Background

This transmittal amends chapter I-2-3 of the Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual to provide updated instructions on scheduling hearings. These revisions were necessary for consistency with changes to the regulatory language regarding appearances by telephone at an administrative law judge (ALJ) hearing. We also clarify our procedures when a claimant changes his or her residence address. We define what is meant by “place of hearing” when a claimant appears in a different location than the ALJ. We created a new HALLEX provision for reimbursement issues. We also made other minor editorial and formatting changes.

Explanation of Content and Changes

We revised I-2-3-5 and I-2-3-10, and added new I-2-3-13, as follows:

I-2-3-5 – We made minor language changes and defined “the place of hearing.” We removed the NOTE and replaced it with a reference to the HALLEX provision addressing the issue.

I-2-3-10 A – We reformatted the provision and added two subsections to distinguish between a claimant's appearance at a hearing and the manner of appearance of other necessary persons. We updated the information for consistency with current regulatory language and added instructions explaining when an ALJ may allow a claimant to appear by telephone. We added another subsection explaining when an ALJ may direct another person to appear by video teleconferencing or by telephone.

I-2-3-10 B – We made minor editorial changes.

I-2-3-10 D – We updated the language to address regulatory changes regarding the time period in which an objection must be submitted. We added a NOTE to distinguish the requirements for claimants in Region I, and provided a citation to the applicable Part 405 regulation.

I-2-3-10 E – We added two subsections for clarity entitled “When an ALJ Must Find Good Cause,” and “When an ALJ May Find Good Cause.” We included a NOTE to reference the instructions regarding a change in residence address.

I-2-3-10 F – We made minor editorial revisions.

I-2-3-10 G – We made minor editorial revisions.

I-2-3-10 H – We removed section H and moved the information to new HALLEX I-2-3-13.

I-2-3-13 – We added a new provision titled “Reimbursement of Travel Expenses,” and inserted information previously in HALLEX I-2-3-10 H. Although we were required to make minor editorial and formatting changes to create the provision, we made very few language changes and did not make any changes to the policy.

Date: December 12, 2013