There's a dispute at the Association of Administrative Law Judges (AALJ), the employee union the represents Social Security's ALJs. The Treasurer is being accused of "mishandling, misappropriating or otherwise misusing union funds or properties." AALJ is part of a larger union, IFPTE (International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers), which is being asked to investigate. You can read the accusation, the response and an audit report. (Access to this uploaded file expires on April 4 so read it while you can and download it if you want to save it.)
No honor among thieves.
ReplyDeletethis should be forwarded to OIG, the FBI and the US Attorney's Office.
ReplyDelete@12:40:
ReplyDeleteYes, including the posts about Ollie Garmon, III, the former Atlanta ROCALJ, whom former Acting SSA Commissioner Colvin literally bent over backwards to shield from any and all accountability. Since SCOTUS ruled in a decision last week all decisions made by Acting Agency Heads while simultaneously appointed by the President to be confirmed for said positions are invalid and subject to review.
This means relocating an entire Hearings Office near Garmon's home solely to placate him for finally being removed kicking and screaming from his ROCALJ position; promoting Garmon to SSA/ODAR headquarters and placing him as a top management executive in OLMER, despite a known, documented track record of labor management violations dating back several years; recent promotion to Associate Chief ALJ and continuing to allow him to work from the special office he had relocated near his home in Georgia; and blatantly refusing to hold him, and other known wrongdoers accountable for documented misconduct and wrongdoing, must be REVERSED.
What perverted Federal Agency with competent Senior Management would outwardly engage in such insanity and obvious corruption and Organizational Discrimination?
Having been a Senior Attorney with SSA/ODAR for 27+ years before being illegally forced out the door by Garmon and his minions, I have had a front row seat to this corruption, mismanagement, waste, fraud, and abuse far too long. It is high time the SSA OIG, FBI, US Attorneys Office, OSC, OGE, etc., investigate and hold known high level wrongdoer accountable for once, rather than continuing to promote them to even higher levels of management.
Someone should add up the millions of dollars SSA has spent cow-towing to Garmon over the years, e.g., the cost of relocating an entire ODAR Hearings Office near his home, which is inconvenient for everyone but him; the cost of continuing to promote him up the Senior Management food chain in terms of high salary, bonuses, and huge litigation costs secondary to the substantial increase in labor management violations, unfair labor practices, engagement in PPP's, refusal to adhere to Merit System Principles, when he already has a known, documented history of same dating back many years; costs he has charged to the Agency for travel, etc., especially between Georgia and Falls Church Headquarters.
ReplyDeleteHell, the cost is more than likely close to a billion dollars, rather than in the millions, particularly when one considers the salary costs and travel expenses if OGC counsel who have spent countless hours trying to defend the Agency against the illicit employee relations conduct he has engaged. Inquiring minds would like to know the tremendous cost Garmon has caused SSA to endure, and why Senior Management's response has always been to shield him from any and all accountability, and not only promote him to even higher level management positions, but allow someone with such a track record to perform substantial work in Labor Management Employee Relations.
Wow. This forum has devolved from "Social Security News" to "Bash ALJ News." Somehow a post about political infighting at the ALJ union (which is not really SSA news as far as I can tell) devolves into name calling and the seemingly daily rants about Garmon. I believe if Charles were to one day actually post a positive story about the men and women working for social security, the first reply would still complain about how mean Garmon was. The second reply would call for an OIG investigation into why the positive news was fabricated by Garmon and the SSA brass. Don't you guys have something better to do with your time, like a job? Oh, wait, I forgot which blog I'm posting on...
ReplyDelete@ 3:18
ReplyDeleteSo, you are apparently okay with the corruption, Organizational Discrimination, and waste, fraud, and abuse concerning Senior Management? Do you not think the Senate Finance Committee understood what Colvin and Senior Managements were doing during the hearings to confirm Eanes. You better think again. They dumb well knew what was going on. My remarks concerning Garmon pertain to corruption, waste, fraud, and abuse, not ALJ bashing.
3:18 you have to skip over the post by that particular person, occasionally there is some good discussion here, but 90% of the posts get taken over by a particular person. Skip those and look for the gems.
ReplyDelete@3:52
ReplyDeleteThat is not true.
Good cause they have took all my money and only give me $160.72 dollars a month to survive off off social security workers are very rude and how can I pay my bills and eat with $160.72 smh and im sick with a hole in my brain..im over it
ReplyDeleteI think SA 27 may be on to something. Remember the VA SES'ers who played cute with the Agency's relocation program? That sure caught the attention of Congress, to the point where the MSPB rules regarding disciplining VA execs were changed, albeit ineffectively. (Those skels are still employed by VA and did not have to disgorge their ill-gotten gains.) If half of what SA 27 has alleged is true, all those arrogant SSA muckety-mucks, past and present, might want to start looking over their shoulders. At least, we can hope...
ReplyDeleteReally, Sa 27?? Colvin /literally/ bent over backwards for Garmon? No wonder she had trouble walking.
ReplyDeleteWhy not SA-27? She graduated Summa Cum Laude; earned a J.D. Degree and is a Licensed Attorney; successfully worked for SSA/ODAR for more than 27 years; earned numerous Performance Awards and QSI's; and ALJ's routinely complimented her/my work.
DeleteFor you naysayers who persistently choose to attack and denigrate me, regardless of what I have stated, what is your basis, and Agency record, background, and experience which you purport makes you more credible than I? Everything I have said has been presented and corroborated in this blog alone over the past couple of years. Regular readers of this blog know this.
There are a lot of good aljs - the majority actually work hard and are good people who try every day to fulfill the public trust. But, face it, for some reason, the SSA alj job does seem to attract a disproportionate share of sociopathic types, and most hearing offices have at least one who gets off on demeaning and maligning claimants or writers.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree!! It is one or two, or three...who are abusive and arrogant enough to flip on the needy public. Drain the swamp!
Delete@11:50
ReplyDeleteAMEN!
Regular reads of the blog skip your posts Duncan.
ReplyDelete@10:54
DeleteSo, that's the best you can say in response. Ha! Just as I thought, you have no objective basis, professional credentials, or Agency specific experience with which to attack the credibility of what I have been saying all along. You see, that's because it's the truth.
BTW, there is NO "Duncan." Regular readers of this blog know I am SA-27. "Duncan" is a fictitious name you invented from the alternative world in which you obviously live.
I'm so tired of these inane "drain the swamp" comments whenever idiots lash out against people they don't like or agree with. Face it, no one is draining the swamp. Instead, the rich are getting less regulations and more tax breaks. Business as usual. But for people who can't think for themselves and can't deal constructively with their own problems, "drain the swamp" is a rallying cry against people who are just trying to do their work and live their lives in peace. The Nazis had their "final solution" and the modern Nazis have their "drain the swamp."
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like this person is a Dem!? Wake up and join the movement to change to government and SSA forever by Draining the Swamp!!
ReplyDeleteThe embarrassed ALJ union treasurer,
ReplyDeleteshould also get a review from their respective State Bar(s)
Ethics Committee(s).
There is little difference between mishandling entrusted union funds, and
mishandling clients trust fund.
Restructuring /Overhauling = Drain the swamp
ReplyDeleteUntil SSA gets rids of the overwhelming amount of lazy ALJ's who don't do their jobs the taxpayers suffer. Does anyone know why SSA refuses to get rid of the overwhelming amount of ALJ's who are lazy and incompetent at their jobs? Seems to me that the time has come to get rid of the ALJ jobs altogether. IF that means draining the swamp so be it.
ReplyDelete