A recent decision by the Supreme Court in Lucia v. SEC has influenced how Administrative Law Judges are appointed, including ALJs who make decisions on Social Security disability claims.
The decision from the Court in Lucia v. SEC ruled that an ALJ at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was not lawfully appointed and had no authority to issue a decision. In Lucia v. SEC, the petitioner, Ray Lucia, was found guilty of fraud and fined $300,000 by an ALJ, but the Court’s decision June 21, ruled that the ALJ had no authority to act. Most of the country’s ALJs work for the Social Security Administration and rule on disability cases, but the Court made no broad decision about all ALJs, just ALJs that work for the SEC. The Lucia argument, which the Court agreed with, was that ALJs at the SEC are “officers” and if they have the authority to make rulings must be appointed by commissioners, as directed by the Constitution, otherwise they have no authority to rule.
Judges for the Social Security Administration were chosen through the Office of Personal Management (OPM) selection process, but now Trump’s executive order permits “agency heads,” to appoint ALJs to coordinate with the Supreme Court’s ruling that ALJs are “officers” and must be appointed by commissioners. This will give the commissioner of Social Security, who is appointed by the president, massive power to appoint the types of ALJs they wish to make disability rulings at SSA.
Trump has appointed Andrew Saul, a New York Republican, to be the new commissioner of Social Security, but he has yet to be confirmed for the position. When and if Saul is confirmed, it will be interesting to see how he handles this new authority to have the ability to appoint judges.
