Under a direct delegation of authority from the Commissioner
of the Social Security Administration, the AC is the final level
of administrative review for claims filed under titles II and XVI
of the Social Security Act. For a general description of the AC's
jurisdiction with respect to requests for review and own motion
review, see Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual HA 01305.010.
The AC also handles quality assurance reviews (HALLEX HA 01305.020)
and certain civil action matters (HALLEX HA 01405.002).
The AC is comprised of administrative appeals judges and appeals
officers. The authority and signatory rules for the AC are set forth
in HALLEX HA 01320.005 C. The Chair of the AC is the Executive Director of OAO.
As set forth in detail in HALLEX HA 01305.006 (available to internal
users only) and HA 01305.007, cases
are assigned within the AC according to circuit court jurisdiction.
In addition to performing its adjudicative responsibilities,
to ensure consistency in adjudication, the AC may also act en banc
to decide novel issues that affect a significant number of cases
and on which there are no clear precedents in the statute, regulations,
or rulings. As a result of en banc discussions, OAO often initiates
HALLEX or other policy changes to address the issue. However, in
certain instances, the AC may choose to issue an Appeals Council
Interpretation (ACI). For more information about ACIs, see HALLEX HA 02505.001.
To review ACIs already issued by the AC, see generally HALLEX II-5.