Social Security Administration reviews

Productivity metric ("decision-writer productivity index" or "DWPI") is calculated by adding up the hours of disability decisions drafted--with different hours given for different types of decisions (e.g., fully favorable decisions, not likely to be appealed, are given approx. 3.5 hours, while unfavorable decisions are given approx. 8 hours)--and dividing that figure by the number of hours worked. Essentially billable time. Minimum DWPI was increased from 80% to 95% overnight, an almost 20% increase (.15 / .8 = 18.75%). This shifted the entire expected range from 80-100% to 95-115%, with the median figure increasing from 90% to 105%. What type of job expects people to be billing over 100% of their hours? A bad one. Unfortunately, this removed one of the primary incentives for working at SSA compared to insurance defense: to help people. The leeway between the 80-100% range allowed decision writers to make sure they got the decision correct. If an ALJ had directed the DW to draft an unfavorable decision (8 hours), but after several hours of reviewing the medical evidence and attempting to draft the UF decision the DW thought the ALJ got it wrong, meaning the applicant should actually receive a fully favorable decision (3 hours), the DW had that leeway to make sure SSA got the decision correct. That would sometimes be an 8-hour hit to the DWPI to ensure that an applicant wasn't unfairly denied benefits. Under the 80-100% DWPI metric, SSA had been making significant progress on the case backlog, and had been doing so in a way that ensured the accuracy of the decision. By increasing the metric beyond rational levels, DWs no longer had the ability to act as a safeguard in favor of applicants.