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Post by neufenland on Feb 1, 2024 7:23:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the update, at any rate.
I’m still upset that no 2022 interviewees were hired in 2023, and I’m not sure I’ll ever understand it. All I hear in my head is Scar the lion: “Life’s not fair. Is it, my little friend?”
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Post by arkstfan on Feb 1, 2024 23:48:42 GMT -5
The only noteworthy thing that I am privy to is that an OHO ALJ wide email went out in the last 2 weeks suggesting upcoming transfers for the purpose of workload readjustment. But it was pretty cryptic without serious specifics about timing or areas of need. The mentioned transfers seemed to be just for workload reallocation without relation to hires. Sounded like they wanted more mountain and pacific time zone ALJs because of the ability to shift workloads to the west. |
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Post by fowlfinder on Feb 2, 2024 7:48:13 GMT -5
The only noteworthy thing that I am privy to is that an OHO ALJ wide email went out in the last 2 weeks suggesting upcoming transfers for the purpose of workload readjustment. But it was pretty cryptic without serious specifics about timing or areas of need. The mentioned transfers seemed to be just for workload reallocation without relation to hires. Sounded like they wanted more mountain and pacific time zone ALJs because of the ability to shift workloads to the west. I think its opposite. From my experience (pre-hire and post-hire) there is more work in the Pacific time zone and it is being shifted to the Central/Eastern time zones and they'd like to stop doing that. |
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Post by Gaidin on Feb 3, 2024 20:50:53 GMT -5
Sounded like they wanted more mountain and pacific time zone ALJs because of the ability to shift workloads to the west. I think its opposite. From my experience (pre-hire and post-hire) there is more work in the Pacific time zone and it is being shifted to the Central/Eastern time zones and they'd like to stop doing that. This. If there is a hire this year it will be small and targeted for offices in Regions 8/9/10. I honestly don't foresee a hire in '24 but if there is one it will be because nobody takes them up on transfer to the cities where they actually need ALJs. |
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Post by pumpkin on Feb 9, 2024 19:02:38 GMT -5
I wonder if TPTB have considers offering a 6 month "detail" to Eastern Time and/or Central Time ALJs. It might involve something along the lines of holding phone and video hearings between 12pm-6pm ET (11-m-5pm CT) with claimants residing in Pacific Time or Mountain Time zones.
Nobody would have to incur the cost of physical transfer, selling a house, uprooting kids from school, etc. and they would presumably retain their current locality pay. Not everyone is an early bird and a 12 PM to 6 PM docket might just be a good fit for some folks' circadian rhythms.
I realize the recent email asked for people to volunteer to add additional hearings to later timeslots, but I am envisioning more of a complete docketing of PT or MT hearings for a finite period.
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Post by rmspringfield on Feb 9, 2024 19:11:41 GMT -5
I wonder if TPTB have considers offering a 6 month "detail" to Eastern Time and/or Central Time ALJs. It might involve something along the lines of holding phone and video hearings between 12pm-6pm ET (11-m-5pm CT) with claimants residing in Pacific Time or Mountain Time zones. Nobody would have to incur the cost of physical transfer, selling a house, uprooting kids from school, etc. and they would presumably retain their current locality pay. Not everyone is an early bird and a 12 PM to 6 PM docket might just be a good fit for some folks' circadian rhythms. I realize the recent email asked for people to volunteer to add additional hearings to later timeslots, but I am envisioning more of a complete docketing of PT or MT hearings for a finite period. Currently I think at least some of the cases are being held by telephone on the eastern side. It's not a formal detail. Just the usual transferring of some telephone/online cases to other offices. As for a nighthawk detail the issue there is the union contract. core hours are currently defined as 9am to 3pm. Under the contract they can't force ALJs to hold hearings after 3pm ODS time and Regional "offering" a "detail" outside the core hours would likely stir up a hornet's nest with the union OCALJ would rather not deal with. EDIT: Section E says they can solicit judges to hear cases after 4:30 pm but they can't force it. Rather if we will see such a solicitation, who knows? I can just see some of the union reps calling fowl. EDIT 2: the other consideration is how these hearings are actually held. True, the ALJ is on the phone. The VE is on the phone. But somewhere the VHR has to be in a hearing room operating the equipment. And if a VHR is on the premises at OHO that means there has to be a security guard on the premises too. So if the office on the west coast has an available courtroom and an available VHR and security officer to call an east coast or central ALJ fine. If not and the whole case has to get transferred to the east coast then lots of those contractors aren't sticking around after 4:30 pm. |
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Post by ssaogc on Feb 9, 2024 21:32:41 GMT -5
I wonder if TPTB have considers offering a 6 month "detail" to Eastern Time and/or Central Time ALJs. It might involve something along the lines of holding phone and video hearings between 12pm-6pm ET (11-m-5pm CT) with claimants residing in Pacific Time or Mountain Time zones. Nobody would have to incur the cost of physical transfer, selling a house, uprooting kids from school, etc. and they would presumably retain their current locality pay. Not everyone is an early bird and a 12 PM to 6 PM docket might just be a good fit for some folks' circadian rhythms. I realize the recent email asked for people to volunteer to add additional hearings to later timeslots, but I am envisioning more of a complete docketing of PT or MT hearings for a finite period. I would love to volunteer for such a detail! I hope TPTB monitor this site as alleged. PTB if you are listening please listen to Pumpkin’s suggestion |
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Post by hopefalj on Feb 9, 2024 21:54:03 GMT -5
