VA’s judge employment peaks, as department continues record breaking appeals progress

March 2, 2020, 11:29:00 AM

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VA’s judge employment peaks, as department continues record breaking appeals progress

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) hired seven new Veterans Law Judges (VLJs) effective March 1, to help the Board continue its record-breaking progress adjudicating Veterans appeals.

These new hires bring the Board’s total number of VLJs to 102 – the largest since the Board’s inception in 1933.

“2019 was a historic year for the Board and we look forward to reaching new milestones in 2020, said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “In fiscal year 2019, the Board issued 95,089 decisions to Veterans and held more than 22,000 hearings – both are record numbers.”

Eight months after implementation of the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 (AMA), VA announced its plan to resolve legacy appeals by the end of 2022. The appointment of the seven VLJs will help VA towards meeting that goal.

Veterans Law Judges are both experienced attorneys and subject matter experts in Veterans law.

Following an initial screening, the chairman of the Board recommends a list of candidates to the VA secretary. The selected VLJs are then appointed by the secretary with the final approval coming from the president.

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