Administrative law judges who work for the Social Security Administration are under review by the Administrative Conference of the United States. The government-policy think-tank will issue recommendations next year on how judges handle Social Security disability cases.

The independent study was requested by Social Security Administration officials in response to published reports that the distribution of Social Security disability benefits was inconsistent among many judges. Some judges were accused of cutting benefits to recipients who deserved them and others for supplying benefits to those who did not qualify for them.

Social Security Administration judges rule on disability claims after an applicant has been denied twice at the state level. Criticism surfaced when it was discovered that some judges had consistent track records of almost certain approvals or denials. For example, one Texas judge approved only 13 percent of the cases that came before him and the approval record for one Tennessee judge was 99 percent. Social Security officials say that the average approval rate for all administrative law judges under their employ is 60 percent.

One hundred judges have approval ratings over 85 percent.

The time it takes for a judge to make ruling has also fallen under scrutiny. Most Social Security disability cases that go before a judge take approximately one hour, but some judges have been known to make rulings within minutes.

Some say the pressure to keep the disability claims backlog moving forces judges to make unusually rapid decisions. More than 770,000 disability claimants were waiting for judicial decisions at the end of September.

The Social Security Disability Insurance program is due to pay $130 billion this year to more than 10 million Americans. The independent review is geared toward streamlining and refining the disability approval process. Lawmakers and SSA officials will get results of the review next November. Implementing administrative recommendations will not be mandatory, but may serve as guidelines for change.

Source: Wall Street Journal, "Disability-Benefits Systems Faces Review," Damian Paletta, Dec. 15, 2011