[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 121 (Thursday, June 22, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 38796-38800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15645]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

20 CFR Parts 404 and 416

[Regulations Nos. 4 and 16]
RIN 0960-AF17


Administrative Review Process; Prehearing and Posthearing 
Conferences

AGENCY: Social Security Administration (SSA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend a portion of our regulations on 
social security and supplemental security income which currently state 
that an administrative law judge (ALJ) may decide to hold a prehearing 
or posthearing conference in your case. We are proposing to amend these 
rules to provide that we may designate an attorney adviser in our 
Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) to conduct a formal prehearing or 
posthearing conference when requested by an ALJ. We are also proposing 
to amend our rules to include procedures to govern the informal 
prehearing conference that we may hold with you. We are proposing these 
rules in order to improve our hearings process by standardizing and 
increasing the efficiency of our procedures for holding prehearing and 
posthearing conferences.

DATES: To be sure your comments are considered, we must receive them no 
later than August 21, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to the Commissioner of Social 
Security, P.O. Box 17703, Baltimore, MD 21235-7703; sent by telefax to 
(410) 966-2830; sent by e-mail to [email protected]; or delivered to 
the Office of Process and Innovation Management, Social Security 
Administration, L2109 West Low Rise, 6401 Security Boulevard, 
Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, between 8:00 A.M. and 4:30 P.M. on regular 
business days. Comments received may be inspected during these same 
hours by making arrangements with the contact person shown below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Georgia E. Myers, Regulations Officer, 
Office of Process and Innovation Management, Social Security 
Administration, L2109 West Low Rise, 6401 Security Boulevard, 
Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, (410) 965-3632 or TTY 1-800-988-5906, for 
information about this notice. For information on eligibility or filing 
for benefits, call our national toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 or TTY 
1-800-325-0778.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    We generally use a four step administrative review process to 
decide claims for Social Security benefits under title II of the Social 
Security Act (the Act) and for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 
benefits under title XVI of the Act. If you are not satisfied with our 
initial determination, you may request that we reconsider it. If you 
are not satisfied with our reconsidered determination, you may request 
an ALJ hearing. If you are not satisfied with the ALJ's decision, you 
may request that the Appeals Council review it. Generally, you must 
complete these steps and receive our final decision before you may 
request judicial review of the decision in the Federal courts.
    On August 30, 1999, we announced a prototype involving a 
combination of modifications to the procedures we follow in determining 
disability (64 FR 47218). At that time, we also announced that we were 
making several changes to improve the hearing step of the 
administrative review process. We noted that we were going to 
streamline case processing, make structural changes in the management 
organization of our hearing offices, and make improvements in our 
automation and data collection. We also noted that we would implement a 
``national workflow model'' that combines prehearing activities, a 
standardized prehearing conference, and processing-time benchmarks for 
various tasks (64 FR at 47219).
    We are making changes in the hearing process as part of our 
Hearings Process Improvement (HPI) initiative. Under HPI, we are trying 
to make our hearing process more timely, more efficient and more 
customer-focused. The report on this initiative is available as an SSA 
publication, ``The Hearings Process Improvement Initiative: Delivering 
Better Service for the 21st Century'' (SSA Pub. No. 01-016). We also 
made this report available on our Internet site at http://www.ssa.gov/reports/hpi.
    Under our HPI initiative, we distinguish between informal and 
formal prehearing conferences. Informal conferences will be a 
relatively routine part of our prehearing activities. We will hold 
these conferences to develop additional evidence and information that 
may be needed to ensure that cases are ready for a hearing when they 
are assigned to an ALJ. We will hold formal prehearing conferences more 
rarely and only at the request of an ALJ.
    We currently conduct developmental activities similar to those 
involved in the informal conferences under the Commissioner's general, 
administrative

[[Page 38797]]

authority to manage and direct the ALJ hearing process and to assign 
ALJs to cases. Under our current process, staff personnel in our 
hearing offices conduct a variety of prehearing activities, including 
working with claimants and their representatives, by telephone and in 
person, to develop additional evidence and information and to prepare 
the claim for a hearing.
    We conduct all of the procedures in the administrative review 
process, including the ALJ hearing and any conferences we hold in 
connection with the hearing, in an informal, nonadversarial manner. The 
term ``formal,'' as used in our HPI initiative and in these proposed 
rules to refer to certain conferences, is not intended to imply that we 
will conduct these conferences in an adversarial manner.

