Other job as active duty lawyer for Army hampered work, ruling says

By ANN HARDIE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/21/08

For three years, Kelly S. Jennings ruled on disability claims for the Social Security Administration while simultaneously serving as an active-duty lawyer for the Army. This week, a ruling determined the Atlanta administrative law judge can be removed from his civilian job for double-dipping. Social Security has also filed papers to recover more than $309,000 in back pay and interest from Jennings.

By dividing his time between jobs, Jennings could not give Social Security his full attention, which in turn contributed to the nation's mountainous backlog of disability claims, wrote William N. Cates, the administrative law judge who heard the case.

Jennings worked in Social Security's Atlanta North office, known as the agency's "backlog capital" of the country. With an average wait of 838 days, the office in May ranked as the slowest in the nation in resolving the appeals of people who say they are too sick or injured to work.

Jennings, who said he made more than $300,000 a year working for both Social Security and the Army, acted "purely for personal gain," Cates wrote. "Judge Jennings' dual employment and the ramifications thereof warrant his removal."

In an interview Thursday, Jennings said he was "shocked" by Cates' decision. He said he was among the most productive judges in his office. "It wasn't like I was on the golf course," Jennings said. "I took it upon myself to hold hearings in an effort to reduce the backlog and render decisions to give individuals the benefits they had worked for their entire life. For that, I am being fired."

More than 758,000 people seeking disability benefits nationwide, including 12,000 in the Atlanta North office, are waiting for administrative law judges to hear their cases.

They are entitled to a hearing if Social Security previously has denied their requests for disability benefits. The lion's share, statistics show, will prevail at the hearing level.

The health and financial well-being of many of those people will worsen during the long wait. Some will lose their homes, declare bankruptcy, even die.

Trying to reduce the backlog, Social Security recently hired six new administrative law judges for its two Atlanta offices. But last year, the agency filed a claim with the Merit Systems Protection Board, the agency charged with protecting the rights of federal employees, seeking to remove Jennings. Social Security claimed Jennings improperly held two jobs and failed to fully disclose his active-duty status with the Army. Cates, ruling on behalf of the board, agreed. Jennings plans to exhaust his appeals to keep his job.

Social Security officials, citing privacy concerns, will not discuss Jennings' current status. But Jennings said he has been placed on paid administrative leave until a final decision is reached. "We are pleased by the decision," Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue wrote in an e-mail. "The irresponsible conduct of this employee shouldn't tarnish the reputations of our ALJs, who have helped reduce the disability backlog by increasing their productivity by about 10 percent in the past year." Jennings, 55, was appointed an administrative law judge and went to work at the Atlanta North office in 1994.

For the past 25 years, Jennings also served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. When he retired last month, Jennings held the rank of colonel with the Judge Advocate General's Corps, the Army's legal arm.

Jennings said he performed active military duty for a few months every year that he served as an administrative law judge and received pay from both the Army and Social Security "with no problem."

His current troubles stem from his continuous military duty from January 2003 to December 2005. Jennings did brief tours during that period in the Middle East. But during most of those years, Jennings said, he worked from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Fort McPherson in Hapeville, providing legal advice for the 3rd U.S. Army based in Kuwait. He said he spent the rest of the weekdays and weekends working on Social Security cases both in his Atlanta North office and at home. Jennings said he took military leave when necessary to hold hearings.

Jennings had signed an agreement with Social Security to work weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. While Jennings acknowledged that he did not adhere to that schedule, he called it "inconceivable" that his higher-ups were not aware of what he was doing. "I would come in the office in a military uniform," he said. "I had a military uniform hanging in my office."

Military regulations would not have precluded Jennings from holding another government job. But a human resources specialist testified that the Social Security Administration does not allow employees to keep working their civilian jobs if they are activated for military duty.

Jennings' immediate supervisor, Verley Spivey, testified that "he had some idea that Judge Jennings may have had some duties at Fort McPherson," but did not know that they were anything other than on an "episodic basis," according to Cates' decision. Spivey referred questions for this story to higher-ups at Social Security, who were not available for comment.

