CAREER GUIDE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE & HEARING OFFICER
SOC Code: 23-1021
Pay Band(s): 4,5 and 6 (Salary Structure)
Standard Occupational Description: Conduct hearings to decide or recommend decisions on claims concerning government programs or other government-related matters and prepare decisions. Determine penalties or the existence and the amount of liability, or recommend the acceptance or rejection of claims, or compromise settlements.
Administrative Law Judge and Hearing Officer positions in the Commonwealth are assigned to the following Roles in the Hearing and Legal Services Career Group:
Hearing and Legal Services Officer I
Hearing and Legal Services Officer II
Hearing and Legal Services Officer III
While Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers within the Commonwealth are all located within the Hearing and Legal Services Career Group, individuals may want to pursue other opportunities within the Commonwealth depending upon individual training, education, knowledge, skills, abilities, and interests.
Other Career Group(s) that may be of interest are:
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES AND TASKS
(Technical and Functional Expertise) SkillsNote: The technical and functional skills listed below are based on general occupational qualifications for Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers commonly recognized by most employers. Typically, you will not be required to have all of the skills listed to be a successful performer. Recruitment and selection standards for an individual state job must be based on the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for that job as indicated in the job announcement and job description in the Employee Work Profile.
1. Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. 2. Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. 3. Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. 4. Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. 5. Talking to others to convey information effectively. 6. Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. 7. Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem solving and decision-making. 8. Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. 9. Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. 10. Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Knowledge
Note: The technical and functional knowledge statements listed below are based on general occupational qualifications for Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers commonly recognized by most employers. Typically, you will not be required to have all of the knowledge listed to be a successful performer. Recruitment and selection standards for an individual state job must be based on the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for that job as indicated in the job announcement and job description in the Employee Work Profile.
The Knowledge of:
1. Laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process. 2. Business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. 3. Structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. Abilities
Note: The technical and functional abilities listed below are based on general occupational qualifications for Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers commonly recognized by most employers. Typically, you will not be required to have all of the abilities listed to be a successful performer. Recruitment and selection standards for an individual state job must be based on the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for that job as indicated in the job announcement and job description in the Employee Work Profile.
The Ability to:
1. Listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. 2. Read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. 3. Communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. 4. Communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. 5. Speak clearly so others can understand you. 6. Combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). 7. Remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures. 8. Apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. 9. See details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). 10. Arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, and mathematical operations).
Tasks Note: The following is a list of sample tasks typically performed by Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers. Employees in this occupation will not necessarily perform all of the tasks listed.
Tasks
1. Authorize payment of valid claims and determine method of payment. 2. Conduct hearings to review and decide claims regarding issues such as social program eligibility, environmental protection, and enforcement of health and safety regulations. 3. Confer with individuals or organizations involved in cases in order to obtain relevant information. 4. Determine existence and amount of liability, according to current laws, administrative and judicial precedents, and available evidence. 5. Explain to claimants how they can appeal rulings that go against them. 6. Issue subpoenas and administer oaths in preparation for formal hearings. 7. Monitor and direct the activities of trials and hearings to ensure that they are conducted fairly and that courts administer justice while safeguarding the legal rights of all involved parties. 8. Prepare written opinions and decisions. 9. Recommend the acceptance or rejection of claims or compromise settlements according to laws, regulations, policies, and precedent decisions. 10. Research and analyze laws, regulations, policies, and precedent decisions to prepare for hearings and to determine conclusions.
INTERESTED?
Like people, occupations have traits or characteristics. These characteristics give important clues about the nature of the work and work environment, and give you an opportunity to match your own personal interests to a specific occupation. When you choose a job in an occupation that matches your own interests you have taken an important step in planning a successful and rewarding career.
The Administrative Law Judge and Hearing Officer occupations have Enterprising, Social, Investigative, and Conventional characteristics as described below:
Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business. Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally. Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
LICENSURE, REGISTRATION, OR CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
While this is generally not required for Adjudicative Law Judge and Hearing Officer positions in state government, some positions may be restricted to licensed lawyers only. See the Lawyer Career Guide for more information on lawyer licensing information.
EDUCATIONAL, TRAINING, AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
The Department of Labor provides the following information:
Administrative law judges, sometimes called hearing officers, are employed by government agencies to make determinations for administrative agencies. These judges make decisions, for example, on a person's eligibility for various Social Security or worker's compensation benefits, on protection of the environment, on the enforcement of health and safety regulations, on employment discrimination, and on compliance with economic regulatory requirements.
