No More Secret ALJ
Social Security had been trying to keep secret the identity of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) assigned to hold a hearing until the day of the hearing. This didn’t matter all that much to Social Security disability claimants, the people we represent, since they didn’t know the ALJs anyway but it was certainly a pain for us. We know those ALJs. They each have their own personality. Preparation for the hearing may vary depending upon who the ALJ is. That’s all changed. We’re back to the way things used to be. We know who the ALJ is from the time the hearing is scheduled. (Of course, to be honest, even when Social Security was trying the hide the ALJ’s identity, we had ways of figuring it out, but don’t tell Social Security. You never know. They might try it again.)
