Social Security Releases New Hearing Office Workload Data

The Social Security Administration recently released their updated Hearing Office Workload Data Report for the 2016 fiscal year to date for each of their hearing offices across the United States. One of the major hurdles in any Social Security disability claim is the wait time that a Claimant is confronted with when pursuing his or her claim. The chart below details each ODAR/hearing office that we regularly represent Claimants before and the average processing time in terms of number of days once a Claimant’s file reaches the ODAR/hearing office to when a decision is made. We have also included the average wait time until a hearing is held from the time a claimant’s file reaches the ODAR/hearing office. You will note that each of the hearing offices in our region all exceed a one year wait time once a Claimant’s file reaches the respective hearing office before a hearing is held before an Administrative Law Judge. While the averages detailed on the chart below are certainly an average, the wait time could be shorter or it could be a little bit longer. However, it is our experience that the overall average numbers reported by Social Security are an accurate representation and good indicator for each ODAR/hearing office. We hope that you find this information both informative and helpful as one of the many services that our office performs in keeping our clients fully informed of the Social Security claim process.

Hearing Office Workload Data

FISCAL YTD 2016 (For Reporting Purposes: 09/26/2015 through 06/24/2016)

Ranking out of 164

Office Location

Judges

ALJ Dispositions Per Day Per ALJ

Number of Cases

Average Processing (Days) Average wait time until hrg. held in Months
29 Florence, AL 9 1.89 4,809 476 14
69 Franklin, TN 10 2.02 6,609 516 16
89 Birmingham, AL 20 1.73 12,749 539 16
34 Nashville, TN 11 2.04 5,415 478 14
117 Atl., GA: North 16 1.81 6,151 572 18
121 Chattanooga, TN 13 2.03 6,637 574 18
105 Knoxville, TN 15 1.80 6,098 556 17

If you or a loved one become disabled or are no longer able to work, please do not hesitate to contact our office regarding how we might assist with a potential Social Security disability claim. Our office has over 20 years of experience in regularly representing deserving Claimants at all levels of the appeals process including a Federal District Court Civil Action if necessary.

Licensed to Practice in Tennessee & Alabama