I wonder if TPTB have considers offering a 6 month "detail" to Eastern Time and/or Central Time ALJs. It might involve something along the lines of holding phone and video hearings between 12pm-6pm ET (11-m-5pm CT) with claimants residing in Pacific Time or Mountain Time zones. Nobody would have to incur the cost of physical transfer, selling a house, uprooting kids from school, etc. and they would presumably retain their current locality pay. Not everyone is an early bird and a 12 PM to 6 PM docket might just be a good fit for some folks' circadian rhythms. I realize the recent email asked for people to volunteer to add additional hearings to later timeslots, but I am envisioning more of a complete docketing of PT or MT hearings for a finite period. Currently I think at least some of the cases are being held by telephone on the eastern side. It's not a formal detail. Just the usual transferring of some telephone/online cases to other offices. As for a nighthawk detail the issue there is the union contract. core hours are currently defined as 9am to 3pm. Under the contract they can't force ALJs to hold hearings after 3pm ODS time and Regional "offering" a "detail" outside the core hours would likely stir up a hornet's nest with the union OCALJ would rather not deal with. EDIT: Section E says they can solicit judges to hear cases after 4:30 pm but they can't force it. Rather if we will see such a solicitation, who knows? I can just see some of the union reps calling fowl. EDIT 2: the other consideration is how these hearings are actually held. True, the ALJ is on the phone. The VE is on the phone. But somewhere the VHR has to be in a hearing room operating the equipment. And if a VHR is on the premises at OHO that means there has to be a security guard on the premises too. So if the office on the west coast has an available courtroom and an available VHR and security officer to call an east coast or central ALJ fine. If not and the whole case has to get transferred to the east coast then lots of those contractors aren't sticking around after 4:30 pm. They can still use employees as VHRs if necessary. If it’s a phone hearing, theoretically no one has to be in the actual hearing office. You could also schedule them using remote sites collocated in field offices where there is a guard daily. There is probably enough flexibility to get it done. |
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Post by nylawyer on Feb 12, 2024 8:23:43 GMT -5
I wonder if TPTB have considers offering a 6 month "detail" to Eastern Time and/or Central Time ALJs. It might involve something along the lines of holding phone and video hearings between 12pm-6pm ET (11-m-5pm CT) with claimants residing in Pacific Time or Mountain Time zones. Nobody would have to incur the cost of physical transfer, selling a house, uprooting kids from school, etc. and they would presumably retain their current locality pay. Not everyone is an early bird and a 12 PM to 6 PM docket might just be a good fit for some folks' circadian rhythms. I realize the recent email asked for people to volunteer to add additional hearings to later timeslots, but I am envisioning more of a complete docketing of PT or MT hearings for a finite period. I would love to volunteer for such a detail! I hope TPTB monitor this site as alleged. PTB if you are listening please listen to Pumpkin’s suggestion And to sweeten the pot, they can offer a couple of in person hearing days to those who want a free trip. |
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Post by hopefalj on Feb 14, 2024 22:00:06 GMT -5
I would love to volunteer for such a detail! I hope TPTB monitor this site as alleged. PTB if you are listening please listen to Pumpkin’s suggestion And to sweeten the pot, they can offer a couple of in person hearing days to those who want a free trip. I still don’t quite understand why offering a week-long detail to ALJs with light workloads isn’t offered. The current starting salary for ALJs is ~$150k? So just over $2800 per week? You’re telling me that you can’t ship an ALJ out to one of these destinations, put them up in a residence inn, and give them a per diem for less than that with government rates? Certainly a number of judges might object to doing a week of hearings (if you haven’t done week on, week off, it’s not too bad) and others might not be able to jaunt from Charlotte to Reno for a week due to their circumstances, but I think there would be plenty of volunteers. If you could schedule one judge to moonlight for a week for one month at 25 hearings per week, then you’ve essentially created an uber judge that can hear 100 cases for a fraction of the cost of one new hire. I realize it’s not exactly a 1 to 1 correlation because you’re also paying for 4 review weeks, but since those judges are already being forced to hear reduced dockets, I think you still come out ahead. |
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Post by FrogEsq on Feb 15, 2024 7:18:25 GMT -5
How many hearings a week? 25? No, thank you.
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Post by prescient on Feb 17, 2024 10:43:03 GMT -5
I’d do it for a week in Honolulu HO. Pretty much any other HO? No way
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Post by Gaidin on Feb 17, 2024 21:38:55 GMT -5
I’d do it for a week in Honolulu HO. Pretty much any other HO? No way That detail isn't just Honolulu it is an island hopping excursion around the Hawaiian Islands with some weird difficulties. I know an ALJ that did it. |
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Post by nylawyer on Feb 18, 2024 12:00:38 GMT -5
I’d do it for a week in Honolulu HO. Pretty much any other HO? No way That detail isn't just Honolulu it is an island hopping excursion around the Hawaiian Islands with some weird difficulties. I know an ALJ that did it. I'd try it once. But I'd imagine there would be a line |
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Post by arkstfan on Feb 24, 2024 17:25:30 GMT -5
I covered a week in Albuquerque in person and absolutely loved it.
I’d be open to a detail of three to four months covering a western office by phone.
I don’t have the endurance for a lot of hearings in one day like I used to so I rarely pickup outside cases when there is a call to cover for an ALJ and I used to do that at least once a year plugging holes. Now I have plenty to say grace over.
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