A litigation-related inquiry:

• •

  Is any inquiry that may be in the form of a question or request for information, documents, or action;

• •

  Includes any communication that could be construed to carry the threat of litigation;

• •

  Comes from any source outside of the Social Security Administration (SSA) (other than the Department of Justice), including inquiries from attorneys who are counsel for a class action;

• •

  Goes beyond seeking routine information and could affect litigation; and

• •

  May involve an individual civil action, a class action (one that is threatened, pending, or that SSA is implementing), or a general litigation-related question.

Litigation-related inquiries include but are not limited to:

• •

  Questions dealing with SSA's training (or lack of training) on specific subject matters;

• •

  Questions concerning SSA's readiness to take on litigation-related workloads;

• •

  Questions concerning whether SSA intends to acquiesce in a particular circuit court decision and, if so, the effect on pending cases (court or non-court); and

• •

  Questions concerning a class action for which SSA is formulating an implementation order or instructions.

In the HO, staff will e-mail the PDF or Report of Contact to the Office of Hearings Operations regional office (RO). The RO will review and evaluate the inquiry to ensure it meets the definition set forth in subsection A above. If an inquiry does not meet the definition, the RO will return it to the HO with instructions on how to respond to the inquirer. If an inquiry meets the definition, the RO will refer it to the Division of Field Procedures (DFP) in the Office of the Chief Administrative Law Judge at |||DCDA OHO HQ OCALJ DFP.

In OAO, staff will e-mail the PDF or Report of Contact to the Executive Director's Office (EDO) at ^DCDA OAO. The EDO, or its designee, will review and evaluate the inquiry to ensure that it meets the definition set forth in subsection A above. If an inquiry does not meet the definition, the EDO, or its designee, will draft a written response to the inquirer.

DFP and EDO will refer litigation-related inquires to the Office of Program Law in the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). OGC is responsible for responding to litigation-related inquiries and notices of threatened class actions received by SSA.