I have received multiple reports that Glen Sklar, the Deputy Commissioner for Social Security's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), and James Borland, the Assistant Deputy Commissioner for ODAR, are leaving their positions.
14 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Are they being replaced by non-attorneys who care nothing of due process and whose only goal is 20% or less reversal regardless of merits?
I'm no defender of upper management as they have managed to make a mess of things, however, this public "flogging" is not very professional (or kind) and I do not think that any of us would want to have it done to us. Its not like Glenn and Jim are bad people, they were just operating under very difficult circumstances. Sure, some of us maybe could have done better, but a lot of us may have made an even bigger mess. All that being said, I suspect there will me more changes at the top.
Anyone remember an old post from the dark ages of the web, "BB in B". If you have been around, you know which post I am referring to. I think this is a repeat.
Note to Charles, I am a big fan and I appreciate the service you provide, but it would have been more prudent until a formal announcement was made to the rank and file. It was only announced to management on a conference call late this afternoon. I'm sure that you would want to be the one to tell your rank and file first as well if you were in the same situation. That being said, kudos on the scoop because you got it in record time!
"Deputy Commissioner Sklar announced at today’s Management Teleconference that he and Jim Borland are “transitioning” out of ODAR mid-August. New Deputy to be announced tomorrow."
MEMORANDUM Date: July 22, 2015 Refer To: S7K To: Senior Staff
From: Carolyn W. Colvin /s/ Acting Commissioner
Subject: Executive Personnel Assignments - INFORMATION
In my ongoing effort to address succession planning and to position the agency for the future, I have several Senior Executive Service (SES) announcements to share.
Glenn Sklar, currently Deputy Commissioner (DC) for Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), will move to the Office of the General Counsel’s Office of General Law (OGL) and will serve as Acting Associate General Counsel, OGL.
Jim Borland, currently Assistant DC (ADC), ODAR, will move to the ADC, OCOMM position.
Glenn and Jim, thank you for your continued focus on quality and the many improvements you have made within ODAR over the past few years.
Phil Gambino, currently ADC for Communications (OCOMM), will remain in OCOMM as Senior Advisor to assist with transition then move to Senior Advisor to the Deputy Commissioner for Operations.
Phil, thank you for your many years of commitment to effective agency communication and invaluable assistance with numerous key initiatives.
Terrie Gruber, currently the Chief Program Officer (CPO) for the Disability Case Processing System Staff (DCPS), will be the DC, ODAR.
Terrie, thank you for moving DCPS to the next level to develop a common-case system, a major contribution to the agency.
Donna Calvert, currently the Regional Chief Counsel (RCC), San Francisco, will be ADC, ODAR. Deborah Stachel, Deputy RCC, San Francisco, will serve as Acting RCC.
Geeze, I'm waiting for the "we never landed on the moon" contingent to sign in. I mean "I heard they were fired"? And Colvin has moved more people around for the exposure than any past to COSS's. That's the succession planning aspect, even if it means the people never become expert in the area their workers work in. All these people are non-political and a change in party in power is irrelevant to their employment.
Change in executive personnel positions are announced almost weekly. Sure, some are moved because they were failed and others move because management wants to move them not because they were a failure where they were at but their skills are deemed key to where they will be going. Some ask for a change. Just like the military, some transfers are a move up and others are not. No difference here.
As for the rank and file, this news has a way of arriving way before it's formal. Glen and Jim knew they were going, they aren't hearing about it in this memo and so the news of this change has been available for a while and it gets out. How people react to this news is obviously an individual reaction. Too bad so many will leap to the most negative interpretation possible, making up stuff if needed.
Many folks need to brush up their Kremlin watching skills in trying to read anything into these moves. (Showing my age there.) So let's see. Glen is leaving a DC job and essentially becoming an AC. (No idea what happened to Daniel Callaghan, who was acting in that job.) Not exactly a step up. But not necessarily a stain because while some folks like Alan Lane have worked at the DC level and then ended up at the AC level long term, others, like Mariana LaCanforna, were DCs, for a time went to AC level and then came back to DC level leadership. So "demotions" may or may not actually be the end result.
Glen's replacement is Terri Gruber, who at one time had been ADC at ODAR and is now coming back as DC in ODAR. She's a smart woman, tasked with addressing the DCPS debacle. Obviously a step up for her and some folks should remember her from her time in ODAR before.
Jim is moving to take Phil Gambino's job in OCOMM, as ADC. So he's sliding sideways. Not a demotion. Phil going to Operations just means he's likely going to retire in 12 - 18 months :)
The new ADC in ODAR is an attorney, don't have a lot to say about her.
Interesting that who is taking Gruber's place with DCPS isn't mentioned because that is a serious job. Lot of Hill interest on that.
So ODAR gets 2 new people, one of whom has been there before, one who is new but an attorney and both of whom are unlikely to dismantle much if anything Glenn or Jim did without the COSS's OK.
14 comments:
Are they being replaced by non-attorneys who care nothing of due process and whose only goal is 20% or less reversal regardless of merits?
If true, long overdue. Sklar had such a slick sales pitch, you felt greasy just listening to it.
I heard that they were fired.
