Another Question Or Two

     Some claimants whose cases have already been scheduled for a hearing by Social Security are declining the offer of a telephone hearing. That leaves a hole in the schedule of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Are hearing offices trying to fit the cases of other claimants who haven't already been scheduled into those holes? I think the answer is generally no so my next question is, why not? 

     Let me spell out what may be obvious to many readers. I'm pointing out a possible flaw of centralized scheduling -- inflexibility.

A Pet Peeve: "It's Been A Minute"

     Here's a pet peeve of mine: Clients who answer "It's been a minute" when asked when some event occurred. What the hell does that mean? Where did this usage come from? I think I've only heard this in the last year or two. Is this usage national? 

     Unfortunately, lawyers usually need to know when things happened! We get annoyed when given answers like this. My instinct as a lawyer is that if my client seems evasive when answering a question, I've just hit upon a key problem.  Of course, "It's been a minute" isn't necessarily evasive but it sounds that way even when it isn't.

Man Sentenced For Threating SSA Employee

     From KHGI in Nebraska:

37- year-old John J. Scoggins of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on Wednesday for making a threat to a Social Security Administration Official.

Scoggins was sentenced to five months of prison with an additional one month home detention, followed by a one-year term of supervised release.

According to United States Attorney Joe Kelly, on February 8, 2019, Scoggins contacted the Social Security Administration by telephone to confirm his address and other information related to his benefits.

During the conversation, Scoggins became belligerent with the Social Security Administration employee and threatened to physically harm her, according to officials.

Claimants Denied Disability Benefits Don't Go Back To Work; They Just Keep Trying To Get On Disabiltiy Benefits

     From the Social Security Bulletin, the agency's scholarly publication:

This article examines the experiences of Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) applicants aged 51 or older who were initially denied benefits because the disability examiner determined that they could perform either their past work or other work. ... We find that few older DI applicants who were denied benefits on this basis resumed work at a substantial level following denial. More commonly, applicants denied at this stage continued to pursue benefits, often successfully. Nearly two-thirds of initial work capacity-related denials were ultimately allowed DI benefits after appealing the initial decision or reapplying, and our estimates suggest that many of the rest claimed Old-Age and Survivors Insurance benefits before they reached full retirement age.

     Is it just me or does this suggest that it would be fairer to allow more of the disability claims filed by older people? Denying so many of the disability claims filed by older people creates misery and doesn't end up saving much money anyway. It makes work for me and other attorneys but that's certainly not a valid policy objective.
     Also, do you see evidence in this study to support increasing the age categories in the grid regulations? Should 55 or 57 be the new 50? Where is the proof that making this change would be a reasonable thing to do?

Video CEs

     Social Security has now issued new instructions to allow for video consultative examinations of disability claimants but only by psychiatrists and psychologists. 

     I'm not seeing any physical consultative examinations locally. Are any going on elsewhere? Is there a plan for this other than to hold cases indefinitely?

Lawsuit Over Wet Signature Requirement

     From a press release:

Timothy Cole is being treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. His treatment leaves him immunocompromised and unable to work, and places him at additional risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. He needs to apply for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the safest way to do so would be to fill out the application online at his home in Jacksonville, Florida. Because he is immunocompromised, leaving his home or interacting with paper mail is dangerous for Mr. Cole. But since he plans to hire an attorney to help with the complex application process, he cannot submit his application online because applicants using authorized representatives, like attorneys, must sign a paper copy of their application. This is true even though SSA has an online application and electronic signatures are accessible, secure, and federally approved.

Mr. Cole and three other plaintiffs, along with the National Federation of the Blind, are suing the Social Security Administration in federal court. They seek a court order requiring SSA to allow e-signatures on applications rather than requiring a "wet-ink" signature when the applicant is using an attorney or other authorized representative. SSA does not require wet-ink signatures for applications for some benefits when an authorized representative is not being used by the applicant. The suit contends that the requirement has always been discriminatory, but during the COVID-19 pandemic it also endangers the health and even the lives of applicants, as even SSA has recognized in quarantining its own mail for two days and shutting down its field offices. ...

11% Reduction In Backlog Of Pending Cases?

     From National Public Radio:

... Social Security field offices are closed. But the shutdown hasn't stopped the agency from processing claims for new benefits and appeals of benefit denials. And according to statistics that the SSA sent its workers, the agency has been doing so at a faster pace than before. ...

According to [Ralph] deJuliis [head of the union that represents most Social Security employees], the SSA has found that its backlog of pending cases has fallen by 11% since March 23, when the agency instituted wide-scale telework, and that calls from recipients are answered more quickly. ...

     Exactly which backlog of pending cases is it that's fallen by 11% since March 23? There are many backlogs at Social Security and they certainly haven't all dropped by 11% in less than a month and a half. I'd love to see those statistics that Social Security sent its employees.

Emergency Paid Leave Not Yet Available At SSA

     From Federal News Network:

Employees at the Social Security Administration say the agency hasn’t yet made emergency paid sick leave available to them, despite a congressionally-mandated implementation date and assurances from its payroll provider that its customers can, in fact, access these new benefits.

Under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA), all federal employees are eligible for up to 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave if they meet certain coronavirus-related circumstances. Congress included emergency paid sick leave in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which the president signed into law March 18.

Under the law, employees had access to the emergency paid sick leave starting April 1, and the benefits are available through Dec. 31, 2020.

But SSA employees and the unions that represent them say the agency hasn’t explained when they’ll be able to formally request and use emergency paid sick leave benefits under the new law. 

“We are working with our payroll provider on implementation of this new legislation and the associated leave balance,” an SSA spokesman wrote in an email to Federal News Network. “In the meantime, employees may continue to take personal leave or request advanced leave when necessary. Additionally, the leave from this legislation may be applied retroactively or used for future needs.” ...