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Charleston judge under fire for disability OK rate

Charleston Daily Mail courtesy photo  Administrative Law Judge Harry Taylor awarded social security benefits to applicants in 94 percent of cases after they were previously denied coverage between 2005 and 2013, according to a new congressional report. He appeared at a congressional hearing Tuesday to discuss his record.
Charleston Daily Mail courtesy photo
Administrative Law Judge Harry Taylor awarded social security benefits to applicants in 94 percent of cases after they were previously denied coverage between 2005 and 2013, according to a new congressional report. He appeared at a congressional hearing Tuesday to discuss his record.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Charleston Social Security judge is accused of rubber stamping more than $2.5 billion in lifetime Social Security benefits since 2005, according to a congressional report released today.

Administrative law Judge Harry Taylor reportedly approved 94 percent of the cases presented to him between 2005 and 2013, according to an investigation by Republican members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

“He had an overall allowance rate of nearly 94 percent and awarded benefits to nearly 6,000 people without a hearing,” the report states.

The report also accuses Taylor of inappropriate conduct toward female employees and sleeping on the job.

“When ALJ Taylor held hearings, the review found that he never elicited testimony from medical experts,” states the report, citing a formal review from 2011.

“The report found that an ‘overreaching problem’ with the reviewed decisions ‘was a lack of rationale . . . There would be little evaluation of the evidence and no function by function assessment of the claimant’[sic] abilities.’”

Taylor is one of four administrative law judges specifically noted in the report who appeared before the committee Tuesday. While Republicans on the committee argued the cases were emblematic of systemic problems, Democrats said several examples don’t mean an entirely new system is needed.

“Although I support these individual reviews, I strongly oppose the broad condemnation of all administrative law judges,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the ranking Democrat on the committee.

“The four judges here today are not representative of the 1,500 judges who work at the Social Security Administration. Even they admit that they are outliers.”

 

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