Background

This transmittal amends chapter I-2-9 of the Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law manual by adding a new section to update the procedures that effectuating components use to protest decisions at the hearing and Appeals Council levels of the administrative review process.

Explanation of Content and Changes

I-2-9-70 – We added this section to provide clarification of our policy and procedures for effectuating components and the Offices of the Regional Commissioner (collectively, “protesting components”) to protest administrative law judge (ALJ) and administrative appeals judge decisions to the Office of Appellate Operations (OAO). The new section clarifies situations in which it is appropriate to protest a decision to OAO, rather than to an ALJ, and clarifies the limited circumstance in which a protesting component may contact a hearing office for an amended decision before protesting a decision to OAO. This section also summarizes what information the protesting component must provide to OAO in connection with a protest. Finally, it clarifies the format of the protest memorandum, the content of the email notification, and the mailing address to send the paper claim(s) file. These clarifications will help streamline the process and help ensure the Appeals Council can meet the 60-day deadline for own motion review.

Date: December 15, 2017