Social Security Administration Shifts Backlog Chief

The Washington Post had an interesting story recently reporting that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has shifted employees around, naming a new head of its Office of Disability Adjudication and Review.

This office is responsible for appeal decisions and the current backlog that is troubling Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) applicants, as about 1,445 Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) work underneath it. According to the Post, the new office head will be Terrie Gruber, who replaces Glenn Sklar, who is moving to another position with the agency.

It remains unclear why the move was made, although a representative with the SSA said that Carolyn Colvin, the SSA’s acting commissioner since 2013, made the decision. The office currently has a backlog of more than 1 million people awaiting decisions about SSDI benefits, with an average wait time of about 435 days.

The president of the union that represents ALJs said that he hoped the new leadership would usher in changes. “The receipts [of new cases] continue to rise. Right now, we have just over a million cases waiting for a hearing,” D. Randall Frye, president of the Association of Administrative Law Judges, told the Post. “That’s unprecedented.”

We will continue to monitor this story. It is also our hope that the changes will reduce wait times for people seeking SSDI decisions.

Let Our Tulsa Social Security Disability Attorneys Assist You

A number of different factors influence SSDI waiting periods—we wrote about this issue last December. Items that can influence wait periods include the stage you are at in the process (application or appeal), which state you live in and how quickly you can produce medical records.

This is why it is important for people seeking SSDI benefits to work with our Tulsa Social Security Disability lawyers. For more information about the process, you can visit our FAQ page.

Our attorneys understand the SSDI appeals process and can walk you through every step.

Troutman & Troutman, P.C. – Tulsa Social Security Disability attorneys

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/07/23/at-social-security-office-with-a-million-person-backlog-theres-a-new-chief/

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