A Plea to The Powers That Be

[barkley]

I have heard that The Powers That Be (TPTB) look in on this forum.

Dear TPTB

I remember the old days, when one of the hot standards of judgement over judges was the Hearing Heard to Scheduled ratio. I hope that is no longer the case. Because of your insistence on scheduling AGED cases without regard to why they are aged, I have had numerous dockets with 50 - 75% "no show" rates due to no fault of mine or the staff in my office.

The current dismissal policy has got to be changed. I recently had a case that had been scheduled for it's TENTH hearing. I have cases lingering around where telephones have been disconnected, mail has been returned and the claimant is long lost. I have three cases on my list wherein the claimant told a clerk they wanted to withdraw their request for hearing, but they would not answer the phone when I called, nor would they return the form so we would have the request to withdraw in writing. I have six cases wherein the claimant was returned to work at SGA. I have two cases wherein the claimant hung up when the HR identified herself. And since none of these people formally agreed to a phone hearing, I cannot dismiss. And they will be re-scheduled and re-scheduled and re-scheduled. . . filling my docket slots with no hope of actually holding a hearing.

TPTB - you are hurting many of these claimants. At least half of my lost cases are unrepresented people who are continuing benefits after a CDR. Some of these had their benefits ceased 3-4 years ago. Every month we fail to dismiss their cases, the overpayments grow. Many of these are children. When these children reach adulthood, SSA will find a way to get the money back. They may attack tax refunds. They may wait until the grown children file for RSI. But sooner or later, they ( will pay.

Powers That Be, you know as well as I do that if I were allowed to dismiss the 50 or so lingering cases under my number, this would not be the end of the line. Claimants can ask for cases to be reopened! They can file appeals! They can file new applications! Receiving a dismissal may just be the incentive they need to contact the hearing office, provide updated information, participate in a CEO.  (HEY!  There is a policy - if a claimant calls in, put them through immediately for a CEO). Moreover, my docket slots could be returned for people who actually want to have a hearing.

Thank you for your attention.

[Topperlaw]

Our office is just puttjng all un-repped no shows into "PRE" status until we go back to in person so they cant be scheduled 2nd and 3rd times. No sense in robbing some other claimant of a quicker Hearing.

[rightspeech]

Sept 23, 2021 21:32:07 GMT -5 barkley said:

TPTB - you are hurting many of these claimants. At least half of my lost cases are unrepresented people who are continuing benefits after a CDR. Some of these had their benefits ceased 3-4 years ago. Every month we fail to dismiss their cases, the overpayments grow. Many of these are children. When these children reach adulthood, SSA will find a way to get the money back. They may attack tax refunds. They may wait until the grown children file for RSI. But sooner or later, they ( will pay.

Is that actually a thing? If a parent gets an overpayment on behalf of a child SSA will later come after the child as an adult for the money? I had no idea, that's horrible.

[Pixie]

Instead of setting the multiple no show cases in amongst the cases that will be heard, and thereby depriving a claimant of a hearing slot, set 25 of them on one docket. If, as expected, no one shows, just go about your business as usual—prepping cases for the next day, editing, etc.

But Topperlaw's method above is the best way to handle it. Pixie

[nylawyer]

Sept 24, 2021 8:17:06 GMT -5 Pixie said:

Instead of setting the multiple no show cases in amongst the cases that will be heard, and thereby depriving a claimant of a hearing slot, set 25 of them on one docket. If, as expected, no one shows, just go about your business as usual—prepping cases for the next day, editing, etc.

But Topperlaw's method above is the best way to handle it. Pixie

I know some offices won't allow the so called rocket dockets.

We can't do that kind of scheduling anymore with CSU- all we can do is provide the days and times of hearings. No more specifying which slots are for reppped or unrepped, or child, or those requiring translators.

And while PRE does keep the hearing slots available, it does nothing to help with the overpayment issue- if anything it just makes it worse.

Plus, at a time when apparently some offices are struggling to schedule enough cases I'm sure management is happy to have these to throw onto the schedule over and over.

[barkley]

Believe me. I have asked on multiple occasions to have all mine scheduled on one day, 15 minutes apart, no VE. I even volunteered to take all we have in the office.

However, to do that, you have to have local management with a spine, willing to use independent judgement to do it without expressed permission from RO and the CSU.

Hence my plea to TPTB.

[prescient]

Many of those cases shouldn’t be repeatedly rescheduled. Whoever is doing that isn’t following OCALJs guidance

[superalj]

Don’t waste your breath appealing to the TPTB. This issue goes higher than the TPTB at SSA. This is a political policy related to serving underserved communities.

