News & Information

CCH® UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE — 7/21/15

SSA extends pilot program authorizing agency to set time and place of ALJ hearings

The SSA has issued another final rule extending the pilot program that authorizes the agency to set the time and place for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The final rule will extend the pilot program for one year. The current pilot program expires on August 10, 2015. In the final rule, the SSA extends the effective date to August 12, 2016. No other substantive changes were made (80 Fed. Reg. 37970, July 2, 2015).

Reasons for establishing pilot

In establishing the pilot program back in 2010, the SSA hoped to determine whether providing it with the authority to set the time and place of hearings would allow it to better manage the number of hearings held and keep the hearing process as efficient as possible. During the pilot program, the agency has tracked ALJ productivity closely. In situations where hearings were not being promptly scheduled, it has worked with ALJs to correct the situation. To date, the SSA’s efforts to work with ALJs to correct situations in which the agency may have otherwise had to exercise the authority provided for in the rules has been successful. As a result, it has not been required to exercise its authority to schedule hearings. Nevertheless, the SSA believes that it should continue the authority for the pilot program in order to provide the agency with the flexibility it needs to manage the hearing process appropriately.