Do Judges Have A Deadline When Issuing A Decision On Your Case?
You’ve waited months for a Social Security Administrative Law Judge to hear your case. You’ve already been denied once. And you’ve finally had your hearing where you presented evidence and testified why you are unable to work. Now the decision on whether you will be found disabled rests with the Judge. But when will you find out if you won or lost? More importantly, does a Judge have a strict deadline on when they must notify you?
Unfortunately, they do not.
While many Administrative Law Judges tell claimants they will receive a decision in about 30 days, they are not bound by law to do this. And in far too many cases, Judges will act in utter disregard of the claimant by not issuing a decision for several months.
Why should a claimant, who has already waited several months for a hearing, have to wait another several months for a Judge to make a decision on their case? How come the Administration doesn’t have regulations in place for Judges to issue a decision within a specific time?
Many disability recipients face serious financial hardships while they are waiting for their case to be decided. Whether it’s an eviction notice or an overdue utility bill, the determination on whether a person is disabled or not can have crucial implications on a claimant’s life. A Federal Administrative Law Judge should not be allowed to take their time when issuing a decision.
December 20, 2011
Tags: case, deadline, decision, financial, hardships, judge, Social Security, wait, waited Posted in: Social Security Disability
2 Responses
I agree, I think there should be a procedure in place where the ALJ is required to render a decision within 30 0r 60 days of the hearing date.
I don’t think that is unreasonable given the fact that a lot of these claimants are in dire of need of the benefits.
Unfortunately, some Judges abuse thier power and can take several months in issuing a decision. It’s a shame that they have zero accountability in deliberately delaying the issuance of a decision that could have sweeping financial ramifications for a claimant and his family.
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