Support For Allowing NHC ALJs To Unionize

    From Government Executive:

A group of Democratic senators have revisited a long-dormant effort to broaden the bargaining unit of administrative law judges at the Social Security Administration, buoyed by recent guidance from the Biden administration aimed at encouraging collective bargaining at federal agencies.

In 2007, then-Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue created the agency’s National Hearing Center, a cadre of administrative law judges who would parachute into regions with a long backlog of disability claims, but he left the component’s employees outside of the ALJ bargaining unit at the Office of Hearing Operations, which is represented by the Association of Administrative Law Judges.

In 2011, the Federal Labor Relations Authority sided with Astrue, finding that although National Hearing Center judges had nearly identical job duties, they were management officials because they supervised decision writers. That said, the FLRA also found that the agency committed unfair labor practices by exhibiting hostility toward the union and failing to notify the group of the component’s creation.

In a letter to Acting Social Security Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi last month, five Democratic senators, led by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, urged the agency to consider classifying judges in the National Hearing Center as bargaining unit employees and granting them access to the Association of Administrative Law Judges. They cited the fact that in the years since the FLRA’s decision, the differences in the responsibilities of ALJs in both agency components have disappeared. ...

    Bad grammar in that first sentence! Tut, tut, tut

Conn Documentary Available On Apple TV+

From SK POP:

Apple TV+'s The Big Conn, a four-part docuseries, is set to explore the shocking real-life tale of Eric C. Conn. ...

Apple TV+ will release all four episodes together - May 6 at 3.00 am, Eastern Time (ET). In conjunction with the series, Apple will also release an exclusive companion podcast that will go into further depth into Conn's deception and his extravagant lifestyle, including new interviews and behind-the-scenes insights. ...

    My understanding is that this documentary will also focus on the real pain left behind for Conn's former clients who have ended up being harshly punished for Conn's misdeeds even though they did nothing wrong.

Most Popular Baby Names

     Social Security has released its list of most popular baby names for 2021:

Boys	Girls
1.     Liam	1.  Olivia
2.     Noah	2.  Emma
3.     Oliver	3.  Charlotte
4.     Elijah	4.  Amelia
5.     James	5.  Ava
6.     William	6.  Sophia
7.     Benjamin	7.  Isabella
8.     Lucas	8.  Mia
9.     Henry	9. Evelyn
10.  Theodore	10. Harper

    And here's the list of the fastest rising names for girls and boys in 2021:

Boys	Girls
1.     Amiri	1.  Raya
2.     Eliam	2.  Wrenley
3.     Colter	3.  Angelique
4.     Ozzy	4.  Vida
5.     Loyal	5.  Emberlynn

     I'm generally in the "What's in a name?" camp when it comes to names but all I can say after looking at the fastest rising list is "Yuck!"

NADE Newsletter

     The National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE), a voluntary organization of personnel who make initial and reconsideration determinations on disability claims for the Social Security Administration, has released its Spring 2022 newsletter. Almost all NADE members work for state governments who handle disability determination for Social Security at the first two levels of review. The states do the work under contract with Social Security. I won't bother explaining why states do this work but it goes back to the very beginning of disability determination for Social Security.

    There's a lot more in this newsletter that will be of interest beyond the NADE membership but here's a little nugget from a summary of a presentation by Grace Kim, Deputy Commissioner of Operations and some other SSA officials at NADE's mid-year meeting, "... to date in FY22, the [Disability Determination Service employee] attrition rate has increased in the examiner positions from 19.8% last fiscal year and is on track to hit 24.4% this fiscal year. ..." That is a staggeringly high turnover rate. I'm an employer. I don't know how you get complex work done with that high a turnover rate -- and yes, disability examiners do complex work. This is a big red flag telling us that something is very wrong and needs urgent attention.

Listings Extended

      Social Security has announced that it is extending its Listings for Special Senses and Speech, Hematological Disorders, and Congenital Disorders That Affect Multiple Body Systems without change.

ERE Down -- Again

     Social Security's ERE system that allows attorneys to access their clients' Social Security records online is down -- again. At least it can't be accessed in the normal way. This is happening more and more often.

    I hesitate to post them here for fear that it will cause them to crash but there are alternative URLs for ERE that seem to work. Maybe Social Security should post them if they won't cause the system to crash any more than it has already crashed.

Some Demographic Numbers For Disability Recipients

     Social Security has published a "Research and Statistics Note" with the catchy title: Characteristics of Noninstitutionalized DI, SSI, and OASI Program Participants, 2016 Update. Here are a few items from the report concerning Disability Insurance Benefits recipients that that catch my eye:

• Male 49.8%
• Female 50.2%
• Black 20.6%
• Hispanic 11.3%
• Less that H.S. diploma 16.4%
• H.S. diploma or equivalent 41.9%
• Some college 29.9%
• Bachelor's degree or higher 11.7%

    For comparison, women are 50.5% of the population so there's little proof of the "weaker vessel" theory in these numbers. Of course, workforce participation is lower among women than men.

    Blacks are about 14% of the population. The excessive number of disabled people who are black is easily explained. Educational attainments for blacks in America on average are significantly lower than for whites. Low educational attainment is strongly associated with disability claims because those with low educational attainments generally work in more physically demanding jobs, which are harder to perform after a person starts experiencing serious health problems. Those with low educational attainments also are less adaptable to jobs with lower exertional demands than those with high educational attainments. In general, my experience is that there is a high degree of exaggeration of educational attainment. Blacks and whites alike fib a lot when it comes to their educational background. They get used to exaggerating in order to get jobs and avoid embarrassment and keep doing it when they apply for disability benefits. Thus,  take all self-reported numbers on educational attainment with a grain of salt.

    Hispanics are 18% of the U.S. workforce, so the percent who are on disability benefits seems low. I hypothesize that the U.S. Hispanic workforce is, on average, significantly younger than the U.S. workforce in general. Disability claims are far more common among among older people. Many Hispanic workers just haven't aged into their prime years for disability claims.

    In general, note that, at most, about 12% of the population has a bachelor's degree. If you have a bachelor's degree, much less anything beyond that, realize that what you might be able to do despite physical impairments isn't necessarily what the average American can do, much less what someone who lacks a high school diploma can do. You can work in an office if you've got a bad  knee. You won't be able to do that as a maintenance mechanic or landscaper and you'll have a tough time finding something else you can do with a bad knee if you have little education. Also, remember that educational attainments are somewhat associated with native intelligence. If you have a low educational attainment, you may be not so bright. That also limits adaptability. To give a dated reference (to a no longer respectable source), this is not Lake Woebegone. All the children are not above average. In fact, a significant percentage of children and adults are significantly below average, a fact that limits them in many ways.

No Remedy For Unconstitutional Commissioner

     From the Court's summary of the 9th Circuit's decision in Kaufmann v. Kijakazi, decided on April 27, 2022:

... Claimant challenged the constitutionality of the statute that governed the President’s removal authority over the Commissioner, and the district court’s grant of the Commissioner’s Rule 59(e) motion. ...

The panel ... held that the President possessed the authority to remove the Commissioner of Social Security at will.

The final question was the appropriate remedy for claimant, whose appeal to the Appeals Council was denied while Commissioner Saul served under an unconstitutional removal provision. ...

... Because claimant did not show that the removal provision caused her any actual harm, the panel upheld the Commissioner’s decision denying her application for benefits. ...