Law Commons^™

Res Judicata And Multiple Disability Applications: Fulfilling The Praiseworthy Intentions Of The Fourth And Sixth Courts, Amber Mae Otto

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the United States, the application process to receive disability benefits through the Social Security Administration is often a tedious, multistep procedure. The process becomes even more complex if a claimant has filed multiple disability applications covering different time periods. In that circumstance, the question arises as to whether an administrative law judge hearing a claimant’s second application must make the same findings as the administrative law judge who heard the first application. In other words, how should res judicata function in the administrative law context when a claimant has filed for disability multiple times? Currently, circuits differ on this …

An Attempt To Bring Modern Workplace Realities To The Social Security Disability Adjudication System, Robert E. Rains

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

Asking Too Much: The Ninth Circuit’S Erroneous Review Of Social Security Disability Determinations, Stephen E. Smith

Faculty Publications

Disability determinations made by the Social Security Administration’s administrative law judges are subject to judicial review by Article III courts. By statute, these courts apply the “substantial evidence” standard of review on appeal from the agency. The substantial evidence standard is a forgiving one that defers to the findings of the agency. But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has modified this standard. It now reviews certain categories of SSA findings not only for substantial evidence, but for support by “clear and convincing reasons.” This heightened standard of review is facially at odds with the statutorily mandated substantial evidence standard. …

Paternalism And The Rise Of The Disability State, David W. Engel, Jeffrey S. Wolfe

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

A Run For Your Money: Are Able Accounts Truly An Innovative, User-Friendly Financial Savings Tool For The Broad Spectrum Of Disabled Americans?, Madeleine Laser

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Save The Social Security Disability Trust Fund! And Reduce Ssi Exposure To The General Fund, Daniel F. Solomon

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Adjudicasaurus Rex, Jeffrey S. Wolfe

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This article proposes a simple theme. While many issues plague the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs, only reform of the hearings and appeals process can solve the decades-long (and growing) hearings backlog. Only then, can the remaining questions regarding the solvency of the DI trust fund be meaningfully addressed. As it now stands, the ongoing backlog of pending hearings and appeals feeds the twin plagues of rising costs and increasing delay. These are the very issues that drove the federal courts in the passage of the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA). This article provides …

Decision Inputs Of Administrative Law Judges, Patrick J. Mccarthy

Senior Theses and Projects

Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) play an important role in the Social Security Administration (SSA) as they hear appeals from individuals who have been denied Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. As a result, the decisions of these judges have important effects on both individual welfare and government finances, especially given that the SSDI trust fund is expected to go bankrupt within the next few years. This paper examines how disability dispositions, decisions, and award rates by ALJs in the SSA vary according to factors such as gender, tenure with the SSA, age, general experience in the legal profession, and salary. …

The Disability-Employability Divide: Bottlenecks To Equal Opprotunity, Bradley A. Areheart, Michael Ashley Stein

Michigan Law Review

Equal opportunity might appear to comprise a relatively simple question: Do similarly situated persons have an equal chance to attain a particular goal, or do obstacles irrelevant to their qualifications or to the desired goal preclude achievement? But equal opportunity is complicated.1 There are descriptive and prescriptive dimensions to this question. Nuances exist when determining who is similarly situated, whether those individuals have the same opportunity, what goals we care about equalizing, and whether the ultimate aspiration is equality of opportunity or equality of outcome. Moreover, what means should we employ to remove obstacles, are these means likely to be …

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same: A Section 504 Examination Of The Social Security Administration's Use Of 1993 Medical Criteria To Determine Disability In 2014, Adrienne Jones

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Civil Justice Reform In Social Security Adjudications, Jeffrey S. Wolfe

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

Part I of this Article explores the actions of the Social Security Administration over time, both as related directly to the role of the administrative law judge in the case management process and to the agency's management of the backlog crisis generally, examining the cultural environment of bureaucratic management that has, despite the passage of decades, failed to remedy a persistent animus between the agency and its cadre of administrative law judges to the public detriment. Part II next examines the core attributes of the managerial judge and contrasts this in Part III with the agency's handling of the backlog …

Statement Of The Association Of Administrative Law Judges: Committee On Ways And Means, Subcommittee On Social Security, D. Randall Frye

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Managing Social Security Disability & Other Public Benefits: Development Of A Guide For Consumers And Providers, Stephanie L. Derochers

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

One in five Americans has a disability, making it the largest minority group in the U.S. (Soffer, McDonald, & Blanck, 2010). In 2011, 13.4 million working-aged adults received a disability cash benefit from the Social Security Administration (Kregel, 2012).

