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Post by tripper on Jul 1, 2020 13:54:19 GMT -5
I think it’s because for August the central scheduling unit was supposed to contact the reps or claimants prior to scheduling. They had a lot of trouble getting hold of people within the timeframe required for 75 day notice.
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Post by jagvet on Jul 1, 2020 13:58:57 GMT -5
I don't have any hearings, phone or otherwise, scheduled after the first week of August. (Rest of my office is the same, so I don't think I'm being let go). I don't the fact that hearings are being noticed to be by phone through November would preclude the agency from re-opening the offices. They could then just give the claimants the option to either proceed by phone or live. My guess is that OHO will not allow in-person for a while longer than the rest of the country. One concern is the high number of homeless people or mentally ill who will refuse masks or social distancing. Another problem is the numerous hearing room set-ups and need to constantly clean between hearings. Another is social distancing in smaller waiting rooms. Finally, HOCALJs may be concerned about staff health (yes, some actually are!).
One other thing is that with telephone hearings, the availability of hearing rooms and seniority rules for them do not apply. To schedule, say, October as telephone and then switch to later in-person may create conflicts among judges for the rooms.
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Post by tripper on Jul 1, 2020 14:04:14 GMT -5
In my office they are still assigning hearings rooms by seniority so if we went back in the office we have a hearing room assigned to us.
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Post by jagvet on Jul 1, 2020 14:08:32 GMT -5
In my office they are still assigning hearings rooms by seniority so if we went back in the office we have a hearing room assigned to us. Same here, but telephone hearings are not designated with a given hearing room, so if they switched back to live hearings, in case of e.g., 5 hearing rooms, if 7 ALJs had hearings that day, two juniors would lose out and the hearings rescheduled. |
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Post by tripper on Jul 1, 2020 14:57:04 GMT -5
In my office they are still assigning hearings rooms by seniority so if we went back in the office we have a hearing room assigned to us. Same here, but telephone hearings are not designated with a given hearing room, so if they switched back to live hearings, in case of e.g., 5 hearing rooms, if 7 ALJs had hearings that day, two juniors would lose out and the hearings rescheduled. Our phone hearings are actually assigned a specific room so we could return to the office without that being an issue. |
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Post by jagvet on Jul 1, 2020 19:39:50 GMT -5
Interesting. Ours are not aligned that way.
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Post by hamster on Jul 1, 2020 21:46:37 GMT -5
My docket is not filled for all of August either. I think I have about 60% and only one or two in first two weeks of September. I’m docketed through the end of September. A full schedule. All phone hearings. We have already turned in our calendars for November. I think the CSUs are grooming us. For what, I don’t know. But it can’t be good. Respectfully, Hamster |
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Post by jimmy224 on Jul 1, 2020 22:50:17 GMT -5
Cases spiking around the country now and states like Arizona are about to go back into lockdown. I am thinking it is only a matter of time before the whole country recloses again and goes back into lockdown. No end in sight at moment
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Post by Ace Midnight on Jul 2, 2020 7:22:58 GMT -5
Cases spiking while deaths continue to trend downward is precisely the path to herd immunity. The shutdowns/slowing the spread was to make sure resources didn't get overwhelmed. They didn't at the peak and we're more prepared now.
Without a vaccine, widespread infection of primarily mild/asymptomatic cases is exactly what we need.
