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Post by shadow on Apr 6, 2021 19:01:30 GMT -5
Long time passing. This week I asked for 18 hearings. I got 3. Yikes!? We were warned by TPTB that there would be a reduction, but wow.. I am very used to being stretched to the limit ..have dealt with it, not always well. I’m curious how the other judges and attorneys are dealing with this dry spell. Will it last? RIF in our future?
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Post by nylawyer on Apr 6, 2021 19:56:42 GMT -5
A much discuss phenomenon.
Theories abound. Maybe when field offices reopen there will be a surge of applicants. Or maybe when unemployment benefits run out.
Or maybe demographics have just caught up.
Either way- under the current administration I can't envision a RIF. Maybe buy outs. Maybe attrition- very unlikely there will be any hiring.
It would be nice if there was a bit more transparency from management. I for one would have scheduled my hearing slots considerably different if I had known how many hearings I was actually going to be having.
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elvis
Full Member
Viva Falls Church!
Posts: 69 
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Post by elvis on Apr 6, 2021 21:19:58 GMT -5
Just so the passers-by don't get the idea that ALJs are sitting around doing little work... the experiences of the previous posters are far from universal.
At no point during the phone hearing era have I had a shortage of scheduled hearings. My scheduled hearings per week/month/quarter/year are exactly the same as they were before the pandemic. And looking ahead at my dockets thru May, which is as far ahead as I can see at the moment, I will continue to have full dockets. Sorry, forgot who I work for... itineraries.
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Post by hopefalj on Apr 6, 2021 21:41:23 GMT -5
There’s supposedly a huge backlog at DDS for whatever reason. If true, we’ll get busy again at some point. I’m having my dockets filled currently, but I’ve been advised it will be a Cruel Summer.
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Post by jagvet on Apr 6, 2021 22:21:47 GMT -5
Huge backlog is terminations demanding in-person cases, as well as nondismissables (by the way, does anyone actually understand the newest rules on dismissals?).
There were lots of docket holes when the pandemic started. Now, not many.
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Post by nappyloxs on Apr 7, 2021 0:46:28 GMT -5
There’s supposedly a huge backlog at DDS for whatever reason. If true, we’ll get busy again at some point. I’m having my dockets filled currently, but I’ve been advised it will be a Cruel Summer. Backlog existed at DDS prior to pandemic when reconsideration was implemented in all states. Around the same time, DDS started ordering MER for OHO. It took a while to hire more DDS doctors and little, if any, staff was hired. It was a move that made OHO look darn good as the backlog drop quickly. I haven’t looked at nationally numbers lately, but it is projected that claims pending will be well over 500k by 2023. I don’t know the math behind the projection, but I think it is either vastly underestimated or there will be a huge backlog at DDS until .... The factory should shutdown for two weeks over the summer since cases will be slim. Sorry, let me rephrase. The summer slowdown is an optimal time to perform much needed IT updates (HACPS, CSU, Teams, etc), system refresh, and extensive training on these updates and nee processes. They could even spread it out over a month or so. East of Mississippi/West of the Mississippi. Performing these activities over a short period of time maximizes the use of the slowdown and will significantly reduce the downtime compared to spreading these activities out over the course of months. We will be able to fully utilize these new updates immediately upon reopening of offices, resulting in a seamless transition and better service to the public. (Or something to that effect.) Sorry, I couldn’t help but think about how manufacturers such as Ford, GM, Tesla, GE, Lincoln, or others handle slowdowns. |
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Post by Topperlaw on Apr 7, 2021 6:36:16 GMT -5
I think they should schedule 2 weeks of mandatory ALJ refresher CLE training for August/September. Judges could pick their two weeks to avoid vacations. We'd get refesher training, and CLE credit, and the agency would get better ALJs plus a way to account for the ALJ downtime.
