Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers
Conduct hearings to recommend or make decisions on claims concerning government programs or other government-related matters. Determine liability, sanctions, or penalties, or recommend the acceptance or rejection of claims or settlements.
16,370 people do this job in the US. $117,860 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 88%
- 12%
- 0%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 30%. Today's estimate: 44%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 14 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare written opinions and decisions.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 25% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | 32%Half by Jan 2027 | |
| Conduct hearings to review and decide claims regarding issues, such as social program eligibility, environmental protection, or enforcement of health and safety regulations.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 23% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | 49%Half by now | |
| Research and analyze laws, regulations, policies, and precedent decisions to prepare for hearings and to determine conclusions.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 11% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | 46%Half by Oct 2026 | |
| Determine existence and amount of liability according to current laws, administrative and judicial precedents, and available evidence.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 11% | 1.7 h50 min to 4.2 h | 82%Half by now | |
| Monitor and direct the activities of trials and hearings to ensure that they are conducted fairly and that courts administer justice while safeguarding the legal rights of all involved parties.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 11% | 1.3 h25 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Review and evaluate data on documents, such as claim applications, birth or death certificates, or physician or employer records.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.3 h17 min to 3.3 h | 64%Half by now | |
| Conduct studies of appeals procedures in field agencies to ensure adherence to legal requirements and to facilitate determination of cases.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 5% | 2.1 work days6.7 h to 4.2 work days | 0%Half by Jan 2028 | |
| Rule on exceptions, motions, and admissibility of evidence.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min13 min to 2.5 h | 79%Half by now | |
| Issue subpoenas and administer oaths in preparation for formal hearings.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 2% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | 97%Half by now | |
| Confer with individuals or organizations involved in cases to obtain relevant information.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 1% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Explain to claimants how they can appeal rulings that go against them.Done daily by most who do it. | 1% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | 99%Half by now | |
| Recommend the acceptance or rejection of claims or compromise settlements according to laws, regulations, policies, and precedent decisions.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 0.9% | 1.7 h50 min to 4.2 h | 82%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates40% now, 94% by 2028
- Judicial Law Clerks26% now, 92% by 2028
- Lawyers10% now, 56% by 2028
- Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators21% now, 92% by 2028
- Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators37% now, 63% by 2028
- Equal Opportunity Representatives and Officers15% now, 83% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).