I Don't Care About Your Back Pay! I Just Want You Back At Work!

From the Sacramento Bee:

An Alameda County judge on Thursday ordered back pay for tens of thousands of state workers who he had previously ruled were illegally furloughed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Judge Frank Roesch told the state to "immediately pay all employees of respondent departments and agencies their full salary without any reductions … and cease and desist the furlough of such employees."

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said Thursday night that the governor would appeal....

If upheld on appeal, the judge's order would cost the state more than $1 billion that officials thought they would save when furloughs were instituted a year ago.

Roesch's decision affects employees in nearly 70 departments that receive all or most of their budget money from sources other than the state's general fund [which would include California Disability Determination Services employees since their wages are paid by the Social Security Administration], regardless of their union affiliation.

Query: If the backpay award holds up, will Social Security reimburse the state for the backpay to Disability Determination employees?

NY Times On Robert Myers Passing

The New York Times has a nice obituary on the late Robert Myers. He was one of the most important architects of Social Security in America. A quote from Myers: “To me, the translation of the word ‘privatization’ is ‘destroyed.’ ”

Change In Policy Or Just A Mistake?

I had earlier posted a copy of the language of an agreement that Social Security was requiring when an attorney or other representative uses his or her own videoconference facilities to participate in Social Security hearings. This agreement required that the claimant and attorney or other representative be in the same location for a hearing.

I have heard of a recent instance where a video hearing was held with the ALJ in one location, the claimant in another location and the attorney in his office participating using his firm's equipment. A split screen was used. Was this allowed by mistake or has there been some change in Social Security's position? Any change on this issue would have major implications.

ALJ McGrath Is Productivity King

The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) disposition data recently posted by Social Security shows the total number of cases disposed of during the last quarter of calendar year 2009 by each ALJ. One ALJ in particular, Frederick McGrath of Atlanta, stands out. ALJ McGrath disposed of 867 cases in three months! His nearest competitor for the title of highest producing ALJ is W. Howard O'Bryan, Jr. of Oklahoma City who disposed of 348 cases in that three month period. ALJ O'Bryan's productivity is remarkable. ALJ McGrath's productivity is beyond astonishing.

Social Security Press Release On California Furlough Bill

A press release from Social Security

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today called for the California State Assembly to quickly pass Senate Bill 29. This bill, which already has passed the State Senate, would end the practice of furloughing Federally-funded state employees, a practice recently held to be illegal by a California superior court judge.

About 1,500 employees in this category are responsible for reviewing applications for Social Security disability benefits in California. California's taxpayers, state employees, and disability applicants all are harmed by these furloughs, and no one benefits. Each furlough day costs the state about $850,000 in administrative reimbursements and delays the payment of over $420,000 in much needed Social Security benefits to residents’ with disabilities.

“Furloughing disability examiners is incomprehensible under any circumstances, and it is callous in a recession of this magnitude,” Commissioner Astrue stated. “Congress authorized half a billion dollars under the Recovery Act to hire staff to reduce disability backlogs, and California is thwarting Congress by unilaterally reducing staffing in a punitive way that also hurts the State’s coffers.”

“It is time for Governor Schwarzenegger to renounce his failed furlough policy by withdrawing his veto threat of Senator Steinberg’s Bill 29 and by declining to appeal the decision in the furlough lawsuit. Fairness, compassion, and common sense all require that result.”

It makes sense that the Commissioner would do this but it is still weird that he would be asking a state legislature to pass a bill and a governor not to veto the bill. Why would the governor threaten to veto this, anyway?

Gotta Be Able To Do It 40 Hours A Week

From a recently issued section of Social Security's Program Operations Manual Series (POMS):

Policy for Residual Functional Capacity [RFC]

RFC represents the most a claimant can do despite his or her limitations or restrictions. Ordinarily, RFC is the individual's maximum remaining ability to do sustained work activities:

• In an ordinary work setting,

• On a regular and continuing basis, and

• For 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, or an equivalent work schedule.

However, if a claimant is unable to sustain a 40-hour workweek because of a severe medically determinable impairment (MDI), the adjudicator or medical consultant must discuss sustainability in the RFC.

I do not recall ever seeing that in print before as an official Social Security position.

Moving Forward On Setting Hearings For ALJs

Shortly after the last Presidential election, Social Security published proposed rules that would give the agency the authority to set the time and place for Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearings. This would allow the agency to set hearings for an ALJ without the ALJ's consent. Social Security has now sent a final version of this rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is part of the White House, seeking approval before publishing the rule in the Federal Register to make it effective.

Pressure In Alabama

From a recent report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):

The Office of the Commissioner of Social Security provided the Inspector General a September 25, 2008 letter from an anonymous individual claiming to be a State of Alabama Medical Consultant (SAMC) at the DDS [Disability Determination Service] in Birmingham, Alabama. ...

Based on interviews with 53 current and former AL-DDS MCs and review of instructions the DDS provided to some of them, we concluded that, at a minimum, a perception existed that AL-DDS pressured some MCs to increase their disability allowance rates. Several MCs told us the pressure to approve claims influenced their medical decisions. We acknowledge that analyzing information on disability allowance and denial rates is beneficial in identifying anomalies, which may indicate a need for further MC training. However, we believe each case should be weighed on its own merit in accordance with SSA disability determination policies.