Background

This transmittal amends “Referring a Suspected Violation,” section I-1-1-50 in the Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual chapter I-1-1. The amendments include updated instructions on referring possible representative misconduct. We also made formatting and editorial changes to conform with plain language requirements.

Explanation of Content and Changes

I-1-1-50 A – We renamed the subsection “General,” and added a reference to HALLEX I-1-2-81 for situations in which suspected misconduct is fee-related.

I-1-1-50 B – We moved the information previously in subsection B to new subsection D. We renamed subsection B “Referring a Suspected Violation to ODAR Management.” In the subsection, we updated the procedures for preparing a referral to the Office of the General Counsel (OGC), Office of the Regional Chief Counsel (ORCC). In doing so, we incorporated some of the information previously found in subsection A, and we revised the referral procedure to enable the Regional Chief Administrative Law Judge to sign and send a referral memorandum to the ORCC.

I-1-1-50 C – We added new subsection C, titled “ODAR Management Referrals to OGC,” and we incorporated information previously found in sub-subsection A.2 and A.4. In the subsection, we further explained a manager's responsibility in referring an alleged violation to the ORCC.

I-1-1-50 D – We added new subsection D, titled “OGC Action After Referral,” and we incorporated the information previously in subsection B. We added titled sub-subsections to improve readability.

Date: December 16, 2013