 31, 2008 17:55:36 GMT -5
Does Congress even have to be involved in the hiring? Seems to me from what I have read is that Congress would welcome another 200 ALJs on top of the now 175. And I have seen nothing posted that would lead us to believe that the Commish is nothing but totally serious about getting the 1250 ALJs he wants. I am curious about how many ALJs will retire in this year and in the next, though--a numbers count if you will.
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Post by Pixie on Jan 31, 2008 18:03:49 GMT -5
Congress is involved to the extent they control the purse strings. Insufficient budget for new staff, no new staff. Pix.
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Post by privateatty on Jan 31, 2008 18:22:13 GMT -5
Yes, I understand that. What I was saying is that Sen Harkin and Rep. Obey (and other Congressional leaders) appear to be committed to giving CoSS Astrue what he wants. The questions are how is SSA going to get to the 1250 benchmark, how many are retiring and will they hire another 200 in FY 2009 off of this register?
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Post by nonamouse on Jan 31, 2008 18:27:39 GMT -5
It won't matter how many retire in the next few years if SSA and other agencies don't get the money to hire more ALJs and staff. I know 2 relatively "young" ALJs who surprised a number of people by filing their retirement papers recently. They will be out fishing before the first new group of ALJs finishes training, but it does not mean that they will be replaced soon.
My personal prediction is that a good number of the SSA ALJs will be heading the way of other boomers and retiring in the near future before they are too old to enjoy it. The paperless environment and pressure for more dispositions may be speeding some out of the door sooner than they expected. I would not dare to make a prediction on future funding.
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Post by nightowl on Jan 31, 2008 18:37:31 GMT -5
I received confirmation this morning that 25 more people will be hired this year. I was informed SSA would hire 175 ALJs, not 150. My interpretation is that 150 will be hired now, and the other 25 will be hired in the fall.
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Post by odarite on Jan 31, 2008 20:26:02 GMT -5
My experience mirrors nona's. I have been hearing of ALJs I had expected to stick around a few more years talking retirement.. And given that this year the Commish is strangling the operations side, it will take a lot of money to make the staffing ramp up to where it is needed. And when Congress is patting itself on the back for a funding increase that pays for a measely 150 ALJs when 250 are needed but virtually NO new staff for ODAR or operations (and don't even talk about attrition), I am much less sanguine than some of the other posters about how ducky the next year or so will be. As late as this prior summer DC de Soto was saying that 1250 ALJs were needed but would not happen, so don't get too excited. The operations side is really getting very hard up and as congressional pressure increases is almost certain to get some of the future resources.
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Post by crazybroad on Jan 31, 2008 21:16:58 GMT -5
My witness informs me that Astrue made the comment about the 25 new judges this year and 125-150 more next year to three male candidates from Colorado Springs, CO, Sacramento, CA and Rochester, NY. Astrue wanted to meet some candidates and these three were on their way from 1608 to another building (5109 LP?) for their interviews when they bumped into Astrue. Astrue shook hands with all 3 and encouraged them not to get discouraged if they were not chosen in this round of hiring because 25 would be hired later this year and 125-150 next year if there were no continuing resolution issues to deal with. None of the three were SSA employees. I am guessing that one of them posted the newsflash yesterday. After meeting these 3, Astrue apparently went into 1608 and met one or two candidates waiting in there where he briefly discussed the training schedule. I do not have a witness to that conversation. I know for a fact that one of them was from ODAR. He told me about the encounter but I'm not sure Astrue was aware he was from ODAR. |
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Post by workdrone on Jan 31, 2008 21:19:47 GMT -5
I know for a fact that one of them was from ODAR. He told me about the encounter but I'm not sure Astrue was aware he was from ODAR. Amazing. Based on Chris and Crazybroad's posts, I stand corrected from my previous skepticism.  |
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Post by mrjones on Jan 31, 2008 21:48:37 GMT -5
This talk of 25 more hires this summer and 200 next year is not mere hallway heresay, folks, it was mentioned by the Commish in a national conference call with ODAR management. In the same call, it was noted that 60 ALJs retired last year. That's an impressive number! The consensus is that the retirements are largely related to the electronic "paperless" environment which swept thru ODAR the last 2 years. Paperless files require use of the computer and - bottom line - most of the sitting ALJs are rather old, in their 60s, and not comfortable using the computer. Paperless files now account for well over half of ODARs caseload.
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Post by jagghagg on Jan 31, 2008 22:03:15 GMT -5
...rather old, in their 60s, ... Careful......  |
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witz
Member
Posts: 24
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Post by witz on Jan 31, 2008 22:38:29 GMT -5
Will the present regime be in power come next year to implement any of these plans concerning additional hiring beyond the November elections ? Does SSA face a situation where the presidential appointee leading the federal agencies are expected to resign by Jan 09 or so ? I assume that the present Commissioner falls in this category, but may be mistaken.
If the present Commish is gone upon a change in the adminstration at the White House, do his plans necessarily carry any precedential value with the next boss ?
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Post by Pixie on Jan 31, 2008 23:19:01 GMT -5
The Commissioner of SSA is appointed for a term of, I believe, six years, which will theoretically carry him well into the term of the new president. Will he want to stay is the question.
There is not necessarily any precedential value that carries over to the next commissioner. She will make her own plans. We are seeing that now as the former commissioner's plans are being discarded in favor of what this commissioner thinks is the best way to proceed.
This commissioner has a lot of changes in mind for the hearing offices. Most of what I have heard about involve technological changes. Pix.
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Post by mrjones on Jan 31, 2008 23:21:15 GMT -5
witz, those are good questions. My gut response is that an ALJ hiring plan in '09 may not be affected whereas other plans like last year's more ambitious and expensive ODAR overhaul plan (DSI) - the effect and benefit of which was not certain- was scrapped when we got a new Commish. i don't know that the SSA commish is formally expected to resign as is the case with the larger agencies. It was a different day and age but former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala served an 8 year term under Clinton and and then left some time into Bush's first year, in 2001. That was the longest term of any Secretary or (now) Commissioner, and there has been more frequent turnover as of late.
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