alj's hours

[southerner]

In our office, ALJ's can flex at home one day a week.

[deadwood]

My understanding is that the HOCALJ of each office has a lot of discretion regarding how many days each week an ALJ may flex.

For example, I know some offices where ALJs flex two days per week. While in another office, based upon a very loose interpretation of the ALJ contract, at least every other week, some ALJs flex up to four days per week.

[ruonthelist]

ALJs, like civil servants generally, are responsible for working a 40 hour week. The standard work week is m-F 8:00-4:30, but a number of variations are permitted under the collective bargaining agreement:
a. 4 day week, with 10 hour days
b. 9 days every two weeks, totalling 80 hours
c. the credit hours system, in which they can work up to 10.5 hours per day, and up to 8 hours on a weekend, and then use the extra accrued beyond 40 h/wk at a later time for time off. This is especially useful for new judges who do not have prior federal civil service and have not had time to earn very much leave.
d. Flexiplace. After they have worked 1 year for the agency they can work at home at least 1 day per week. I don't have the agreement handy and don't remember the details, but I believe that the rule is that they can work at home 1 day per week as a matter of right and more than that with management approval.

[odarite]

If you get an offer for a location that would be a tough commute, do what others have done: take the offer, get a basic apartment for a year until your flexiplace kicks in, then come in only enough to satisfy the rules and hold hearings. Easier in some offices than others, apparently.

[aljsouth]

The labor agreement allows work at home after one year with the agency. Work at home, or ADS, is recognized as legitimate and 4 days a month are presumed valid. Managment must give valid reasons for turning town ADS for more than 4 days a month. In the past the judges union has filed a lot of grievnces, and won, over denials for "work processes" and other lame excuses. Only two ADS days in a row are generally allowed; but this varies greatly. In our office all judges work and produce cases so ADS is not a big deal when taken. The agency hates it and periodically tries to link low production to ADS. This is not true in this office, but may be true elsewhere.

Congress has as a matter of law encouraged telecommuting as policy but federal managers truly dislike it. It is valuable for most people even in offices where the commute is minimal; in my case about 20 to 25 minutes depending on traffic. Other employees have their version of ADS. Two of our SA's work at home 3 days a week and do fine work.

[oldtimer]

As others above have noted, the CBA for judges allows them to work at home a minimum of 4 days per month, but "not more than 2 consecutive days in the same week." Hence, one judge in my office works at home 3 days/week (usually Monday, Thursday, and Friday); I hadn't heard of anyone actually working 4 days/week, but I suppose this is possible, under a Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday arrangement (hopefully, he or she is hearing at least 10 cases on Wednesday and/or issuing a lot of OTRs).

[deadwood]

oldtimer said:

As others above have noted, the CBA for judges allows them to work at home a minimum of 4 days per month, but "not more than 2 consecutive days in the same week." Hence, one judge in my office works at home 3 days/week (usually Monday, Thursday, and Friday); I hadn't heard of anyone actually working 4 days/week, but I suppose this is possible, under a Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday arrangement (hopefully, he or she is hearing at least 10 cases on Wednesday and/or issuing a lot of OTRs).

I'm aware of one ALJ who has a two week flex pattern. In Week One, the ALJ flexs on Mon/Tue and Thu/Fri, then in the Second Week, the ALJ will take two flex days from Tue/Wed/Thu.

Repeat as necessary.

[deltajudge]

I was an ALJ for 30 years. My last office was Knoxville. The alternate work site was very successful and productive there. Region 4 determined there really was no limit on how many days an ALJ could work at home other than the constraints of hearings and the need to be in the office, and our HOCALJ left that up to common sense and the ALJ. Of course you had have the cases to work on, which was the problem. I would not work at home if I did not have at least 8 cases to review or decide.

[Pixie]

Delta: Too bad you couldn't have held out for the pension reform, if it ever comes! But then you probably weren't under the FERS system and don't need it. Pix.

[deltajudge]

Hey Pixie, the association screwed up the pension reform by concentrating on the pay compression thing. I couldn't hang around and wait on them. I was under the old retirement system as was my wife, so we doing good. I tried not to abuse the AWS system, and accounted for the cases I took home. We had some ALJs that were working at home 3 days a week when we had no cases. That's the way it goes.