Changes to the Administrative Law Judge/Public Alleged Misconduct Complaints (ALJ/PAMC) System

Numerous complaints about its Administrative Law Judge/Public Alleged Misconduct Complaints (ALJ/PAMC) system have spurred the Social Security Administration (SSA) to make some changes to the ALJ misconduct complaint process in order to make it more efficient and accessible to the public. Among the public’s complaints about the existing ALJ/PAMC system were: lengthy processing delays, poor customer service, inefficient data capture, and incomplete complaint documentation.

In response to these issues, the SSA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) made the following recommendations for improvements to the ALJ misconduct complaint system, all of which the SSA has agreed with:

1. Develop a written set of protocols governing proper data collection that ALJ/PAMC staff must follow when initially documenting complaints.
2. Make any and all necessary changes to the existing ALJ/PAMC system in order to make sure that all the necessary complaint-related information is documented in such a way that it can be managed and reported properly throughout the complaint process.
3. Make sure that the language and publications coming from the SSA’s Office of the General Counsel (OGC) clearly and accurately convey all ALJ/PAMC system procedures to the public.
4. Create and distribute Management Information (MI) reports about the ALJ/PAMC system to the appropriate SSA offices involved in the complaint process.
5. Promptly address and rectify data quality issues.