Post by carrickfergus on Oct 20, 2016 16:25:30 GMT -5
...per recent labor/mgt report; don't know if this is news but thought it might be of interest. Of course, dire budget situation noted as well. I read somewhere else that the agency hired 264 last FY (which includes those who started on 10/16), which was the largest yearly hire ever.
Last Edit: Oct 20, 2016 16:25:52 GMT -5 by carrickfergus
...per recent labor/mgt report; don't know if this is news but thought it might be of interest. Of course, dire budget situation noted as well. I read somewhere else that the agency hired 264 last FY (which includes those who started on 10/16), which was the largest yearly hire ever.
Well it is certainly news to us outsiders. Thanks - and let us all hope the budget allows for even more...
...per recent labor/mgt report; don't know if this is news but thought it might be of interest. Of course, dire budget situation noted as well. I read somewhere else that the agency hired 264 last FY (which includes those who started on 10/16), which was the largest yearly hire ever.
...per recent labor/mgt report; don't know if this is news but thought it might be of interest. Of course, dire budget situation noted as well. I read somewhere else that the agency hired 264 last FY (which includes those who started on 10/16), which was the largest yearly hire ever.
Yes, it was the largest yearly hire, but not the largest class. That was in about 2000 or 2001. It was just too much. Pixie
Any word on whether the target size for the SSA ALJ corps remains 1900? Was there any info on attrition and the current size of the SSA ALJ corps? In short, what is the gap between the current number and the ultimate goal?
I feel like I'm in a line for a bus at Disney. Assuming I get to stay in line, will the bus fill up and leave before it is my turn?
Any word on whether the target size for the SSA ALJ corps remains 1900? Was there any info on attrition and the current size of the SSA ALJ corps? In short, what is the gap between the current number and the ultimate goal?
I feel like I'm in a line for a bus at Disney. Assuming I get to stay in line, will the bus fill up and leave before it is my turn?
No, with attrition, there will always be room on the bus. If the Agency ever catches up with its goals, there may be fewer seats on the bus, but they will still be available. Pixie
Any word on whether the target size for the SSA ALJ corps remains 1900? Was there any info on attrition and the current size of the SSA ALJ corps? In short, what is the gap between the current number and the ultimate goal?
I feel like I'm in a line for a bus at Disney. Assuming I get to stay in line, will the bus fill up and leave before it is my turn?
No, with attrition, there will always be room on the bus. If the Agency ever catches up with its goals, there may be fewer seats on the bus, but they will still be available. Pixie
Like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (with a shout out to Gene Wilder), I am hoping to get my "golden ticket" to ride that bus!
Any word on whether the target size for the SSA ALJ corps remains 1900? Was there any info on attrition and the current size of the SSA ALJ corps? In short, what is the gap between the current number and the ultimate goal?
I feel like I'm in a line for a bus at Disney. Assuming I get to stay in line, will the bus fill up and leave before it is my turn?
No, with attrition, there will always be room on the bus. If the Agency ever catches up with its goals, there may be fewer seats on the bus, but they will still be available. Pixie
Oh, I understand that there will always be hiring but Jratty's TM phrase "its a great time to be on the register" will only be true for so long. This appears to be a golden era for ALJ hiring, with ODAR having a huge backlog, trying to increase the ALJ #s by 30% and cover attrition of 100 or so a year. Plus, with open spots in virtually every office, ALJs are able to transfer to another office easily, or so it seems from the outside.
Once ODAR hits 1900, they will hire only to cover attrition and there is a big difference between 250 per year and 100 per year. Plus, while it appears that the ALJ corps demographics, including the new hires, are spread across a pretty good age range, I expect that attrition will drop off a little bit for the next 10 years. This is an assumption that most new ALJs, regardless of age, aren't taking the job just for 2 or 3 years. I expect those who are near retirement age that were recently hired took the job with the intent of working past retirement age.
Also, as offices fill up, it would seem logical that the transfers would slow down. Transfers would be dependent on attrition to open slots in the office to which you wish to go.
Right now they are hiring with a firehouse to put out the backlog fire. In the next 5 years, they'll just be hiring with a regular garden hose to maintain the ALJ garden that arises out of the backlog fire.
Whatever, looking way down the road is the surest way to trip over what is right at your feet. Given that I have to test next week, I should probably heed that advice. It won't really matter what happens in 5 years if I'm not on the register.
...per recent labor/mgt report; don't know if this is news but thought it might be of interest. Of course, dire budget situation noted as well. I read somewhere else that the agency hired 264 last FY (which includes those who started on 10/16), which was the largest yearly hire ever.