Explanation of Proposed Rules

    We are proposing to amend our regulations at 20 CFR Secs. 404.961 
and 416.1461 to set forth the rules we will follow when we hold 
informal prehearing conferences. We believe that these informal 
conferences will standardize the best developmental practices our 
hearing offices currently use in the period before we appoint an ALJ to 
hold a hearing and decide a case.
    Our hearing office staff may hold informal prehearing conferences 
with you or your representative for several reasons. We may hold an 
informal conference to decide if there is any existing evidence that we 
should get before the hearing. We may also hold an informal conference 
to clarify an issue or issues in your case. If you do not have a 
representative, we may also hold an informal conference to advise you 
about your right to representation and to determine if you want to get 
a representative. We expect that these informal conferences will be 
held by either attorney advisers or paralegal analysts in our hearing 
offices. We may hold these informal conferences instead of, or in 
addition to, any other activities that we do in our hearing offices to 
develop the evidence in your claim.
    We will usually hold an informal prehearing conference by 
telephone. However, we may also hold the informal conference in person 
or by videoconference if we decide it is more efficient to do so. We 
may hold the conference with you, you and your representative, or just 
your representative. We will reach agreement with you, directly or 
through your representative, regarding the time, place and purpose of 
the conference. We may arrange a conference by telephone, in person, or 
in writing. At the conference, we may consider matters in addition to 
those that were agreed to in arranging the conference, if the persons 
participating in the conference agree to consider the additional 
matters.
    If you do not have a representative and you tell us at an informal 
conference that you want a representative, we will give you a list of 
groups in your community that can help you find a representative. If 
you do not wish to be represented, we will explain what that means to 
you. You can, of course, get a representative at any time after the 
conference, even if you have stated at the conference that you do not 
want a representative at your hearing. If we hold an informal 
conference and you do not have a representative, we will not use the 
conference to make any kind of agreements with you about your case.
    We intend to record the information we get at the informal 
conference by a report of contact that we will include in your claims 
file. We may also record it by any other means that we decide 
accurately reflects the information.
    We are also proposing in these rules to amend Secs. 404.961 and 
416.1461 to allow an attorney adviser, in certain circumstances, to 
hold any formal prehearing or posthearing conference that we might 
conduct in your case after it has been assigned to an ALJ. The 
management officials in the hearing office would designate an attorney 
adviser to hold a conference if you have appointed a representative, 
and the ALJ requests that we designate an attorney adviser to hold a 
prehearing or posthearing conference.
    Under the HPI initiative, we are trying to improve how we prepare 
cases before they are assigned to an ALJ for a hearing, and to ensure 
that cases are ready for a hearing when they are assigned to an ALJ. 
However, we expect that there will still be occasions when the ALJ will 
decide that a formal prehearing conference should be held. Although we 
may use it to develop additional evidence or information, we expect 
that the primary purpose of the formal prehearing conference will be to 
clarify or narrow an issue or issues in the case.
    We currently hold formal posthearing conferences infrequently, and 
expect to hold them less frequently under the HPI initiative, which 
should increase our ability to ensure that cases are ready for hearing 
when the hearing is held. However, we believe we should provide 
authority for management officials to designate an attorney adviser to 
hold a formal posthearing conference in instances in which the ALJ 
believes that such a conference would expedite the decision and 
requests the hearing office to designate an attorney adviser to hold 
the conference.
    Sections 404.961 and 416.1461 currently state that an ALJ may 
decide to hold a prehearing or posthearing conference to expedite the 
hearing or the decision, and that the ALJ will hold the conference. We 
are proposing in these rules to specify that, at an ALJ's request, an 
attorney adviser designated by a hearing office may hold a formal 
prehearing or posthearing conference. The attorney adviser designated 
by the hearing office to hold these formal prehearing or posthearing 
conferences may be an attorney adviser whose position in the hearing 
office is that of a Senior Attorney Adviser, or an attorney adviser who 
occupies the managerial position in the hearing office of Processing 
Group Supervisor or Hearing Office Director.
    We have long interpreted the provisions of Secs. 404.961 and 
416.1461 as allowing a ``designee'' of the ALJ to conduct a prehearing 
or posthearing conference for the ALJ. However, under the procedures we 
are establishing, management officials in the hearing office will 
designate an attorney adviser to hold a prehearing or posthearing 
conference when an ALJ requests that an attorney adviser hold a formal 
conference. Thus, while the attorney adviser will conduct the 
prehearing or posthearing conference for the ALJ, the attorney adviser 
would not be the ALJ's designee.
    We do not intend, however, that management officials in the hearing 
office will be able to designate an attorney adviser to hold a 
prehearing or posthearing conference if an ALJ has not requested that 
an attorney adviser hold a conference. The ALJ may personally hold a 
prehearing or posthearing conference any time the ALJ does not want an 
attorney adviser to hold the conference, or whenever the hearing office 
might decline to designate an attorney adviser to hold the conference.
    Current Secs. 404.961 and 416.1461 allow an ALJ to hold a 
prehearing or posthearing conference with an individual who does not 
have an appointed representative. Although it is generally our practice 
to hold a formal prehearing or posthearing conference only with a 
claimant's appointed representative, there are circumstances in which 
ALJs find it helpful to hold a conference with an individual who is not 
represented. This occurs most frequently when an unrepresented claimant 
who has previously not responded to our efforts to make contact arrives 
at the time and place we have scheduled for his or her hearing (in a 
notice of hearing mailed to the

