Skip to main content

Lapse in Appropriations

Please note that a lapse in appropriations has caused GAO to shut down its operations. Therefore, GAO will not be able to publish reports or otherwise update this website until GAO resumes operations. In addition, the vast majority of GAO personnel are not permitted to work. Consequently, calls or emails to agency personnel may not be returned until GAO resumes operations. For details on how the bid protest process will be handled during the shutdown, please see the legal decisions page. For information related to the GAO Personnel Appeals Board (PAB), please see the PAB webpage.

Administrative Law Process: Better Management Is Needed

FPCD-78-25 Published: May 15, 1978. Publicly Released: May 15, 1978.
Jump To:

Highlights

More than 1,000 Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) serve in 28 federal agencies as quasi-judicial officers presiding at formal administrative hearings to resolve disputes. The federal executive departments and agencies collectively process a larger case load than U.S. courts, affect the rights of more citizens, and employ more than twice as many ALJ as there are active judges in federal trial courts. The Administrative Procedure Act sought to ensure the ALJ judicial capability and objectivity by precluding agencies from evaluating their performance and by assigning responsibility for determining their qualifications, compensation, and tenure to the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

Full Report

Full Report (107 pages)

Media Inquiries

Sarah Kaczmarek
Managing Director
Office of Public Affairs
media@gao.gov

Public Inquiries

Contact Us

Topics

Auditing and Financial Management
Administrative hearingsAdministrative lawAdministrative law judgesJudicial procedureJudicial tenurePersonnel managementLaw courtsLegislationCivil serviceFederal agencies