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Post by nylawyer on Jul 2, 2020 8:47:15 GMT -5
Cases spiking while deaths continue to trend downward is precisely the path to herd immunity. The shutdowns/slowing the spread was to make sure resources didn't get overwhelmed. They didn't at the peak and we're more prepared now. Without a vaccine, widespread infection of primarily mild/asymptomatic cases is exactly what we need. I agree that a spike in new cases without a corresponding jump in deaths is certainly not nearly as bad as the news would make you think. (Although deaths aren't the only metric, number of hospitalizations is also important). Yet every day I have to look for myself to see if there is a jump in reported deaths, because that stat isn't making it into the news. www.google.com/search?q=coronavirus+deaths+by+day&oq=co&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j69i60l3.1179j1j7&client=ms-android-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8I do not remotely understand the media coverage. Back in March, the watchwords were to "flatten the curve". That by definition meant lowering the number of infected then by spreading it out over a period of months. Yet now the states that successfully did this, such as Florida or California, are reported as having failed, while states like NY that were overwhelmed early on are being lauded. |
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Post by jimmy224 on Jul 2, 2020 10:54:15 GMT -5
Cases spiking while deaths continue to trend downward is precisely the path to herd immunity. The shutdowns/slowing the spread was to make sure resources didn't get overwhelmed. They didn't at the peak and we're more prepared now. Without a vaccine, widespread infection of primarily mild/asymptomatic cases is exactly what we need. The problem is we don’t know if reinfection is possible and don’t know how long immunity if any lasts (so possible no herd immunity and folks just keep getting reinfected). Also we don’t know what the long term effects of getting the virus are yet |
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Post by icemaster on Jul 2, 2020 11:50:44 GMT -5
Cases spiking while deaths continue to trend downward is precisely the path to herd immunity. The shutdowns/slowing the spread was to make sure resources didn't get overwhelmed. They didn't at the peak and we're more prepared now. Without a vaccine, widespread infection of primarily mild/asymptomatic cases is exactly what we need. The problem is we don’t know if reinfection is possible and don’t know how long immunity if any lasts (so possible no herd immunity and folks just keep getting reinfected). Also we don’t know what the long term effects of getting the virus are yet Everything you said is what I've been talking to a few people about. My concern is about all the things we don't know. We are still in the learning phase of this virus and it feels like we're learning a lot of things trial by combat. |
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Post by oddis on Jul 2, 2020 13:17:27 GMT -5
Cases spiking while deaths continue to trend downward is precisely the path to herd immunity. The shutdowns/slowing the spread was to make sure resources didn't get overwhelmed. They didn't at the peak and we're more prepared now. Without a vaccine, widespread infection of primarily mild/asymptomatic cases is exactly what we need. I agree that a spike in new cases without a corresponding jump in deaths is certainly not nearly as bad as the news would make you think. (Although deaths aren't the only metric, number of hospitalizations is also important). Yet every day I have to look for myself to see if there is a jump in reported deaths, because that stat isn't making it into the news. www.google.com/search?q=coronavirus+deaths+by+day&oq=co&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j69i60l3.1179j1j7&client=ms-android-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8I do not remotely understand the media coverage. Back in March, the watchwords were to "flatten the curve". That by definition meant lowering the number of infected then by spreading it out over a period of months. Yet now the states that successfully did this, such as Florida or California, are reported as having failed, while states like NY that were overwhelmed early on are being lauded. Yes!! The media coverage of this has been abysmal at best, and intentionally misleading at worst. |
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Post by nylawyer on Jul 2, 2020 18:47:43 GMT -5
Cases spiking while deaths continue to trend downward is precisely the path to herd immunity. The shutdowns/slowing the spread was to make sure resources didn't get overwhelmed. They didn't at the peak and we're more prepared now. Without a vaccine, widespread infection of primarily mild/asymptomatic cases is exactly what we need. The problem is we don’t know if reinfection is possible and don’t know how long immunity if any lasts (so possible no herd immunity and folks just keep getting reinfected). Also we don’t know what the long term effects of getting the virus are yet I dont think there is any reason to believe someone who catches this and is asymptomatic will have any long term problems. But whether reinfection is possible, obviously that is one of the important unknowns. |
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Post by anciano on Jul 4, 2020 8:50:32 GMT -5
Given the vulnerability of a large portion of both claimants and OHO employees, the move back to face to face hearings is complicated. Our hearing offices are not currently configured to provide the separation safety necessary to protect the participants. One step that has been suggested, in moving to some direct contact, is the use of our COV claimant only video rooms and the conversion of claimant - representative meeting rooms to video. The plan would then allow the ALJ and VHR to be in the hearing room and connected by video. The waiting areas would also need substantial modification, and in some situations, building entry would be limited to appointed time windows. How this will unfold and when, is still not known. We are booking all cases telephonically at least through September, and given the need for substantial advance notice, I anticipate more direction for the balance of the calendar year in the next few weeks. So much is on hold at present, including computer refreshment and paper cases, that operational plans need to be forthcoming soon. In the meantime, for what it is worth, I have noticed a recent uptick in retirement requests. Happy 4th of July.