Thanks, Carrickfergus. (Named for the castle, the town, or the song?)
Can you expand at all on what the report says about the "dire budget situation"? For example, is there anything about whether ODAR can hire ALJs without a federal budget in place? (Presumably not.)
No, with attrition, there will always be room on the bus. If the Agency ever catches up with its goals, there may be fewer seats on the bus, but they will still be available. Pixie
Oh, I understand that there will always be hiring but Jratty's TM phrase "its a great time to be on the register" will only be true for so long. This appears to be a golden era for ALJ hiring, with ODAR having a huge backlog, trying to increase the ALJ #s by 30% and cover attrition of 100 or so a year. Plus, with open spots in virtually every office, ALJs are able to transfer to another office easily, or so it seems from the outside.
Once ODAR hits 1900, they will hire only to cover attrition and there is a big difference between 250 per year and 100 per year. Plus, while it appears that the ALJ corps demographics, including the new hires, are spread across a pretty good age range, I expect that attrition will drop off a little bit for the next 10 years. This is an assumption that most new ALJs, regardless of age, aren't taking the job just for 2 or 3 years. I expect those who are near retirement age that were recently hired took the job with the intent of working past retirement age.
Also, as offices fill up, it would seem logical that the transfers would slow down. Transfers would be dependent on attrition to open slots in the office to which you wish to go.
Right now they are hiring with a firehouse to put out the backlog fire. In the next 5 years, they'll just be hiring with a regular garden hose to maintain the ALJ garden that arises out of the backlog fire.
Whatever, looking way down the road is the surest way to trip over what is right at your feet. Given that I have to test next week, I should probably heed that advice. It won't really matter what happens in 5 years if I'm not on the register.
Great information, Bayou and Pixie! Bayou -- you hit the proverbial nail on the head --
Oh, I understand that there will always be hiring but Jratty's TM phrase "its a great time to be on the register" will only be true for so long. This appears to be a golden era for ALJ hiring, with ODAR having a huge backlog, trying to increase the ALJ #s by 30% and cover attrition of 100 or so a year. Plus, with open spots in virtually every office, ALJs are able to transfer to another office easily, or so it seems from the outside.
Once ODAR hits 1900, they will hire only to cover attrition and there is a big difference between 250 per year and 100 per year. Plus, while it appears that the ALJ corps demographics, including the new hires, are spread across a pretty good age range, I expect that attrition will drop off a little bit for the next 10 years. This is an assumption that most new ALJs, regardless of age, aren't taking the job just for 2 or 3 years. I expect those who are near retirement age that were recently hired took the job with the intent of working past retirement age.
Also, as offices fill up, it would seem logical that the transfers would slow down. Transfers would be dependent on attrition to open slots in the office to which you wish to go.
Right now they are hiring with a firehouse to put out the backlog fire. In the next 5 years, they'll just be hiring with a regular garden hose to maintain the ALJ garden that arises out of the backlog fire.
Whatever, looking way down the road is the surest way to trip over what is right at your feet. Given that I have to test next week, I should probably heed that advice. It won't really matter what happens in 5 years if I'm not on the register.
Great information, Bayou and Pixie! Bayou -- you hit the proverbial nail on the head --
...per recent labor/mgt report; don't know if this is news but thought it might be of interest. Of course, dire budget situation noted as well. I read somewhere else that the agency hired 264 last FY (which includes those who started on 10/16), which was the largest yearly hire ever.
Just a little digging around and I found this, which appears slightly dated -- and I know it isn't the inside information that others have...
"Examples of initiatives currently underway in the CARES plan include:
Increased Staffing: We will likely need to expand our hearings workforce by a few thousand employees between now and FY 2018, including 250 ALJs per year, if we are to eliminate the backlog by the end of FY 2020. In order to meet our hiring goals, we need OPM to provide an adequate pool of ALJ candidates. OPM recently provided 50 additional candidates, but we need many more. The BBA included an important provision to ensure another exam will be administered this year, which is critical to ensuring an adequate pool of ALJs in future years. If we meet our hiring goals, we will increase our hearing decisions in FY 2017 to approximately 784,000, nearly 20 percent more than our FY 2015 levels, and begin to reduce pending levels."
...per recent labor/mgt report; don't know if this is news but thought it might be of interest. Of course, dire budget situation noted as well. I read somewhere else that the agency hired 264 last FY (which includes those who started on 10/16), which was the largest yearly hire ever.
Thanks, Carrickfergus. (Named for the castle, the town, or the song?)