In August 2007, Social Security placed Jennings on paid administrative leave, he said. He is drawing his annual salary of $158,500.

Jennings said his annual Army pay ranged between $140,000 and $155,000 between 2003 and 2005.

"There was never a time I was double-dipping at all," he said. "I fully earned every dime of my salaries."

OK, so after reading the above I now understand why it took me almost 4 years to win my SSD.

My Award letter came on 3/8/08

SS makes electronic connection w/direct deposit 5/23/08

Kid #2 (a minor) received her lump check on 5/28/08

Kid #1 (adult) received her lump check on 6/1/08

My Medicare card came on 6/2/08

My letter stating they have settled with the attorney came on 6/6/08 and again? on 6/25/08
(this showed my lump sum amount)

My monthly pament hits direct deposit on 6/25/08 (for May)

I have not yet received my award letter stating what my monthly payment is and how much of that has tax or medicare cost taken out! (I need this to qualify for food stamps) And worse, I have not yet received my lump sum payment!! I called SS on 6/1 and they said "it could be 3 weeks". I called again last week and they sounded all surprised that I hadn't seen the deposit yet... then she says "it could be 3 more weeks.".

Can anyone offer some insight as to when I should expect the check and when is long enough that I should start being a squeaky wheel?

`````I wonder if it has anything to do with my last letter a couple of months ago saying it may be 18-24 more months before I go before the AJL?? I have been denied twice and waiting since and all my Dr's say there is no way I can work! sigh.

It just might Junie, if your case is in the N. Atlanta office.

And since SS is not only requiring this judge to repay his earnings while double-dipping ($300K+) AND INTEREST.... maybe I should ask for the interest they are making on my golden check?

I called SS again today - they have faxed me the proof of income sheet I needed (the SS 800 number people are very good and responsible). However, this person told me that while many SS office people tell clients that it's a 3 week wait after receipt of your monthly check ... this one told me it could be up to 90 days!!!! And, if I have a financial hardship (ie: need $$ to rent housing, medical needs, etc) I could go to the local SS office and ask for an advance.

Just thought I'd 'share'.

Atlanta's disabled often wait years for aid
City's Social Security hearing offices known as 'the backlog capital of the country'

By ANN HARDIE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/03/08
Atlanta is arguably the worst place in the country to live if you are too sick or injured to work and have to rely on the government for help.

While Social Security hearing offices nationwide are clogged with claims from severely disabled individuals seeking benefits, the two Atlanta locations are known as "the backlog capital of the country."

Catherine Mulhall, 40, who has multiple sclerosis, is one among the thousands of people in Georgia who have been waiting years to get their Social Security disability benefits.

NO STRANGERS TO REJECTION
While most Americans associate Social Security with retirement, the agency currently provides income to about 12 million individuals who have proved they are too disabled to work for at least a year.

Social Security contracts with the Georgia Department of Labor to determine eligibility for claims initially filed. The Labor Department also handles the first round of appeals of claims from individuals who get rejected outright. Three of four Georgians who apply for benefits get turned down outright. Nine of 10 who appeal to the second level for "reconsideration" get rejected. A minority of applicants will appeal further and ask for a hearing before an administrative law judge. The vast majority who go before a judge will be approved.

The Downtown hearing office at Peachtree Center takes 769 days on average — more than two years — to resolve a claim. It has 9,145 claims pending. The Atlanta North office on Clairmont Road is even worse, with a backlog of 12,497 claims and an average wait of 793 days, according to Social Security figures. Month after month, the two offices consistently rank among the slowest in the country for resolving claims.

The physical and financial health of many of people waiting will deteriorate. Some will lose their homes and declare bankruptcy. Others will die.

They already have been turned down twice to get to this appeal level, adding years more to their quest for a modest income and access to health care.

Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue calls reducing the backlog in Atlanta and elsewhere nationwide a moral issue. "I don't want to appear self-righteous, but I do want to make it clear that that's the way I view it," said Astrue, appointed commissioner in 2007.

Attempt at a turnaround

After ignoring the problem for years, Congress gave Social Security money this fiscal year aimed at turning the tide. In December, the agency opened the National Hearing Center in Northern Virginia, where administrative law judges hear cases via video from Atlanta and other backlogged regions.

