The Social Security Administration (SSA) is committed to providing every individual fair and unbiased treatment in the handling of all claims by its Office of Hearings Operations (OHO). SSA is also committed to affording individuals an opportunity to submit complaints regarding alleged ALJ bias or misconduct to the agency. SSA will review all such complaints, and if warranted by the facts presented will also conduct an investigation per Social Security Ruling (SSR) 13-1p.

SSR 13-1p explains SSA's three separate processes for addressing complaints of alleged bias or misconduct by an ALJ. This Program Operations Manual System (POMS) section explains the second process set forth in SSR 13-1p by which claimants, their representatives, and other members of the public may file an ALJ bias or misconduct complaint with the DQS.

Complaints of alleged bias or misconduct filed with the DQS are not subject to the administrative or judicial review process and they do not confer any appeal rights. Filing a complaint with the DQS is not a means to:

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  Appeal an unfavorable ALJ decision (see GN 03104.100 for Appeals Council (AC) review procedures);

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  Ask SSA to consider investigating alleged bias or misconduct by an ALJ that occurred outside of the hearings and appeals process or was unrelated to the actual adjudication or decision of a case; or

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  Ask an ALJ to disqualify or recuse themselves from hearing a case (an individual who objects to the ALJ assigned to conduct the hearing must ask the ALJ to withdraw from the hearing in accordance with 20 CFR sections 404.940 and 416.1440).

An individual wishing to file a complaint alleging ALJ bias or misconduct must do so in writing within 180 days of either the date of the action complained of, or the date the individual became aware of such conduct. Although we will accept a complaint filed at any OHO or other SSA office, to avoid processing delays, the individual should send the complaint and any supporting documentation directly to the DQS at:

Members of the public may email their complaint to the DQS at ^Fair ALJ Hearings. However, emailing a complaint is not a secure means of communication. Therefore, information included in an email could be intercepted and read by others outside SSA and used by these third parties for purposes not in line with its intended use. If using the email option, individuals should limit personal information to only what is necessary to explain the allegation and should not include any Social Security Numbers (SSN), home addresses, other personally identifiable information, or attachments.

Individuals may also fax complaints to the DQS at (833) 769-0252.

The DQS will make reasonable efforts to acknowledge receipt of complaints in writing within 60 days from the date it receives a complaint. If one of the OHO Regional Offices (RO) or the National Service Delivery (NSD) Central Office receives a complaint directly from a member of the public, the OHO RO or NSD Central Office will make a reasonable effort to acknowledge receipt of the complaint in writing within 60 days from the date it receives the complaint and will forward the complaint to the DQS for processing.

When an individual alleges ALJ bias or misconduct to a FO employee, take the following actions:

SSR 13-1p and the Hearings Appeals and Litigation Law manual (HALLEX) contain information about how SSA addresses complaints of ALJ bias and misconduct. See HALLEX I-3-2-25 for complaints received by the AC and HALLEX I-1-8-7, HALLEX I-1-8-10, and HALLEX I-1-8-13 for complaints received by the DQS, OHO RO, or the NSD Central Office.

The DQS or their designee will review complaints by auditing the relevant hearing recording (s), if available, and reviewing the hearing decision and any other relevant documentation. If the DQS concludes that an investigation is unnecessary, it will close out the complaint.

If the DQS determines that an investigation is warranted, they will forward the complaint to the appropriate OHO RO or to the NSD Central Office.

The OHO RO's or NSD's investigation may also include auditing the hearing recording, examining the hearing decision, and any other relevant documentation, and contacting witnesses who have information related to the complaint. When the investigation is completed, the OHO RO or NSD Central Office will prepare a report for the DQS that contains findings and will, if warranted, recommend appropriate action regarding the ALJ.

If you need additional information about the complaint process or have questions about these instructions, contact the DQS at (703) 605-8450.