A bachelor's degree and work experience usually constitute the minimum requirement for a judgeship or hearing officer position. A number of lawyers become judges, and most judges have first been lawyers. Agencies may prefer or require individuals with law degrees.
The State Council of Higher Education lists many Virginia educational institutions having a law program. The State Council of Higher Education's web site is http://www.schev.edu/Students/FindaProgram.asp?from=k12.
COMMONWEALTH COMPETENCIES
Competencies are a set of identified behaviors, knowledge, skills, and abilities that directly and positively impact the success of employees and the organization. Competencies can be observed and measured. When consistently demonstrated, competencies make employees particularly effective in their work. Competencies help lay out a road map to career success. You can use the Commonwealth Competencies to help improve your individual performance by adopting behaviors that make high performing employees successful in their jobs. In this way, you can use the Commonwealth Competencies for your further professional development.
The Commonwealth Competencies are:
1.
Technical and Functional Expertise
2.
Understanding the Business 3. Achieving Results 4. Serving the Customer 5. Teamwork 6. Interpersonal and Communication Skills 7. Leadership and Personal Effectiveness The above competencies may be applied to employees throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. They can be rank-ordered by agencies and hiring managers to represent the needs of a specific job. The rank ordering will change depending upon the occupation, an organization's priorities, the actual job requirements, and the supervisor's preferences.
Career success is both about what you do (applying your technical knowledge, skills, and ability) and how you do it (the consistent behaviors you demonstrate and choose to use) while interacting and communicating with others. Hopefully, by studying the Commonwealth competencies, identifying your developmental opportunities, and working to refine your own competence, you can take charge of your career!
For additional information about the Commonwealth Competencies go to: http://jobs.state.va.us/cc_planningctr.htm. For the competencies, we first list the competencies and then define each. Finally, we list competency indicators; to describe what successful performance looks like. COMMONWEALTH CAREER PATH
Career opportunities in the Commonwealth are not limited to moving “up” to the next highest role and pay band, changing positions, or to becoming a supervisor. That's because most roles describe a broad group of occupationally related positions that perform a range of work that requires increased knowledge and skills. For that reason, Commonwealth roles describe the career paths within the same or higher-level role for the same or different Career Group. The broad salary range and the Commonwealth's pay practices provide flexibility in recognizing career development and advancement. (Salary Structure)
For example: Administrative Law Judge and Hearing Officer
Sample Career Path
Hearing and Legal Services Officer IThe Hearing & Legal Services Officer I role provides career tracks for hearing officers to include: those who are responsible for scheduling and conducting administrative hearings, those who determine eligibility and qualification for benefits, determine whether disciplinary infractions have occurred, or conduct investigations to substantiate or clear any indication of overpayment and/or fraud. Employees' hearing officer's responsibilities range from entry level to journey level.
Hearing and Legal Services Officer IIThe Hearing and Legal Services Officer II role provides career tracks for hearing officers whose responsibilities range from journey level to advanced level. This career track is for hearing officers who conduct administrative hearings for agencies and are typically an appeal level hearing or one where the hearing officers have the final administrative decisions before going to an appeal court.
Hearing and Legal Services Officer III The Hearing and Legal Services Officer III role provides career tracks for administrative law judges who serve as experts. The administrative law judge conducts administrative hearings for agencies and renders the final decision.
Hearing and Legal Services Manager I The Hearing and Legal Services Manager I role provides career tracks for managers that administer formal and informal appeals hearings programs. Employees ensure that the programs function according to pertinent laws and regulations; develop agency program policies and procedures; and may recommend changes in statutory requirements.
Hearing and Legal Services Manager II The Hearing and Legal Services Manager II role provides career tracks for managers involved in planning and directing the administration of divisional operations for the first-level appeals process. Employees provide administrative direction to a major agency division having first level client appeals responsibility and have overall management responsibility for a staff of hearing managers, hearing officers and support staff.
Hearing and Legal Services Manager III The Hearing and Legal Services Manager III role provides career tracks for managers involved in directing staff in a two-tier adjudication process of an agency or in managing a staff that provides legal advocacy services to a specific client group.
ADDITIONAL OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT:
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