As NOSSCR welcomes a new year, we also welcome a new Commissioner and a permanent leader. David Camp, who has served as NOSSCR’s interim CEO for the past five months, was hired by the Board this week for the position of CEO.   NOSSCR was one of the first phone calls Commissioner O’Malley made once…

Read More »

The doctrine of Chevron deference has been around almost as long as NOSSCR. Chevron deference provides that, where a statute is ambiguous, a reviewing court should defer to a reasonable interpretation of the statute the agency administers. The Supreme Court is now weighing two cases that could end Chevron deference, a doctrine often raised by…

Read More »

At the NOSSCR Annual Conference in 2021, Vanderbilt Professor Emeritus of Law Frank Bloch and Rutgers Professor of Law Jon Dubin conducted a session on teaching Social Security Law, Policy and Practice at law schools, featuring their 2016 casebook SOCIAL SECURITY LAW, POLICY AND PRACTICE: CASES AND MATERIALS (West Academic Pub. Co. 2016).  They presented…

Read More »

NOSSCR’s Annual Conference gathers Social Security disability representatives and advocates from across the nation. Industry leaders will provide insightful presentations on navigating the claims process, maximizing representatives’ chances of winning cases, running a firm/practice more effectively, finding prospective new clients, and more. In addition to our jam-packed schedule of continuing education and networking events Wednesday…

Read More »

As NOSSCR previously announced, in response to NOSSCR’s advocacy, Social Security has added a new Status Report to the ERE entitled “Get List of Initial and Reconsideration Cases.” To access this new report, login to your Appointed Representative Services account, click “Enter ERE,” and then click “Get Status Reports.” You should see a new option:…

Read More »

Many times, the VE will list jobs at Step 5 that are obsolete. No doubt you have had VEs say addresser, or tube operator, or cutter and paster, for example, not only exist but exist in the thousands. It is doubtful these jobs, and several others, exist in the current economy as described in the…

Read More »

Understanding SSA’s tax reporting system for Social Security representatives first requires familiarity with several (very similarly labeled) numerical forms. Here’s a primer: SSA-1694 – Request for Business Entity Taxpayer Information – this form should be completed by every firm or organization who employs appointed representatives that may be paid more than $600 by Social Security…

Read More »

SSA has issued the following tax reminders that may be helpful when advising your clients: As another tax season approaches, now is the time to remind your clients to begin gathering forms and documentation from the previous year. The Benefit Statement, also known as the SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S, is a tax form we mail each…

Read More »

On January 10, 2024, the NOSSCR PAC had the pleasure of hosting a small luncheon on Capitol Hill with Congressman John Larson (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Social Security Subcommittee in the House.   Several members of the NOSSCR staff were present and engaged in an open and productive discussion with the Congressman and his Chief…

Read More »

January 29—Litigation Update Webinar with Tom Krause  February 6—Legal Services CLE with Heather Freeman and Tom Krause  February 8—NextGen Virtual Happy Hour  February 20—Eleventh Circuit Virtual Meeting  February 21—Fourth Circuit and Ninth Circuit Virtual Meetings  February 22—VE Cross Series Part 2 with George Piemonte and Carolyn Kubitschek  March 11—NextGen Virtual Coffee Break  March 21—VE Cross… Read More »

As NOSSCR members are acutely aware, the Social Security disability determination process relies far too heavily on extremely outdated jobs data. Here, author David A. Weaver writes for The Hill, exploring what he calls a “junk data problem,” and opining that Commissioner O’Malley should use his “data guru” skills and prioritize implementation of new vocational…

Read More »

The Federal Office of Personnel Management has released their 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey Results, wherein Federal employees “share their opinions and perceptions about their work experiences.” As the linked spreadsheets within the report detail, Social Security once again falls near the bottom of the list in important metrics like employee engagement, global satisfaction, and…

Read More »

On May 25, 2023, Representative Brad Wenstrup (R, OH-02) and Representative Earl Blumenauer (D, OR-03) introduced H.R. 3667, the Social Security Child Protection Act. In addition to its original sponsors, H.R. 3667 has three Republican cosponsors. On January 18, 2024, H.R. 3667 passed the House by voice vote. Should the Senate pass the legislation, it…

Read More »

Bo Erickson writes for CBS News: “Thousands of Black children with sickle cell disease struggle to access disability payments.” Erickson cites SSA’s 2015 rule change for “hematological disorders” as the reason for a huge uptick in denials for children with Sickle Cell Disease, noting that roughly 76% of those who have applied between 2015 and…

Read More »

December 2023 Edition After a brief hiatus, the Seventh Circuit resumed issuing Social Security decisions shortly before Thanksgiving. In November and December, the Court decided eight Social Security cases. All eight affirmed the Commissioner, including Ellison in which two recent appointees were panelists. The good news is that we continue to see remand opinions from…

Read More »

Social Security’s Office of the Chief Actuary provides a look at the “illustrative benefits for retired workers, disabled workers, and survivors scheduled under current law” here. 

Read More »

SSA’s Office of Retirement and Disability Policy has released the following information: A monthly snapshot of statistics on Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income recipients: Monthly Statistical Snapshot, December 2023. Monthly tables that provide statistics for federally administered payments and awards under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program: SSI Monthly Statistics, December 2023. SSA’s…

Read More »

Download Read More »

Resource URL Latest Caseload Analysis Report (CAR) for the month of December 2023 https://www.ssa.gov/foia/resources/proactivedisclosure/2023/CAR%20December%202023.pdf ALJ Disposition Data https://www.ssa.gov/appeals/DataSets/03_ALJ_Disposition_Data.html Contact Information for the Regional Communications Directors (RCDs) https://www.ssa.gov/agency/rcds.html OR https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/ HALLEX Contents & Recent Changes https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/hallex/hallex.html POMS Recent Changes https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/reference.nsf/instructiontypecode!openview&restricttocategory=POMT Emergency Messages (EMs) https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/reference.nsf/instructiontypecode!openview&restricttocategory=EM Chief Judge Bulletins (CJBs) https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/reference.nsf/instructiontypecode!openview&restricttocategory=CJB FOIA Reading Room – Proactive Disclosures https://www.ssa.gov/foia/readingroom.html…

Read More »