1300 I Street, NW, Suite 825, Washington, DC 20005 1300 I Street, NW, Suite 825, Washington, DC 20005Social Security Administration officials contend it’s just an “expectation” that its administrative law judges should decide 500 to 700 cases annually. But the judges say the disciplinary actions lodged against those who fall short indicate “quota” is a more accurate description.
A government watchdog report says the productivity rules imposed on the judges, whose job is deciding complaints over disability benefits, should be reviewed to determine whether the goals are reasonable.
Perhaps counterintuitively, the resulting rush to judgment to meet those quotas means they are more likely to rule in favor of beneficiaries seeking increased government payments, according to judges.
An overwhelming majority — 87 percent — of judges surveyed by the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional agency, said the 500-to-700 goal is too high. In the June report, the GAO urged the Social Security Administration (SSA) to review its productivity requirements “and determine whether the expectations are reasonable.”
That’s the GAO’s way of saying maybe it isn’t.
In fiscal 2019, however, 81 percent of the judges met or exceeded the productivity requirement. But that percentage has fluctuated widely. In 2016, just 38 percent met it. Only 18 percent did in 2020, a year affected by coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
Administrative law judges, frequently called ALJs, are employed by agencies, in this case the SSA, and decide appeals from people who think the agency’s determination of a government benefit is not generous enough. The three agencies with the highest number of judges after the SSA — which at 1,350 has the most by far — do not have individual-level quotas.
Social Security officials told the GAO they “agree conceptually” with the watchdog’s recommendation to periodically review the annual productivity expectation. But, the report said, “SSA officials said they do not formally seek feedback from judges on the expectations. However, without feedback or other gauges of pressure, SSA lacks information that could help it appropriately balance timely case processing while maintaining high-quality work and employee morale.”
