Back to all offices
Updated June 2026 · SSA Public
Hearing Office
MILWAUKEE
Region 05Rank #92 of 160
Avg processing
261days
-5 vs national
Processing time
261
8.7 months
Hearing wait
8.0
months (current)
Cases pending
2,493
FY receipts
2,863
FY dispositions
2,124
Active judges
7
Video hearings
14%
of hearings held
Avg approval rate
50.6%
-7.2 vs avg
Backlog ratio
1.35
Growing
Rank
#92
of 160
Processing time in context
Fastest · 72 daysAvg · 266 daysSlowest · 680 days
The draw · approval spread across 7 judges
43%
56%
0%Median 53.4%100%
At MILWAUKEE, approval rates range from 42.7% (Syrjanen, Dean) to 56.1% (O'Grady, Margaret J) — a 13-pointspread. Assignment is effectively the luck of the draw, so the judge a case lands with can matter more than the office’s average. Plan for the median (53.4%), not the best case.
Judges at MILWAUKEE (7)
| Judge | Approval | Decisions | Favorable | Denied | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Grady, Margaret J | 56.1% | 246 | 138 | 108 | |
| Shenkenberg, William | 54.5% | 275 | 150 | 125 | |
| Bedwell, Brent C | 54.0% | 311 | 168 | 143 | |
| Schwalbach, Nicholas J. | 53.4% | 350 | 187 | 163 | |
| Rouf, Arman | 43.9% | 285 | 125 | 160 | |
| Sammer, Julie | 43.2% | 185 | 80 | 105 | |
| Syrjanen, Dean | 42.7% | 164 | 70 | 94 |