Background

This transmittal amends Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual chapter I-2-8 to update procedures for routing paper claim(s) files and hearing recordings. Consistent with the decision of the Deputy Commissioner for Disability Adjudication and Review to end operations at the Office of Appellate Operations MegaSite in Springfield, Virginia, hearing office (HO) staff now routes paper claim(s) files with the hearing recording(s) to the Social Security Administration's National Records Center (SSANRC) in Independence, Missouri, or if the claim is favorably decided, to the appropriate effectuating component.

Explanation of Content and Changes

I-2-8-18 – In subsection B, we add a hyperlink to HALLEX I-2-1-59. In subsection C, we explain that if an administrative law judge issues an unfavorable decision, HO staff will send the paper claim(s) file to the SSANRC as described in HALLEX I-2-1-10 C.1.

I-2-8-50 – We update the process for routing hearing recordings in cases with paper claim(s) files. We remove subsections A, B, and C and incorporate information from former subsections A and B into the current instructions. We explain that when the claim(s) file is paper the compact disc (CD) of the hearing recording must remain with the claim(s) file. We also incorporate instructions from former subsection B for labeling the CD of the hearing recording. We remove the information in former subsection C, because it is obsolete.

I-2-8-96 – We remove the section in its entirety, because the information is outdated.

Date: May 26, 2017