Wisconsin ALJ Taken Off Regular Duties Because Of Comments About Claimants

     From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Administrative law judge John H. Pleuss has been removed from the list of judges within the computer system at the Social Security’s Madison Office of Adjudication and Review, and all of his 60 cases through the end of 2016 have been reassigned, according to two whistle-blowers from the administration and a copy of the list provided to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. ...

Pleuss described disability claimants in his notes using shorthand phrases such as "very black, African looking woman (actually a gorilla-like appearance),” “buxom,” and "attractive; looks innocent,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and a conservative website, Wisconsin Watchdog, have reported. ...

Although Pleuss remains at the Madison office in some capacity, office director Laura Hodorowicz and group supervisor Wayne Gentz have both been removed from the hearing office and its directory, according to Holland, lead case technician Machelle Keller and a copy of the directory provided to the Journal Sentinel. ...

     Pleuss was approving 55% of the cases he heard.

That Two Factor Authentication Fiasco Was Even Worse Than You Thought

     Last month Social Security introduced two factor authentication for its online systems. Claimants would have to enter a password and then enter a second passcode delivered to them via a text message in order to enter Social Security's online systems. Social Security had to beat a hasty retreat two weeks later as senior citizens protested that they didn't have text access.

     As embarrassing as the two factor authentication seemed, the reality was even worse. Computerworld reveals that in the same month that Social Security introduced two factor authentication, the National Institute of Standards and Technology warned federal agencies not to use two factor authentication.

     Social Security is still requiring two factor authentication for attorneys using its online systems. Can we now dispense with that?

Happy Labor Day

Let Me Tell You A Story

     Let me tell you about a client. I'll change a few minor details to protect her identity but nothing that affects the account in a material way. We'll call my client Greta. Greta's mother was a German national. Her father was a U.S soldier stationed in Germany. Greta's mother didn't marry Greta's natural father. However, Greta's mother later married another U.S. soldier and moved to the United States with Greta when Greta was four. Greta hasn't been back to Germany since. She doesn't remember being there. She wonders whether a trip back to Germany would rekindle some memories. She speaks no German. She went to school in the United States. She got a Social Security card. She worked in the United States. She married and had children in the United States. She never tried to register to vote because she just wasn't interested. She never tried to get a passport because she didn't have the money to travel outside the country. There was never a problem until Greta applied for Social Security retirement benefits. At that point, it was discovered that Greta wasn't a citizen. What's more, she didn't have a green card. Although Greta came to the United States legally, she had become an illegal immigrant because the proper steps hadn't been taken to regularize her immigration status. This amazed Greta. She knew she was born in Germany but thought she had become an American citizen when she was a child. That's what should have happened. It would have been easy but her parents never did what they needed to do. While Greta has enough quarters of coverage to get Social Security retirement benefits, she can't be paid until Greta sorts out her immigration status with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). This will be done. INS isn't being difficult. They're sympathetic. They agree that she deserves a green card. She may even be entitled to citizenship without the normal formalities because she was brought to the United States as a child by her U.S. citizen stepfather. However, the INS is slow. Sorting this out will take well over a year.

     Donald Trump wants to throw all illegal immigrants out of the country. At the moment Greta is an illegal immigrant. Do you want to round up Greta, put her in detention and then deport her to Germany? Do you want to punish her for the negligence of her parents more than 50 years ago? Greta wasn't born in Mexico but what if she had been and had been brought to the U.S. by a stepfather who was a U.S. citizen? Would that affect how you feel about the situation?

CCD Opposes NPRM On Medical Evidence

     The Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), the largest umbrella group of organizations involved in advocating for persons with disabilities, has submitted comments on Social Security's Notice of Proposed Rule-Making (NPRM) on ensuring program uniformity at Social Security. CCD opposes the changes for these reasons (which are elaborated on in the CCD letter):

1. Creating an arbitrary deadline for the submission of evidence is inconsistent with the statutory and regulatory duties of the Commissioner to fully develop the record and inconsistent with the duties of claimants to submit all evidence as required in 20 C.F.R. §404.1512 and §416.912.

2. Excluding material evidence is administratively inefficient and will increase appeals to the Appeals Council and to federal court.

3. The proposed rule ignores the reality that testimony, and sometimes new evidence, is routinely introduced at or after ALJ hearings, and claimants and representatives need the opportunity to respond.