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Post by tripper on Apr 7, 2021 7:14:28 GMT -5
There’s supposedly a huge backlog at DDS for whatever reason. If true, we’ll get busy again at some point. I’m having my dockets filled currently, but I’ve been advised it will be a Cruel Summer. Agreed. When I am only scheduled with cases from my office, I have gaps and holes in my docket. When we take cases from other offices, I have a completely full schedule. I recently started a virtual detail to another office and I am 100% full (something I’d rather not when juggling some video, some phone on the same day). And agree with the idea of needed infrastructure and training. |
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Post by Thomas fka Lance on Apr 7, 2021 7:20:50 GMT -5
Just so the passers-by don't get the idea that ALJs are sitting around doing little work... the experiences of the previous posters are far from universal. At no point during the phone hearing era have I had a shortage of scheduled hearings. My scheduled hearings per week/month/quarter/year are exactly the same as they were before the pandemic. And looking ahead at my dockets thru May, which is as far ahead as I can see at the moment, I will continue to have full dockets. Sorry, forgot who I work for... itineraries. My dockets have always been full, are currently, and are into the future, full. I might rarely have an open slot (due to an OTR, or Rep illness) but that is no different from when I was doing in-person hearings. By the way, I would happily agree to receiving some information, as well a training, that didn't end with an Emily Littela "nevermind" after initiated. |
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Post by tripper on Apr 7, 2021 7:28:30 GMT -5
Having some transparency to multiple offices, I can say the disparity of cases is shocking.
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Post by bac on Apr 7, 2021 8:39:09 GMT -5
Same dockets full and I request a lot. Depends on where u are I guess
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Post by johnthornton on Apr 7, 2021 8:41:41 GMT -5
I am in Region 4 North. We have had our dockets reduced from 50 scheduled hearings per month to 25-30 scheduled hearings per month ever since December. We are told that this will continue until at least August.
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Post by ssaogc on Apr 7, 2021 8:58:23 GMT -5
I am on track to hit 500 this year. No issues on dockets except these no shows that I cannot dismiss because they have not agreed to phone hearings and the CDRs who ask for in person hearing.
My pay rate is significantly higher because DDS is sending some bad denials, so bad that they can be paid on the record!
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Post by shadow on Apr 7, 2021 12:33:02 GMT -5
I’m glad to hear that some folks still have full dockets. I was under the obviously mistaken impression that the sparsity of cases was a national phenomenon. Our office has always, even before the pandemic, done video hearings from coast to coast. We continue to do so, albeit now with mostly phone hearings. Wonder why some offices have lots of cases still coming in and some don’t? Oh well, we will get through it.
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Post by johnthornton on Apr 9, 2021 7:04:45 GMT -5
Has anyone heard any rumors of when we can expect to return to the office for hearings?
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Post by jimmy224 on Apr 9, 2021 7:21:11 GMT -5
Has anyone heard any rumors of when we can expect to return to the office for hearings? Probably not for a while, as that would be something that would need to be bargained over with the various unions. Maybe go to permanent telework (a bright spot in the pandemic)? |
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Post by nylawyer on Apr 13, 2021 14:48:14 GMT -5
Anyone else notice there have not been requests for assistance lately? For a couple of months I had been getting at least one a day, usually more- in the past couple of weeks, none at all.
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Post by okthen on Apr 13, 2021 15:36:56 GMT -5
Anyone else notice there have not been requests for assistance lately? For a couple of months I had been getting at least one a day, usually more- in the past couple of weeks, none at all. Must be local thing. Got like 3 today and yesterday. Also, still fully scheduled in my neck of the woods (like some others above). Such an oddity; I am surprised the Agency is not transferring cases to and from offices to even things out more, but perhaps they are indeed trying that. |
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Post by WallyGator on Apr 13, 2021 16:24:56 GMT -5
Maybe we need a poll?
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Post by Rabbit Bat Reindeer on Apr 13, 2021 20:44:03 GMT -5
Fully stocked with hearings here as well. I'm not even getting my one or two unrepped cases per day and end up having seven hearings. Certainly wouldn't mind giving a few up to those who don't have much to do. I've had cases from all time zones sent to our office in the last 12 months, it's not like things couldn't be evened out rather quickly.
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