After a Supreme Court ruling was released earlier this year that seemed to limit the authority of Administrative Law Judges (ALJs), President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order changing how ALJs were appointed. The order gave broad authority to agency and department heads to appoint ALJs, but a congressional Conference Committee is saying that the order is wrong and ALJs should be reviewed, tested and appointed based on merit.
A conference committee is appointed by the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and made-up of members from both bodies and both parties to resolve disagreements. A joint explanatory statement of the conference committee was released indicating congress would protect the integrity of the ALJ appointment process. The committee’s statement regarding ALJs is immediately below.
“Administrative Law Judges – It is vital that Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) be independent, impartial, and selected based on their qualifications. The conferees expect SSA to maintain a high standard for the appointment of ALJs, including the requirement that ALJ s have demonstrated experience as a licensed attorney and pass an ALJ examination administered by the Office of Personnel Management.”
The committee’s strong statement regarding how ALJs are appointed should play a major factor in the process of hiring new ALJs at the Social Security Administration. The topic of ALJs was not the only Social Security subject the committee made recommendations on. The committee also wants information of how Social Security administers Consultative Examinations (CEs). Typically, medical determination agencies setup CEs for disability applicants when there is not enough medical evidence available in a case to make a decision. The committee wants information related to how many CEs are being ordered, the percentage of applicants who are sent to CEs and the total cost associated with these CEs. For more information about the conference committee’s statements click here.