Social Security also has hired 189 new administrative law judges. Astrue said he has placed as many in Atlanta as the offices can accommodate. Seven new administrative law judges recently came on board at the Downtown office, increasing the number to 13. "Over the last several months, the Downtown hearing office has gone hog wild on scheduling," said Robert Hughes, an attorney who specializes in Social Security cases. "I've gone from five hearings a month to five a day."

At the beleaguered Atlanta North hearing office on Clairmont Road, Rick Waitsman tries to keep his mind on the case before him, not the thousands of others piling up.

Waitsman, an administrative law judge, has been hearing disability cases for 15 years. He characterized the burden of the backlog as frustrating but the work as critical and rewarding. "Every time you meet someone, it reminds you how important your decision is for them and their families," he said.

To qualify for benefits, individuals must prove they can't work for at least a year.Three of four Georgians who apply will be rejected outright by state workers under contract with Social Security to evaluate and decide claims.

However, the lion's share of those who appeal up to the hearing level will prevail. That is assuming they can wait it out. A favorable ruling by Waitsman not only provides an individual with a monthly income, it is also the gateway to Medicare and Medicaid, the government's health care programs.

Since most Americans get health care through employers, most of the individuals who appear before Waitsman lost theirs when they became too sick to work. Many of the diseases that sidelined them will march on while they wait for their hearings. "It used to be very uncommon that you would have a claim where someone would die while their appeal was pending," Waitsman said. "Unfortunately, that is becoming much more common. People are dying from what they are complaining of."

More than 2.6 million Americans will file disability claims this year, fueled by the baby boom generation hitting peak disability age. Even as the number of claims has been steadily rising, Congress has underfunded the Social Security agency for the previous 15 years running, Astrue said.

The demographic shift and the lagging resources are in large part to blame for the backlog of 761,000 people nationwide waiting for hearings.

Meanwhile, the diseases and conditions that keep people from working have exploded, Astrue said. "The system was originally designed for older people with blue collar injuries," he said. "Many of the claimants now come and allege four to six injuries, both psychological and physical."

While the system overall was underfunded, Astrue said, the Atlanta region got short-changed, compared to others around the country. This happened at a time when Atlanta's population, and by extension, the number of disability claims filed here, increased. As a general rule, an administrative law judge decides two cases a day. For every two decided at the Atlanta North office, four come in, Waitsman said.

To help move cases along, Social Security has added one new administrative law judge to the nine already hearing cases there. Ten employees from the regional office have been brought in to screen for cases that can be decided on the spot.

The agency also is transferring cases to the National Hearing Center.

'Very bad practice'

Astrue said he can't explain why Atlanta received less financial support, given the level of filings here. "All I know is it is a very bad practice and we have moved as quickly as we can to provide redress," he said. He is pushing Congress for more money to open a third hearing office in suburban Atlanta.

In the meantime, the pressure to whittle down the backlog keeps mounting.

Astrue has asked Social Security hearing offices nationwide to clear, by the end of September, cases that have languished 900 or more days. That is no easy task. The longer a case sits, the longer it takes to sort through mounds of medical records that require constant updating.

Waitsman said the Atlanta North office, with 4,000 such cases, will come close to meeting the target. But there are the thousands of other cases, growing older by the day.

"We feel like we are getting more assistance than in the past," Waitsman said. "But it is not humanly possible to work hard enough to get us out of this situation."

Just wanted to share the good news, and provide a timeline to this thread...

My Golden Check Just Hit!!!

WHOO-HOO!

So it took from March to September to receive my back pay. Time to tithe, pay debts, invest for kids college, and get the recliner and dual-reclining automatic sofa I've been dreaming of!

congrats to you ... I'm going on my 3rd appeal ... doing this since last August ... doctors don't want me to work ... and SSDI deny be because of my age, education ... and should be able to work a job and deal with my pain thru-out the day (weeks) ....

congrats to you!!

Glad you got the big check Astern !

Hang in there, Vonn........my battle took 2 years, but I finally succeeded !