Administrative Review Process, Prehearing Proceedings and Decisions by Attorney Advisors

We are adding new rules which modify, on a temporary basis, the prehearing procedures we follow in claims for Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits based on disability. Under the final rules, attorney advisors in our Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) have the authority to conduct certain prehearing proceedings, and where the documentary record developed as a result of these proceedings warrants, to issue decisions that are wholly favorable to the parties to the hearing. Because requests for an administrative law judge (ALJ) hearing have increased dramatically in recent years, and cases pending in our hearing offices have reached unprecedented levels, we have taken a number of actions designed to help us decide these cases more efficiently. These final rules are an important part of our efforts in this regard.