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Post by Pixie on Jul 4, 2020 11:21:31 GMT -5
Given the vulnerability of a large portion of both claimants and OHO employees, the move back to face to face hearings is complicated. Our hearing offices are not currently configured to provide the separation safety necessary to protect the participants. One step that has been suggested, in moving to some direct contact, is the use of our COV claimant only video rooms and the conversion of claimant - representative meeting rooms to video. The plan would then allow the ALJ and VHR to be in the hearing room and connected by video. The waiting areas would also need substantial modification, and in some situations, building entry would be limited to appointed time windows. How this will unfold and when, is still not known. We are booking all cases telephonically at least through September, and given the need for substantial advance notice, I anticipate more direction for the balance of the calendar year in the next few weeks. So much is on hold at present, including computer refreshment and paper cases, that operational plans need to be forthcoming soon. In the meantime, for what it is worth, I have noticed a recent uptick in retirement requests. Happy 4th of July. Happy 4th of July to you, and welcome to the board. Pixie |
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Post by hamster on Jul 4, 2020 12:34:04 GMT -5
Given the vulnerability of a large portion of both claimants and OHO employees, the move back to face to face hearings is complicated. Our hearing offices are not currently configured to provide the separation safety necessary to protect the participants. One step that has been suggested, in moving to some direct contact, is the use of our COV claimant only video rooms and the conversion of claimant - representative meeting rooms to video. The plan would then allow the ALJ and VHR to be in the hearing room and connected by video. The waiting areas would also need substantial modification, and in some situations, building entry would be limited to appointed time windows. How this will unfold and when, is still not known. We are booking all cases telephonically at least through September, and given the need for substantial advance notice, I anticipate more direction for the balance of the calendar year in the next few weeks. So much is on hold at present, including computer refreshment and paper cases, that operational plans need to be forthcoming soon. In the meantime, for what it is worth, I have noticed a recent uptick in retirement requests. Happy 4th of July. Claimant Only VIDeo rooms. COVID rooms. Be well! Hamster |
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Post by acttwo on Jul 5, 2020 9:35:23 GMT -5
Given the vulnerability of a large portion of both claimants and OHO employees, the move back to face to face hearings is complicated. Our hearing offices are not currently configured to provide the separation safety necessary to protect the participants. One step that has been suggested, in moving to some direct contact, is the use of our COV claimant only video rooms and the conversion of claimant - representative meeting rooms to video. The plan would then allow the ALJ and VHR to be in the hearing room and connected by video. The waiting areas would also need substantial modification, and in some situations, building entry would be limited to appointed time windows. How this will unfold and when, is still not known. We are booking all cases telephonically at least through September, and given the need for substantial advance notice, I anticipate more direction for the balance of the calendar year in the next few weeks. So much is on hold at present, including computer refreshment and paper cases, that operational plans need to be forthcoming soon. In the meantime, for what it is worth, I have noticed a recent uptick in retirement requests. Happy 4th of July. Claimant Only VIDeo rooms. COVID rooms. Be well! Hamster Clever! And yes, please, everyone be and stay well! |
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Post by pumpkin on Jul 5, 2020 19:39:22 GMT -5
At what point, in good conscience, can we ask claimants with diabetes, lupus, COPD and the like to sit for any length of time in a waiting room with other chronically ill claimants? When would be a good time to expose immunologically impaired claimants to another claimant who was recently incarcerated or residing in a homeless shelter?
I hope that the technologically gifted at OHO are working on our remote video capabilities.
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Post by monopoly on Jul 5, 2020 21:17:26 GMT -5
Claimant Only VIDeo rooms. COVID rooms. Be well! Hamster Clever! And yes, please, everyone be and stay well! The federal government LOVES a good acronym. You win the contest for best/most creative new one! |
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