Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks helps you understand the landscape of your hearing. Judge Michalec Olszewski has maintained a consistent record over 10 years on the bench, with a lifetime approval rate of 44%. This is currently 14 percentage points below the national average and 23 points below the latest White Plains office average. These aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for your individual hearing.
Office- and national-level breakdowns of fully favorable vs denial rates aren't currently published by SSA in the per-office disposition data. The judge's own breakdown is the detail we have today.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Olszewski's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Over a decade of service, Judge Michalec Olszewski has presided over 14,765 decisions. The yearly approval trend has remained relatively steady, showing minor fluctuations rather than sharp shifts, with a recent approval rate of 46% in the latest reporting period. This stability provides a clear view of the judge's historical approach to disability claims. Remember that the lifetime average reflects the docket as a whole, not a prediction for your individual hearing. An attorney can help you prepare your case for your hearing.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Olszewski's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
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Check My BenefitsAbout the White Plains hearing office
The White Plains hearing office serves a significant volume of claimants in the region. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a latest approval rate of 67%. You should be prepared for a rigorous review of your medical records and vocational history. See the White Plains Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your judge is typically selected at random. Across the White Plains office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 44% to 74%. Because you cannot choose your judge, focusing on the strength of your medical evidence is the most effective way to prepare. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same regardless of which judge you are assigned.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
SSDI hearing approval rates — represented vs. on your own
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.