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is the federal agency responsible for managing, executing and overseeing retirement, survivor, old-age and disability benefits. There are over 1,500 Social Security offices and over 65,000 employees nationwide (SSA, 2013). SSA manages at least five disability benefit programs: Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Disabled Widow(er) Benefit (DWB), Childhood Disability Benefit (CDB), though …

The Evolution And Role Of The Administrative Law Judge At The Office Of Hearings And Appeals In The Social Security Administration, Charles N. Bono

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Note: Calvin V. Chater: The Right To Subpoena The Physician In Ssa Cases: Conflict In The Circuits Over The Interpretation Of 20 C.F.R. 404.950(D)(1), Elliot B. Oppenheim

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Medical Expert Testimony In Administrative Hearings , Daniel F. Solomon

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Judicial Independence Under Siege, Wendell Fennell, Fred Young

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Vocational Testimony In Social Security Hearings, Daniel F. Solomon

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Administrative Law Judges Honored, David J. Agatstein

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Panel Discussion On Independence And The Federal Alj, Arthur Fried, Ronald G. Bernoski

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Ford V. Shalala: Applying Mathews V. Eldridge To Ssi Benefits, Daniel T. Vaughan

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Was The Third Circuit Off Base In Failing To Accord Chevron Deference To Social Security Administration's Interpretation Of The Statute's Definition Of Disability?, Victor G. Rosenblum

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Considering Innovative Alternatives To Handling Cases Of Adults With Special Conditions Under The Social Security Act , Sarah Robichaud

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

Title II and Title XVI of the Social Security Act provide critical support to individuals with disabilities. However, until recently, the way that the Social Security Administration processed medical information to make disability determinations had not changed in any fundamental way since the inception of the Act. The disability determination process is logical for many frequently handled, well-known conditions, yet there are a significant number of cases regarding special conditions that are not as well-known or as frequently considered by the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, which administers hearings and appeals for the Social Security Administration. The Social Security …

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall: Stigma And Denial In Social Security Disability Hearings, Chris E. Pashler

Chris E Pashler

Commentators have recently suggested that the Social Security Administration (SSA) abandon its non-adversarial model of adjudication utilized in the disability hearings process in favor of an adversarial system, where the United States would be represented by an attorney. This Article will argue that such measures are not necessary to provide the claimant with a full and fair hearing, and will not lead to more consistent or accurate outcomes. Rather, this Article will argue that adoption of an adversarial model of adjudication will radically transform the nature of the disability adjudication process. This potential shift in the character of the hearings …

Data Note: Ssi Recipients Who Work, Daria Domin, Frank A. Smith

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a means-tested income-support program administered by the Social Security Administration. Eligibility is contingent upon proving that one has a limited ability to work due to disability. However, the program offers several work incentives aimed at encouraging SSI recipients to enter the workforce while maintaining their benefits. Despite the promotion of employment through Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) and other programs, a very small percentage of SSI recipients actually work. This Data Note examines the number of SSI recipients working by state in 2010.

An Overview Of The U.S. Retirement Income Security System And The Principles And Values It Reflects, Kathryn L. Moore

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This article is designed to provide an overview of the U.S. retirement income security system from a comparative law perspective. Like many countries, the U.S. has a three tier pension or retirement income system, with the three tiers consisting of (1) Social Security, (2) employment-based pensions, and (3) individual savings. Thus, superficially, the U.S. retirement income security system resembles that of many around the world. Yet, in other ways, such as its focus on individual rights and responsibility, the U.S. system is unique.

The article begins by discussing the nine guiding principles of the U.S. Social Security system as identified …

The Future Of Social Security: Principles To Guide Reform, Kathryn L. Moore

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

On February 12, 2008, the nation's first Baby Boomer, Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, was the first of her generation to receive a Social Security retirement benefit. Born one second after midnight on January 1, 1946, Ms. Casey-Kirschling was born just eleven years after the Social Security system was originally enacted, nine years after the first Social Security payroll taxes were collected, and six years after the system first began to pay monthly retirement benefits.

"As the nation's first Baby Boomer, Ms. Casey-Kirschling is leading what is often referred to as America's silver tsunami. Over the next two decades, nearly eighty million Americans …

Social Security Reform: Fundamental Restructuring Or Incremental Change?, Kathryn L. Moore

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In light of Social Security's long-term deficit, reform of the system appears inevitable. Commentators and policymakers have offered a wide range of possible reforms. This Article describes and analyzes five possible types of reform: (1) individual accounts, (2) progressive price indexing, (3) general revenue and/or estate tax revenue financing, (4) increasing the maximum taxable wage base, and (5) increasing the normal retirement. The Article opposes the first two proposed changes, individual accounts and progressive price indexing, because they would fundamentally restructure the current system. The Article recommends that Social Security's financing difficulties be addressed by a combination of estate tax …

Research To Practice: Trends And Emerging Issues Regarding Ssa/Vr Reimbursements For Ssi/Ssdi Recipients, John Halliday, Dana Scott Gilmore, Katherine Fichthorn

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This brief discusses the declining amount of reimbursement paid to public VR agencies from federal fiscal year (FFY) 2002 to FFY 2005 by considering the impact that fewer claims submitted and a rising SGA level may have on the amount of reimbursement paid.

Data Note: Relationship Between Ssi Recipients Who Work And State Unemployment Rate, Katherine Fichthorn, Dana Scott Gilmore

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

The Supplemental Security Income program (SSI) administered by the Social Security Administration provides cash assistance to low-income individuals who are seniors, blind, or have a disability.