Have You Heard of Administrative Law Judges? They're Human Just Like the Rest of us...#employmentlaw

Why It Matters

Variability among ALJs can materially affect case outcomes, so attorneys and claimants should adapt strategy, evidence presentation, and expectations to the individual judge to improve chances of success.

Summary

The speaker warns that administrative law judges (ALJs) who decide unemployment and similar cases are human and highly variable in temperament and reasoning. He recounts extremes: some ALJs apply rigorous, scholarly analysis while others reach clearly erroneous factual conclusions—citing one decision that denied humans can bend at the waist despite video evidence. The takeaway is that practitioners must learn the tendencies of the specific ALJ they face and tailor arguments and evidence accordingly. This is framed as practical, general advice for handling hearings.