Background

This transmittal amends section I-3-1 of the Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual to clarify when an administrative appeals judge (AAJ) or appeals officer (AO) should disqualify or recuse themself from adjudicating a case.

Explanation of Content and Changes

This transmittal revises HALLEX I-3-1-40 as follows:

I-3-1-40 – We made editorial changes and incorporated inclusive language throughout the section.

I-3-1-40 A – We added language noting that AAJs and AOs must adhere to ethics rules governing when Federal employees must recuse themselves from an official matter, and we noted that agency employees may seek fact-specific guidance from an agency ethics attorney in such situations. We added language to clarify the meaning of an “interest in the matter pending for decision,” which prompts mandatory disqualification or recusal of an AAJ or AO. We noted that an AAJ or AO may withdraw from a case if the adjudicator's participation in the case would give an appearance of impropriety, and we provided a definition of the appearance of impropriety. Additionally, we removed specific examples of situations that may require recusal. We also noted that in extraordinary circumstances it may be appropriate for an AAJ or AO to request recusals on multiple similar cases.

I-3-1-40 B – We replaced references to the Chair of the Appeals Council with the Office of Appellate Operations Executive Director's Office.

I-3-1-40 C – We added a section that provides instructions for when a claimant objects to the assigned adjudicator prior to the Appeals Council issuing a final action.

Date: August 13, 2024