SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Office of Hearings and Appeals
HALLEX
Volume I
Transmittal No. I-5-4-45 (Revised)
Division 5: Temporary Instructions
Subject: Cuffee v. Shalala
NOTE:
Pursuant to Public Law 103-296, the Social Security Independence and Program Improvements Act of 1994, the functions of the Secretary of Health and Human Services in Social Security cases were transferred to the Commissioner of Social Security, effective March 31, 1995.
Background
On March 17, 1995, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) published HALLEX Temporary Instruction (TI) 5-445 to implement the December 2, 1993 Stipulation and Consent Order in the Cuffee v. Shalala class action. The TI delineates OHA component responsibilities, including the responsibilities of the then-existing Office of Civil Actions (OCA) and the Office of Appellate Operations (OAO), for such actions as receiving and processing alerts, screening cases, sending notices to potential class members, and routing cases. On February 6, 1995, OCA was merged into OAO and the Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation. OAO assumed responsibility for the functions previously performed by the OCA operating divisions.
Explanation of Content and Changes
The change in OAO's functional responsibilities with respect to class action implementation necessitates a change in the TI provisions with respect to component responsibilities for processing the Cuffee class action. The implementation workload previously handled by OCA will now be processed by OAO through the OAO Class Action Coordinator. The attached replacement pages provide the addresses for the receipt in OAO of the Cuffee alerts and screening sheets, and clarify that OAO, through the OAO Class Action Coordinator, is now responsible for the class action processing functions formerly performed by the OCA operating divisions. SSA's Independent Agency status requires a change in the heading of the sample dismissal order.
Remove
Remove from 5-400, Court Cases:
Pages 1 and 2 of TI 5-445, dated March 17, 1995 (2 pages).
Pages 5 through 18 of TI 5-445, dated March 17, 1995 (14 pages).
Attachments 2 and 3 of TI 5-445 (2 pages).
Attachment 4 (pages 5 and 6) of TI 5-445 (2 pages).
Attachment 9 and 10 of TI 5-445 (2 pages).
Insert
Insert in 5-400, Court Cases:
Pages 1 and 2 of TI 5-445, dated February 26, 1997 (2 pages).
Pages 5 through 19 of TI 5-445, dated February 26, 1997 (15 pages).
Attachment 2 dated February 26, 1997, and Attachment 3 of TI 5-445.
Attachment 4 (pages 5 and 6) of TI 5-445 (2 pages).
Attachment 9 and Attachment 10 dated February 26, 1997, of TI 5-445 (2 pages).
Date: February 26, 1997
