News & Information

CCH® UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE — 4/6/16

SSA issues AR 16-1(7) regarding judicial review of ALJ’s order finding no good cause for late hearing request

The SSA has issued Social Security Acquiescence Ruling 16-1(7) to explain how it will apply a holding in a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Boley v. Colvin, 761 F.3d 803 (2014)) that the agency has determined conflicts with its interpretation of the law regarding judicial review of an Administrative Law Judge's (ALJ's) order finding no good cause for a late hearing request and dismissing the request as untimely. The AR became effective on March 14, 2016.

Marilyn Boley filed a claim for disability insurance benefits. The SSA denied her claim at the initial and reconsideration levels of administrative review. Although Boley was represented by an attorney at the time, the agency denied her request for reconsideration and sent notice of the reconsidered determination to Boley, but not to her attorney. After learning that the SSA had denied the request for reconsideration, the attorney requested a hearing. An ALJ dismissed that request as untimely because the regulations at §404.933(b) and §416.1433(b) require a claimant to request a hearing within 60 days of his or her receipt of a reconsidered determination. While the regulations allow the ALJ to extend the time for requesting a hearing when a claimant has “good cause” for the late request, here, the ALJ ruled that Boley lacked good cause because she had received the reconsideration notice and could have filed a hearing request herself. Boley filed a timely request for review of the ALJ's dismissal order with the Appeals Council (AC). When the AC denied her request for review of the ALJ's dismissal order, she sought judicial review. The Seventh Circuit concluded that a claimant for Social Security benefits may obtain judicial review of an ALJ's dismissal order finding no good cause for a late hearing request after exhausting all available administrative remedies.

This AR applies only to claims in which all the following criteria are met:

(1) The claimant did not timely request a hearing before an ALJ;

(2) The ALJ dismissed the claimant's request for a hearing;

(3) The basis for the ALJ's dismissal of the hearing request was that the claimant failed to show good cause for untimely filing of the hearing request;

(4) The claimant timely filed a request for the AC to review the ALJ's dismissal of the hearing request;

(5) The AC denied the claimant's request for review; and

(6) The claimant resided in Indiana, Illinois, or Wisconsin at the time the AC denied review.

If a case meets these criteria, the SSA will send notice explaining that a claimant may appeal the dismissal to the federal district court for the judicial district in Illinois, Indiana, or Wisconsin in which he or she resides.

For further information, contact Todd Lewellen, Office of the General Counsel, Office of Program Law, Social Security Administration, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, (410) 965-3309, or TTY 410-966-5609, for information about this notice. See 81 Fed. Reg. 13438, March 14, 2016.