HA 01210.087 Expedited Requests for Clarification – Procedures

See Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual HA 01210.085 for an explanation of when an expedited request for clarification is appropriate.

A. Communicating with the Appeals Council (AC)

An administrative law judge (ALJ), or any assisting hearing office (HO) staff, who wants to request expedited clarification of an AC remand order must communicate with the AC only as set forth below. HO staff and ALJs may not directly contact AC adjudicators regarding specific cases, regardless of whether the case is pending at the AC or at the HO.

NOTE:

As used herein, HO staff and ALJs include staff and ALJs in a National Hearing Center and the Special Review Cadre.

B. Procedures

1. Ensure the File is Complete

For non-electronic cases, the HO management official will determine that all exhibits are in the Electronic Non-Medical (ENM) application and are marked. When the recording of the hearing is located, the HO management official must ensure the recording is completely audible.

In electronic cases, HO staff must ensure the digital recording of the hearing is uploaded to the electronic file and the recording is completely audible.

2. If Remanded from Court (For Incomplete File or Hearing Recording), Obtain Agreement from Attorney or Unrepresented Claimant

If the claim(s) was remanded by a Federal court due to an incomplete file or an inaudible or missing hearing recording, the HO must also obtain a written statement from the attorney who represented the claimant in Federal court, or from the claimant, if the claimant was unrepresented (pro se) in court (HALLEX HA 01460.050C). This written statement will indicate that the attorney or claimant agrees that the AC remand may be vacated because the incomplete or lost file, or the inaudible or lost hearing recording, was found. A sample statement is included in subsection C below. If the attorney, or an unrepresented claimant, does not agree, the expedited clarification process cannot be used.

3. Request Management Approval

Once steps 1 and 2 (if applicable) are complete, the HO management official will submit the expedited clarification request to Compliance, DDS and Hearings Quality (DHQ) at |||DA DICompliance Hearings Quality with the subject line, “Expedited AC Clarification Request – [claimant's last name].”

The request must include:

•
A statement indicating it is an expedited request for clarification in which the sole issue on remand is a lost file, lost recording of the hearing, or both.
•
A statement certifying the file is complete, the exhibits are marked, and the hearing recording is completely audible; and
•
A copy of the AC remand order.

4. Receipt of Approval and Forwarding the Request to the AC

After receiving an expedited request for clarification, DHQ will evaluate the request to determine if it is appropriate for the expedited clarification process and will issue a memorandum via email to the HO, signed by the DHQ Division Director or designee, approving or denying the request.

If the clarification request is denied, DHQ will notify the HO as soon as possible so the HO can proceed with the hearing.

If DHQ approves the request, the HO will email DHQ's memorandum approving the request to the AC at ^DA ApplsReqReview General, with subject line “Expedited Clarification – [claimant's last name].” The sender must not include the claimant's Social Security number (SSN) in the subject line.

NOTE:

If the claim(s) file is in a non-certified electronic format the email requesting clarification should clearly state that the exhibits and hearing recording are located in ENM or the Evidence Portal, as applicable. The HO should not sent any paper file to the AC unless specifically requested.

5. Wait for Notification from the AC

In all cases, the HO must receive notification from the AC that the remand order is vacated before the HO can clear the remand from its docket. If it has been more than 30 days since the HO sent the request to the AC, the HO may request a status update by sending an email request to ^DA ApplsReqReview General, subject line “Follow Up – Expedited Clarification – [claimant's last name].” The sender must not include the claimant's SSN in the subject line.

A follow-up email must include:

•
The claimant's name and SSN;
•
The date of the prior request;
•
A copy of DHQ's approval memorandum;
•
A request for status; and
•
The name of the HO contact person.

C. Sample Statement - Court Remands

COURT REMAND
STATEMENT BY REPRESENTATIVE OR CLAIMANT
AGREEING TO VACATION OF APPEALS COUNCIL REMAND ORDER

Date _______________________

Case Name:___________________________________

I am the attorney of record/claimant (circle one) in the above-entitled civil action. An order of remand was entered because the claim file/hearing recording (circle one or both) could not be located and a certified administrative record could not be prepared. The claim file/hearing recording (circle one or both) was subsequently located.

I agree to the vacation of the Appeals Council's Order of Remand.

____________________________

Attorney or Claimant Signature

____________________________

Attorney or Claimant Name (Typed or printed)

_____________________________

Attorney or Claimant Address

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/2501210087

HA 01210.087 - Expedited Requests for Clarification - Procedures (I-2-1-87) - 03/02/2015
Batch run: 04/02/2026
Rev:03/02/2015

Program Operations Manual System (POMS)