new alj classes

[learnedhand]

I spoke to one of the trainers in the last few days. He said that the new alj classes now last 4 weeks instead of 5 weeks, which was the length of previous classes.

[cinderella]

Is all the training in Falls Church or? I wonder where the ALJs stay?

[mrnovember]

I heard from one of the trainers that they are lobbying heavily for a return to Falls Church. The last training was done in Baltimore and required daily bus commutes. Ughhh.

[lee]

Do the ALJ trainees get a paid trip home during the 4/5 week training session?

[learnedhand]

No.

[cinderella]

To quote another poster on the old board, " I know this is the cart before the horse," but should one be chosen as ALJ, what expenses (moving, training, per diem), etc. actually get paid? Right now, I'm sucking wind a little bit budget wise, for back to back trips to DC from "flyover" country. Not that I'm complaining, mind you- HAPPY TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY!!!!!!

[learnedhand]

All I can go by is my previous move. A househunting trip was paid for. Temporary accomodations for 3 months were paid for if necessary. The physical move was paid for. If you went with a mortgage company working with the federal gov't, much of your closing costs were paid for. There was the option to have the gov't buy your home. Also, all this payment was considered extra income to me, and the taxes on that income were paid.

[judicature]

learnedhand - were you already a federal employee when you made your previous move?

[cinderella]

Wow- that's pretty great. So, during training, your trip to Falls Church was paid for, as was your hotel/ per diem- right? Does everyone stay at the same place or are there multiple locations, or?

I've never heard of a realtor working w/ the Govt before. Wonder how exactly that would work?

[learnedhand]

I was already a federal employee when I made my move.

As far as realtor working with the agency, they don't really. They can refer you to someone if you don't have your own. Also, there is a government agency or whatever that buys the houses. Not sure how that works because I didn't take part. The mortgage company was also private.

[cinderella]

Did the trainer mention anything else? I know someone who just got back from another ODAR training (new writer) who spoke with somebody involved in the training (I got the feeling it was someone who sets up/helps run the ALJ training). When our employee mentioned the 170 judges, the SSA person replied that there would be "a lot more." I wonder if that is true? (I hope so!).

[chris]

learnedhand said:

All I can go by is my previous move. A househunting trip was paid for. Temporary accomodations for 3 months were paid for if necessary. The physical move was paid for. If you went with a mortgage company working with the federal gov't, much of your closing costs were paid for. There was the option to have the gov't buy your home. Also, all this payment was considered extra income to me, and the taxes on that income were paid.

That seems very generous. Were those perks given to you as a new ALJ or for some other reason, such as moving from one federal job to another? In short, do all new ALJs get those moving benefits?

[chris]

cinderella said:

Did the trainer mention anything else? I know someone who just got back from another ODAR training (new writer) who spoke with somebody involved in the training (I got the feeling it was someone who sets up/helps run the ALJ training). When our employee mentioned the 170 judges, the SSA person replied that there would be "a lot more." I wonder if that is true? (I hope so!).

I keep hearing that the total number of judges hired over the next year or two will exceed 200, but there are still two points to consider: 1. How many of those will actually be hired in the big group by March 2008? and 2. they hire about 50 every year due to attrition, so even if there is no big push they would have likely hired 100 in the next couple of years anyway.

[oldtimer]

My "experience" is over 10 years old, but it was my understanding that all federal employees who become ALJs receive a relocation package (assuming they're relocating, of course; some of my new colleagues were lucky enough to be hired in the offices where they'd been serving as supervisory attorneys). To the best of my recollection, my class lasted 4 weeks, although more recent colleagues may have received 5 weeks of training, with the 4th week at SSA headquarters in Baltimore (the others, of course, in the D.C./Arlington/Falls Church area). Never heard of anyone getting a paid trip home on a weekend, however. If possible, however, have your spouse/family visit with you, since you're often lodged in a suite-hotel (although I heard that training 5 years ago was held in a small, dumpy hotel in Dupont Circle).

[workdrone]

Additionally, IF the active bar membership requirement for sitting ALJs survive the AALJ litigation, there may be a wave of retirements forthcoming. So all in all, I think there may be quite a few more openings in the next couple years.

Regards,

Drone

[oldtimer]

Re: the number of judges to be hired, I have no inside information, but a couple thoughts:

First, even if they lose 50 judges annually due to attrition, it doesn't automatically follow that they'd hire 50 to replace them, i.e., the register has to be open; hence, they've lost a lot of judges in recent years, d/t attrition, b/c they haven't been able to replace them.

Second, I've heard about 125 judges to be hired in late Fall, with another 150 or so in Spring 2008. Even this would require some major changes, in a short period of time, b/c usually OCALJ has difficulty finding enough ALJs to serve as trainers, so even classes of 60 judges (divided into two sections) have been challenging. So, unless they can somehow find a lot more judges to serve as trainers, or have the same judges agree to do training for back-to-back, 4-week sessions (although most only participate in one week of the training), I'm somewhat dubious about the number of new hires I've been hearing about (not to mention, any judges who participate in training may already have hearings scheduled, which would have to be canceled, and won't help their home offices achieve the monthly disposition goal).

Finally, in response to previous questions, the new judges are usually lodged in a single hotel (mine was a Doubletree, in Arlington, I think), with the training taking place in a ballroom there.

If you qualify for a relocation package, you're provided with the names of several realtors, in both your current and future locations, and you choose which you want to go with. Yes, if you can't sell your house, it gets appraised by several (3?) appraisers, and the relocation company buys it (for the middle price, maybe?). You also can take a single househunting trip, and, until you're into your new home, you receive per diem, on a declining basis, for maybe the first 90 days at your new location.

[chris]

"If you qualify for a relocation package"

Who qualifies?

[cinderella]

Oldtimer- thanks for all the info! Wow- can it be 125 ALJs in Fall 2007 and 150 in Spring 2008? 275? Gosh- what about funding??? Also, we never have a budget right after the end of the fiscal year- where in the heck will the money come from???

[Pixie]

The question isn't so much as who "qualifies," as who will be given the relocation package. It must be done for the good of the government. Employees who are selected for management are given the package, and on rare instances, an employee wishing to make a lateral transfer to another office will have her expenses paid.

Games are played with the relocation package, however. I have seen employees who apply for a lateral transfer to another office, and who are selected for that position, but the transfer is turned down because region doesn't want to pay the moving expenses. When the employee says, OK, I will pay the moving expenses myself, that offer is turned down as well, as the government should be paying the expenses for a lateral transfer employee.

I think that a hardship transfer is a situation where an employee can transfer, and pay the moving expenses out of her own pocket.

Another situation can be a husband/wife team in one office who wants to transfer to another office, and the need in the transferee office is great. I have seen region approve travel in that situation because the need is great in one office, and they are getting two employees for the price of one. This is rare, however.

Now that the jobs are being advertised on USA Jobs Today, many of those jobs are treated as outside hires. So even if you are already an employee of SSA, your application comes in as an outside application, and the rules on paying relocation expenses don't come into play. The recent hiring of FEDROs is a good example. I could be wrong, but I believe that most of those accepted, had to pay their own moving expenses.

It has been more than a year since I have looked at this question, so I may not be exactly correct, but the above is how I remember it working. Things do change, however. Pix.

[learnedhand]

Cinderella, before you get too excited, notice what he said about the training. My HOCALJ is one of the trainers and he is hearing from his people that there likely won't be time to put together a fall class.