Social Security Fails in Effort to Use Own Lawyers to Judge Appeals
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The Government has rejected a request by the Social Security Administration to relax requirements for appointing administrative law judges so that the agency’s attorneys would qualify for the positions. The Government has rejected a request by the Social Security Administration to relax requirements for appointing administrative law judges so that the agency’s attorneys would qualify for the positions. The agency, in which 700 judges decide claims for health insurance and disability, contended that its lawyers’ knowledge of the agency was more important than the trial experience and the wide-ranging legal expertise that the Office of Personnel Management requires of applicants for the judgeships. The judges regarded the proposal as the latest in a series of efforts to undermine their independence. They have charged that the agency maintains a work quota for them and punishes those who fail to meet it. In addition, some judges say, the agency has exerted pressure on them to reduce Social Security benefits they awarded. More : query.nytimes.com |