May 4, 2007

Office Of Personnel Management Posts ALJ Job Announcement

The Office of Personnel Management has posted the following job announcement and note how short the time period is for applying (why?):
Administrative Law Judge

SALARY RANGE: 109,373.00 - 154,600.00 USD per year OPEN PERIOD: Friday, May 04, 2007
to Friday, May 18, 2007
SERIES & GRADE: AL-0935-03 POSITION INFORMATION: Full Time Career/Career Conditional
DUTY LOCATIONS: Many vacancies - Throughout The Nation, US
WHO MAY BE CONSIDERED:
U.S. Citizens

JOB SUMMARY:

The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) function was created by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in 1946 to ensure fairness in administrative proceedings before Federal Government agencies. The APA also provided for a merit selection system and statutory protection of ALJs' independence and impartiality.

BACKGROUND: ALJs act as independent, impartial adjudicators of fact in formal hearings similar to that of a trial judge conducting civil trials without a jury. In general, ALJs prepare for and preside at formal hearings required by statute to be held under or in substantial accord with provisions of the APA, codified in relevant part, in sections 553-559 of title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.).

The Federal Government employs ALJs in a number of agencies throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Cases may involve Federal laws and regulations in such areas as admiralty, advertising, antitrust, banking, communications, energy, environmental protection, food and drugs, health and safety, housing, immigration, interstate commerce, international trade, labor management relations, securities and commodities markets, transportation, social security disability and other benefits claims.

Individuals who wish to apply for a position as an ALJ with the Federal Government should read this vacancy announcement in its entirety before preparing an application. Applicants must meet all the minimum qualification requirements for an ALJ position as described in this announcement.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING OPEN PERIOD: This announcement is open for a period of two weeks, from May 4, 2007 to May 18, 2007, or until the day on which 1,250 completed applications have been submitted, whichever comes first.

An application is considered complete when the Assessment Questionnaire and résumé (described in the "How to Apply" section) are submitted, including veterans' preference documents (if applicable).

If 1,250 applications are reached before the end of the two week open period, this announcement will close at 11:59:59 PM EDT on the day that 1,250 applications have been submitted.

KEY REQUIREMENTS:

* You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
* Subject to a background suitability investigation/determination.
* All supporting documents must be submitted (see "How to Apply" section).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You asked: why the short application period? It's simple if you know anything about OPM.

You will recall that, during her testimony, Springer made it clear that OPM saw no problem with continuing to use the 1993 ALJ register. Having an extemely abreviated examination period will insure that the "new" register will be primarily populated by those on the (now) "old" register. How? Consider the following.

The incumbents on the old register were given notice (2 weeks ago) to be on the look out for the new exam announcement in "early May." Also the "old" candidates, who have been through the process before, are likely to be among the first 1250 to complete their submissions. Thus, the new register will look very much like the old register.

OPM will ultimately have its way (which is REALLY important)and neither SSA nor the Subcommittee will be the wiser.

Anonymous said...

Looks more like a job oppty for the graduates of the far right law schools. With recent events at the justice dept., it makes me wonder how much Karl Rove influenced this plan with the bizarre cutoff number to ensure these rightwingers would have a solid chance to get a lifetime appt.

Anonymous said...

OPM is just creating busy work in response to the pressure from the Subcommittee. It's clear they are trying to limit the exam to candidates on the old register, who were told well in advance to expect the announcement.

There is no need to take time scoring 1200+ submissions and setting up a whole new register. OPM could have just arranged for the old candidates to submit updated resumes. It is hardly likely that they have become LESS qualified since they took the exam in the 90s.

The updated resumes could be forwarded to SSA along with the hiring certificate. That way SSA would have current information and not have to wait until October to begin hiring.

This is all so utterly ridiculous.