Background

This transmittal amends chapter I-3-5 of the Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual to update instructions on denials of requests for review at the Appeals Council level.

Explanation of Content and Changes

Chapter I-3-5 is amended as follows:

I-3-5-15 – We incorporated the information previously in HALLEX I-3-5-30 with minor editorial changes, including the removal of a citation in subsection A to HALLEX I-3-5-90 because that section is being removed.

I-3-5-25 – We incorporated the information previously in HALLEX I-3-5-40. We removed outdated information, updated the remaining information, and made other editorial and formatting changes.

I-3-5-30 – We moved the information, with minor editorial changes, to HALLEX I-3-5-15. We incorporated, without modification, the information previously in HALLEX I-3-5-41.

I-3-5-40 – We moved the information, without modification, to HALLEX I-3-5-25 and removed the section.

I-3-5-41 – We moved the information, without modification, to HALLEX I-3-5-30 and removed the section.

I-3-5-70 – We changed the title to “Recommendation to Deny Request for Review of Administrative Law Judge Dismissal” for consistency with HALLEX writing requirements. We added a reference to the instructions in HALLEX I-3-3-15 and removed outdated information. We updated the instruction consistent with current procedures and made minor editorial and formatting changes.

I-3-5-72 – We incorporated and updated information previously in HALLEX I-3-5-80 and I-3-5-90. We changed the title to “Additional Evidence, Legal Arguments, or Contentions When Request for Hearing Was Dismissed and Appeals Council Denies Review” to more accurately describe the information in the section. We combined the information in formerly in subsections A and B of HALLEX I-3-5-80 into a new subsection A, and removed information that was duplicative of other HALLEX instructions. We replaced the duplicative information with citations to other HALLEX instructions. We moved the information formerly in subsection C of HALLEX I-3-5-80 to subsection B, removed outdated information, and made minor editorial and formatting changes. We moved the information formerly in subsection D to subsection C, updated the instructions, and made minor editorial and formatting changes.

I-3-5-80 – We moved the information to HALLEX I-3-5-72 and removed the section.

I-3-5-85 – We changed the title to “Recommendation to Deny Request for Review When Administrative Law Judge Dismisses in Part” to more accurately reflect the information in the section. We added helpful examples, clarified that the recommendation must be reviewed by an administrative appeals judge, and made minor editorial and formatting changes.

I-3-5-90 – We removed the section in its entirety as the information has been superseded by recent updates to HALLEX I-3-5-20 and I-3-5-72.

Date: June 25, 2015