Can you expand at all on what the report says about the "dire budget situation"? For example, is there anything about whether ODAR can hire ALJs without a federal budget in place? (Presumably not.)
The current "dire buudget situation" is that we are operating under a CR until December 9. Without going into all the details, what that means in practical terms is that we have no money for hiring (including ALJ's) until we have an actual budget, not a CR.
The CR may be extended beyond December 9, but unless and until there is an actual budget there will not only be no hiring there will be lots of belt tightening such as no additional supplies of copy paper, pens, etc.
Thanks, Carrickfergus. (Named for the castle, the town, or the song?)
Can you expand at all on what the report says about the "dire budget situation"? For example, is there anything about whether ODAR can hire ALJs without a federal budget in place? (Presumably not.)
The current "dire buudget situation" is that we are operating under a CR until December 9. Without going into all the details, what that means in practical terms is that we have no money for hiring (including ALJ's) until we have an actual budget, not a CR.
The CR may be extended beyond December 9, but unless and until there is an actual budget there will not only be no hiring there will be lots of belt tightening such as no additional supplies of copy paper, pens, etc.
Heck, it seems that e CR means we don't even have enough money to put our names on our new office doors or flagpoles in our offices! (Ok, the flag pole thing is something that is rather trivial, but looks SO nice! Plus I'm eager to put a flag flown over the Capitol in honor of my late father in my office... but no flag poles. Sigh)
No, with attrition, there will always be room on the bus. If the Agency ever catches up with its goals, there may be fewer seats on the bus, but they will still be available. Pixie
Oh, I understand that there will always be hiring but Jratty's TM phrase "its a great time to be on the register" will only be true for so long. This appears to be a golden era for ALJ hiring, with ODAR having a huge backlog, trying to increase the ALJ #s by 30% and cover attrition of 100 or so a year. Plus, with open spots in virtually every office, ALJs are able to transfer to another office easily, or so it seems from the outside.
Once ODAR hits 1900, they will hire only to cover attrition and there is a big difference between 250 per year and 100 per year. Plus, while it appears that the ALJ corps demographics, including the new hires, are spread across a pretty good age range, I expect that attrition will drop off a little bit for the next 10 years. This is an assumption that most new ALJs, regardless of age, aren't taking the job just for 2 or 3 years. I expect those who are near retirement age that were recently hired took the job with the intent of working past retirement age.
Also, as offices fill up, it would seem logical that the transfers would slow down. Transfers would be dependent on attrition to open slots in the office to which you wish to go.
Right now they are hiring with a firehouse to put out the backlog fire. In the next 5 years, they'll just be hiring with a regular garden hose to maintain the ALJ garden that arises out of the backlog fire.
Whatever, looking way down the road is the surest way to trip over what is right at your feet. Given that I have to test next week, I should probably heed that advice. It won't really matter what happens in 5 years if I'm not on the register.
I think this most recent class put us back over 1500 total again but still fewer than 1550. If they can hire 250 a year for the next three years, they may net 300-350. That's 750 new hires in a three-year period, which is rather substantial considering that is well beyond what they've done the last three FYs and probably in any three-year period ever. I suppose in 2020 or 2021 things could slow down, but I wouldn't be surprised if attrition increases over the next few years, either, given the age of a big chunk of the corps and the disgruntlement with the current situation by a lot of those that are eligible to retire.
Well.....Trump just announced a complete ban on Federal hires except for military and med folks should he win.....
An excerpt from his website of potential interest to federal employees and prospective ALJs:
DONALD J. TRUMP CONTRACT WITH THE AMERICAN VOTER
“Therefore, on the first day of my term of office, my administration will immediately pursue the following six measures to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, DC:
FIRST, propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress; SECOND, a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health); THIRD, a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated...
Last Edit: Oct 22, 2016 15:01:21 GMT -5 by anderson
The Colonel proffers that under a Trump presidency, the SSA will be classified as a "public health" agency or administration, thus not subject to the hiring freeze. We have to look past the nuances of the personality in the Oval Office to the immutable laws of Bureaucratic Behavior and Survival. The study of Public Administration is rife with executive attempts to bridle the fourth estate. The fourth estate always wins.
The Colonel proffers that under a Trump presidency, the SSA will be classified as a "public health" agency or administration, thus not subject to the hiring freeze. We have to look past the nuances of the personality in the Oval Office to the immutable laws of Bureaucratic Behavior and Survival. The study of Public Administration is rife with executive attempts to bridle the fourth estate. The fourth estate always wins.
You may well be right, Colonel. However, it seems the plan is imbued with a "government is no good" sentiment. Semper Fi.