4. Serious problems and inconsistencies exist with the implementation of the 5 business day rule in Region I.

Charlie Binder Has An Objection

     Below is a letter I have received from an attorney representing Charlie Binder. You can click on each thumbnail to see it full size.

     Binder is objecting to my post Proposed Rules Of Conduct For Appointed Representatives where I wrote that "This [proposal regulation] is just overkill. I'm not Eric Conn or Charlie Binder. Don't treat me like them. I don't deserve it." Binder feels that I have accused him of certain conduct that the proposal would ban and that I am associating him with the allegedly criminal behavior of Eric Conn. 

     I have no problem saying that I have no knowledge that Charlie Binder or anyone else at Binder and Binder has done anything illegal and that I don't know that this proposal would have any more effect upon Binder and Binder than it would have on my firm.  It would not have taken a three page letter from Binder's attorney to get me to say this. A simple e-mail from Binder himself would have been enough.

     My point in using the names of Eric Conn and Charlie Binder was not to say that their behavior has been the same or similar. My point was to express my concern that each, for different reasons, has generated negative attitudes towards Social Security attorneys on the part of upper Social Security management. I am concerned that these negative attitudes are behind recent Social Security regulatory actions. The issues at Binder and Binder, while not criminal, are magnified in importance by the prominence of that entity. I thought about going through the issues at Binder and Binder but decided there was no point. Almost all my readers already know enough about Binder and Binder to have their own opinions.

     The ironic thing is that Charlie Binder doesn't like to be lumped together with Eric Conn. I don't like being lumped together with either Conn or Binder.

Attorneys Responding To A Crisis

     Many attorneys from around the country responded to the call from AppalReD Legal Aid to help the former clients of Eric Conn who have found themselves faced with the challenge of proving all over again that they are disabled.  AppalReD has provided the following list of the attorneys who have helping these claimants.

     There's one other name that was inadvertently omitted from the list above, Christopher Bush of Kentucky. Also, it's Daniel Smith, not Danny Smith.

ALJ To Plead Guilty To Having Sex With Claimant

     From the Birmingham News:

A former Social Security Administration judge in Alabama allegedly had sex with a woman claimant at the federal court house in Tuscaloosa, according to charges involving a public official accepting a gratuity, theft, and obstruction filed against him Tuesday.

Paul Stribling Conger, Jr.,73, of Akron, Ala., also entered a plea agreement Tuesday with the U.S. Attorney's Office to the charges of theft of government property, obstructing justice, and accepting a gratuity, according to court documents. ...

In July 2013, Conger was presiding over the hearing of a claimant, a woman identified as T.M.

T.M. was subsequently approved for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, which included future monthly payments and retroactive benefits. In November 2013, T.M. discussed Conger with a mutual acquaintance of theirs, identified as Individual A.

"Individual A" related information to T.M. about Conger that led T.M. to approach Conger in an effort to receive her retroactive SSI benefits, totaling about $10,000  in a lump sum because T.M. needed the money all at once.

On Nov. 19, 2013, T.M. met Conger in his chambers at the federal courthouse in Tuscaloosa. T.M. was seeking to receive the retroactive SSI benefits she had been awarded in a lump sum. ...

At the federal courthouse, on that occasion, the two engaged in a sex act and other sexual contact. T.M. and Conger remained in communication by phone, including calls and text messages over the ensuing weeks. ...

During the month of December 2013, Conger met with and paid a person only identified as "Individual B" money to obtain T.M.'s phone and destroy it. Conger provided information from T.M.'s SSA files, including T.M.'s confidential medical information and social security account number, in order to assist Individual B in locating T.M. ...

Your Social Security Account Card

A Longevity Benefit?

     From John Turner at the Pension Policy Center:

In the United States, poverty rates for seniors increase at older ages.  The rates are higher for persons age 75 and older than for persons age 65 to 74.   Poverty rates increase at older ages because relatively more people fall into poverty as they age than exit poverty due to death. Persons who live longer may fall into poverty because of various life events -- their spouse dies, they have higher medical or long-term care expenses than expected, or their investment returns are worse than projected. As Americans live longer, they face an increased risk of outliving their savings.

This outcome of poverty rates increasing at older ages is not inevitable. In Ireland and Poland, poverty rates actually decrease for those age 75 and older compared to those age 65 to 74.  The explanation for lower poverty rates at older ages is a low-cost targeted policy intervention called a longevity insurance benefit. A longevity insurance benefit is a benefit that starts at an advanced age, such as age 82. Both Ireland and Poland provide such a benefit for their oldest citizens.  ...