The Government Accountability Office has issued a report regarding the recent hire of new ALJs and the methods of determining performance. The report notes that more than 50% of all ALJs are eligible to retire. That creates a potential brain drain of institutional knowledge and technical skills. From the summary (link to the full report in the summary):
. . . agency officials raised several issues regarding ALJ hiring and offered suggestions to improve the process, including (1) opening the OPM registry to accept new candidates more frequently, (2) giving greater consideration to agency-specific knowledge and experience, and (3) providing additional agency flexibility in meeting the procedural requirements associated with selecting from the three best qualified candidates and awarding veterans’ preference.
