I am seeing comments saying that no Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decisions are going to be implemented during the government shutdown. That may be what people are hearing but I don't see how it would be true. Everyone at Social Security's payment centers is working during the shutdown. I don't know what these folks would be doing other than implementing decisions.
This matters. If ALJs think that there's no reason to get out decisions because no one will implement them, they're not going to make the effort to issue those decisions. But those decisions are going to be implemented so there's every reason to get them out the door.
good god charles, lots of post decision inputs have to be done in the office before these decisions go to payment center or field office. We have no staff. Thus, these decisions are not going out the door even if a decision is written by a judge.
ReplyDeleteWishing for this to happen doesn't make it so....
Additionally, the vast majority of ALJs don't write their own decisions. Since there are no decision writers working, it will be hard to implement any decisions ALJs make.
ReplyDeleteRemember there is now only one case tech in the office which is the person who would have to close the case along with every single other thing that might need to be done to support the judges hearing cases. We've closed maybe 5 cases over the last 2 days, our office would usually close 50 or more. And as others have said, with no writers there won't be any cases to sign if the shutdown goes on much longer.
ReplyDeleteThe Memo you posted the link to said decisions would me made but opinions would not be written.
ReplyDeleteWe have closed 120 cases in our office in 4 days this week. These are decisions that had been previously written but were in edit or sign status. It is interesting what dedicated ALJs and three staff people can do. Unfortunately, the pipeline will be empty soon.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 8:05 -- that's an extraordinary number of cases left in edit and sign at the end of last month / fiscal year. If you can move 120 cases in 4 days with a skeleton crew, what happened last week that you left so many cases on the table at the end of the final reporting month of the fiscal year with a full staff?
ReplyDelete@8:48 my guess would be aljs on leave.
ReplyDelete@ Charles. I wouldn't hold your breath for any decisions. Theres no one in the office to write them
Do you think the payment centers only do ALJ decisions? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteWe were actually given a list of "essential" activities. The judges are there to hear and decide cases. Decision writing is on the list of suspended activities. Even if the judges WANTED to write their own favorables, I am not sure they could without consequences.
ReplyDelete@ 8:22.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, the NTEU wouldn't be too happy if decisions were being written while decision writers are on furlough.
Cases have to be closed in the hearing offices before they can be processed any further. There is no one to do that task. Judges can't write decisions and even if they could, are not allowed to process them. That includes bench decisions. This seems to be a difficult situation for you to grasp, Charles, but no cases are going to be processed until the furlough is lifted. The judges that were able to go against the furlough mandate and do the HO close-out computer work in the first few days probably do not have any cases left to close. Don't have any idea if those that we closed can be or were effectuated.
ReplyDeleteIt goes without saying that no AC decisions will be signed or effectuated.
ReplyDeleteIn my office cases are being closed out for cases judges are editing and there is no bar to ALJs writing their own decisions. The excepted activities are "Hearing and Deciding cases" and an ALJ writing a decision is certainly part of "deciding". There is just no staff for writing other than by the ALJ.
ReplyDeleteI have seen three new decision dated after October 1 in ARS - two of them were this afternoon. I don't expect that me or my clients will get paid on those any time soon, but who knows.
ReplyDelete