[[Page 38798]]

individual's last known address). In these circumstances, and with the 
agreement of the claimant, the ALJ may postpone the hearing and hold a 
prehearing conference in order to talk with the individual about the 
available evidence and the question of representation.
    We are not proposing in these rules to change the authority ALJs 
currently have to hold prehearing or posthearing conferences personally 
with an individual who does not have a representative. We believe there 
will always be some circumstances in which an ALJ can appropriately use 
that authority to facilitate the hearing or the decision. However, 
because an attorney adviser's duty of impartiality is not guaranteed to 
the same extent as that of an ALJ, we are proposing in these rules to 
specify that we will not designate an attorney adviser to hold a formal 
prehearing or posthearing conference with you if you are not 
represented. We believe that the different choices that individuals 
make about whether to appoint a representative warrant differences in 
our procedures for having attorney advisers hold formal prehearing and 
posthearing conferences, and that having different procedures will not 
result in unfair treatment of any claimants.
    We are also proposing that the attorney adviser who conducts a 
formal prehearing or posthearing conference will have authority to 
reach agreements with your representative during a formal prehearing or 
posthearing conference. Any agreements made by the attorney adviser 
will be subject to approval by the ALJ. The proposed rules do not give 
the attorney adviser authority to take sworn testimony or to examine or 
cross-examine witnesses at a conference.
    We will give you advance written notice of the time, place and 
purpose of any formal conference, including a conference conducted by 
telephone, unless you and any other parties to the hearing tell us in 
writing that you do not want written notice of the conference. We will 
mail any required written notice of the conference to you and your 
representative at least 7 days before the conference, unless we have 
already gotten the written notice to you in another way. We will 
provide written notice in advance of the conference even if, as will 
frequently be the case, the written notice confirms arrangements for 
the conference that we have already made with you by telephone. These 
proposed notice requirements clarify the existing notice requirements 
that apply under current Secs. 404.961 and 416.1461 when an ALJ decides 
that prehearing or posthearing conference should be held.
    Current Secs. 404.961 and 416.1461 do not specify how we may hold a 
prehearing or posthearing conference or how we will make a record of a 
conference. We are proposing in these rules to specify that we may hold 
a formal prehearing or posthearing conference by telephone, in person, 
or by videoconference. We intend that the formal conference will be 
tape recorded, or recorded in another manner that accurately reflects 
the information we get at the conference, in order to make a record of 
any agreements or actions resulting from the conference.
    Sections 404.961 and 416.1461 currently provide that the ALJ will 
state all agreements and actions resulting from the conference in an 
order, and that any stated agreements and actions become binding parts 
of the hearing record if the parties to the hearing do not object. We 
are proposing to clarify these provisions to explain that the ALJ will 
issue an order about the conference only if the conference has resulted 
in one or more actions or agreements. We are also proposing to amend 
these rules to specify that any objections to an ALJ's order must be in 