In the meantime, hunker down and wait it out. If you can’t dismiss a case due to the circumstances mentioned, park that case in PRE until further guidance from OCALJ.

If you are able to dismiss, make sure every i is dotted and t is crossed before the dismissal goes through the internal review gauntlet. Finally, listen to your HOCALJ and DO NOT sign a dismissal unless it’s policy compliant. Signing or persisting with a non compliant dismissal will definitely get you the attention of the TPTB-just not the type of attention you want.

[lurkerbelow]

"A Plea to The Powers That Be"

You do realize they probably subsist on the tears of broken employees and managers, right?

[Legal Beagle]

This would all go away if we could NOW send the 75 day notice for in person hearings in January. Waiting until someone decides we can go back into the office means another 75 day or more delay in getting rid of these taxpayer-money wasting cases!

[pumpkin]

Oct 19, 2021 20:11:22 GMT -5 Legal Beagle said:

This would all go away if we could NOW send the 75 day notice for in person hearings in January. Waiting until someone decides we can go back into the office means another 75 day or more delay in getting rid of these taxpayer-money wasting cases!

Maybe we could notice ‘em up to appear at the local Starbucks. Based on the number of people I see inside Starbucks, COVID clearly does not live there.

[Gaidin]

Oct 19, 2021 20:11:22 GMT -5 Legal Beagle said:

This would all go away if we could NOW send the 75 day notice for in person hearings in January. Waiting until someone decides we can go back into the office means another 75 day or more delay in getting rid of these taxpayer-money wasting cases!

I think you're deluding yourself if you think we will be back in the office 75 days from now.  I think it is coming don't get me wrong but I don't think it will be that fast.  

[jagvet]

I see case after case where a claimant refuses a COVID vaccine during a hospital visit; even people with extreme vulnerabilities like COPD, diabetes, and so on. I'm told that HOCALJs are doing some in-persons starting in December. Is this true?

[Gaidin]

Oct 23, 2021 21:41:09 GMT -5 jagvet said:

I see case after case where a claimant refuses a COVID vaccine during a hospital visit; even people with extreme vulnerabilities like COPD, diabetes, and so on. I'm told that HOCALJs are doing some in-persons starting in December. Is this true?

I haven't heard about a start for that but I have heard that HOCALJs will go first. I have some concern they will "steal" all the dismissals. I just don't know that they can call the rest of us back into the office until they hash it out with the union.

[Thomas fka Lance]

In the meantime, check the notice of hearings on your upcoming cases, which should be done through February by now (or will be soon)

These clearly state how the hearings will proceed. This way you'll at least have a few months notice, presuming there is no "official" notice of a return to the office.

[nylawyer]

If the HOCALJs are going back first I expect they will be taking all of the cases where the claimants never consented to a phone hearing, which will be a lot of dismissals.

I wouldn't count on the notices meaning anything. I could see a scenario where we are told we are returning to the offices (however that looks) in a month, and basically the claimants reps get told, you have been noticed for a phone hearing, you can keep it if you want, or you can come to the hearing office at that same day/time.

But, that would presume we return to more or less the way things were pre-pandemic; I am guessing that won't be the case, and we will be more of a hybrid at least for a while.

[jagvet]

I don't begrudge the HOCALJs essentially running an in-person rocket docket. These cases keep recycling for no reason. Many of them are terminations which are sort of like death-penalty criminal cases. Your goal is to stay alive (keep getting paid) as long as possible. I would schedule 15 a day and see if 2 or 3 show up.

[Ace Midnight]

Just murmurings, but feels like they will phase in "in-person" hearings in March/April - may roll in one region at a time like the CSU rollout.

I have no inside information and cannot even cite to anything concrete, but a couple of things here and there have led me to this analysis.

Obviously, relying on this will be ultimately and utterly at your own peril.

[Gaidin]

Oct 24, 2021 15:14:16 GMT -5 Ace Midnight said:

Just murmurings, but feels like they will phase in "in-person" hearings in March/April - may roll in one region at a time like the CSU rollout.

I have no inside information and cannot even cite to anything concrete, but a couple of things here and there have led me to this analysis.

Obviously, relying on this will be ultimately and utterly at your own peril.

My gut says early April for line judges but I don't have any inside information either.

[foghorn]

I would hope that the union would get the administration to provide HEPA filters and if not certainly permit Judges to bring their own.
They do a great job at knocking down the virus count. C02 monitors, N95 masks, and windows that open are all useful tools IN ADDITION TO vaccination (and boosters)

Be healthy. Be safe out there!