I'm no defender of upper management as they have managed to make a mess of things, however, this public "flogging" is not very professional (or kind) and I do not think that any of us would want to have it done to us. Its not like Glenn and Jim are bad people, they were just operating under very difficult circumstances. Sure, some of us maybe could have done better, but a lot of us may have made an even bigger mess. All that being said, I suspect there will me more changes at the top.
Anyone remember an old post from the dark ages of the web, "BB in B". If you have been around, you know which post I am referring to. I think this is a repeat.
Note to Charles, I am a big fan and I appreciate the service you provide, but it would have been more prudent until a formal announcement was made to the rank and file. It was only announced to management on a conference call late this afternoon. I'm sure that you would want to be the one to tell your rank and file first as well if you were in the same situation. That being said, kudos on the scoop because you got it in record time!
No, it was announced to all yesterday. The partying and parades began immediately.
there has been no formal email announcement, many people out in the field are not aware of what id going on
From the Union yesterday:
"Deputy Commissioner Sklar announced at today’s Management Teleconference that he and Jim Borland are “transitioning” out of ODAR mid-August. New Deputy to be announced tomorrow."
Here ya go:
MEMORANDUM
Date: July 22, 2015 Refer To: S7K
To: Senior Staff
From: Carolyn W. Colvin /s/
Acting Commissioner
Subject: Executive Personnel Assignments - INFORMATION
In my ongoing effort to address succession planning and to position the agency for the future, I have several Senior Executive Service (SES) announcements to share.
Glenn Sklar, currently Deputy Commissioner (DC) for Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), will move to the Office of the General Counsel’s Office of General Law (OGL) and will serve as Acting Associate General Counsel, OGL.
Jim Borland, currently Assistant DC (ADC), ODAR, will move to the ADC, OCOMM position.
Glenn and Jim, thank you for your continued focus on quality and the many improvements you have made within ODAR over the past few years.
Phil Gambino, currently ADC for Communications (OCOMM), will remain in OCOMM as Senior Advisor to assist with transition then move to Senior Advisor to the Deputy Commissioner for Operations.
Phil, thank you for your many years of commitment to effective agency communication and invaluable assistance with numerous key initiatives.
Terrie Gruber, currently the Chief Program Officer (CPO) for the Disability Case Processing System Staff (DCPS), will be the DC, ODAR.
Terrie, thank you for moving DCPS to the next level to develop a common-case system, a major contribution to the agency.
Donna Calvert, currently the Regional Chief Counsel (RCC), San Francisco, will be ADC, ODAR. Deborah Stachel, Deputy RCC, San Francisco, will serve as Acting RCC.
1:38 that memo is to senior management, not rank and file, and has not been widely disseminated.
1:19 a message from the union is not an official announcement and this message has not been sent out by all 3 unions to all employees
Succession Planning?
Are they trying to put people in place who can survive a presidential election in which the Republican candidate wins?
Geeze, I'm waiting for the "we never landed on the moon" contingent to sign in. I mean "I heard they were fired"? And Colvin has moved more people around for the exposure than any past to COSS's. That's the succession planning aspect, even if it means the people never become expert in the area their workers work in. All these people are non-political and a change in party in power is irrelevant to their employment.
Change in executive personnel positions are announced almost weekly. Sure, some are moved because they were failed and others move because management wants to move them not because they were a failure where they were at but their skills are deemed key to where they will be going. Some ask for a change. Just like the military, some transfers are a move up and others are not. No difference here.
As for the rank and file, this news has a way of arriving way before it's formal. Glen and Jim knew they were going, they aren't hearing about it in this memo and so the news of this change has been available for a while and it gets out. How people react to this news is obviously an individual reaction. Too bad so many will leap to the most negative interpretation possible, making up stuff if needed.
Many folks need to brush up their Kremlin watching skills in trying to read anything into these moves. (Showing my age there.) So let's see. Glen is leaving a DC job and essentially becoming an AC. (No idea what happened to Daniel Callaghan, who was acting in that job.) Not exactly a step up. But not necessarily a stain because while some folks like Alan Lane have worked at the DC level and then ended up at the AC level long term, others, like Mariana LaCanforna, were DCs, for a time went to AC level and then came back to DC level leadership. So "demotions" may or may not actually be the end result.
Glen's replacement is Terri Gruber, who at one time had been ADC at ODAR and is now coming back as DC in ODAR. She's a smart woman, tasked with addressing the DCPS debacle. Obviously a step up for her and some folks should remember her from her time in ODAR before.
Jim is moving to take Phil Gambino's job in OCOMM, as ADC. So he's sliding sideways. Not a demotion. Phil going to Operations just means he's likely going to retire in 12 - 18 months :)
The new ADC in ODAR is an attorney, don't have a lot to say about her.
Interesting that who is taking Gruber's place with DCPS isn't mentioned because that is a serious job. Lot of Hill interest on that.
So ODAR gets 2 new people, one of whom has been there before, one who is new but an attorney and both of whom are unlikely to dismantle much if anything Glenn or Jim did without the COSS's OK.
Thanks for that last comment, Anonymous. I can't remember when I have been less enlightened by someone who seems to know so much.
As I understand it, nothing means anything, ever? So we shouldn't try to figure it out?
And as for none of these people are political, does the OIG know that? Or are those people not political either?
Dan Callahan is now Acting Deputy General Counsel.
I retired 16 years ago. it appears nothing has changed in the disability programs. I'm damn glad to be away from all the B.S.!
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