Shapiro v. Soc. Sec. Admin., No. 14-3113 (Fed. Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseShapiro began working for the Social Security Administration as an administrative law judge in 1997. As early as 1998, the Agency informed Shapiro that his performance was lacking. Shapiro’s poor performance continued and, in early 2000, “a tremendous backlog” of cases in his docket became apparent. The Agency began to take an active role in assisting Shapiro, including reviewing cases, drafting decisions, and returning them for signature. Shapiro’s performance, however, did not improve. The Agency continued to provide assistance and issue warnings until Shapiro’s supervisor concluded that “despite the extraordinary efforts to assist him, to mentor him, [and] to train him,” Shapiro could not manage his docket to meet expectations. The Agency filed a complaint under 5 U.S.C. 7521, with the Merit System Protection Board seeking a finding of good cause to remove Shapiro based on “unacceptable performance” and “neglect of duty.” The Federal Circuit affirmed the finding of good cause, noting that Shapiro’s production was dramatically lower than similarly situated ALJs, and that this failure to manage his caseload constituted good cause for removal.
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