writing and that the ALJ will rule on any objections to the order. 
These changes will standardize our procedures in this respect.
    We expect that the changes we are proposing in these rules will 
increase our efficiency by standardizing the practices we follow when 
we hold informal prehearing conferences and any formal prehearing and 
posthearing conferences that we may need. The changes we are proposing 
will also increase our ability to treat individual claimants 
consistently.
    The proposed changes will not adversely affect an individual's 
right to a hearing before an ALJ. Failure or refusal to participate in 
a prehearing conference is not now, and will not be under these 
proposed rules, a basis for dismissing a request for hearing. A request 
for hearing may be dismissed only under the circumstances specified in 
our regulations at 20 CFR Secs. 404.957 and 416.1457. Similarly, 
failure or refusal to participate in a posthearing conference will not 
adversely affect your right to a hearing decision, which the ALJ is 
required to issue in accordance with Secs. 404.953 and 416.1453.

Other Changes

    We are also proposing to rewrite Secs. 404.961 and 416.1461 in 
plain language. We are doing this consistent with the President's 
memorandum of June 1, 1998 (63 FR 31885), which states that each agency 
should write its rules in plain language. By rewriting the rules in 
plain language, we do not intend to make any substantive changes in the 
existing provisions of Secs. 404.961 and 416.1461, beyond those we are 
proposing to make here.

Electronic Version

    The electronic file of this document is available on the date of 
publication in the Federal Register on the Internet site for the 
Government Printing Office: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su--docs/aces/
aces140.html. It is also available on the Internet site for SSA (i.e., 
SSA Online): http://www.ssa.gov/.

Clarity of the Proposed Rules

    In addition to your substantive comments on these proposed rules, 
we invite your comments on how to make the rules easier to understand. 
For example:
     Have we organized the material to suit your needs?
     Are the requirements in the rules clearly stated?
     Do the rules contain technical language or jargon that 
isn't clear?
     Would a different format (grouping and order of sections, 
use of headings, paragraphing) make the rules easier to understand?
     Would more (but shorter) sections be better?
     What else could we do to make the rules easier to 
understand?

Regulatory Procedures

Executive Order 12866

    We have consulted with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
and determined that these proposed rules do not meet the criteria for a 
significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866. Therefore, 
they were not subject to OMB review.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    We certify that these proposed rules, if promulgated, will not have 
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
because they affect only individuals. Therefore, a regulatory 
flexibility analysis as provided in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as 
amended, is not required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    These proposed regulations impose no new reporting or record 
keeping requirements requiring OMB clearance.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 96.001, Social 
Security-Disability Insurance; 96.002, Social Security-Retirement 
Insurance; 96.003, Social Security-Special Benefits for Persons Aged 
72

[[Page 38799]]

and Over; 96.004, Social Security-Survivors Insurance; 96.006, 
Supplemental Security Income)

List of Subjects

20 CFR Part 404

    Administrative practice and procedure, Aged, Blind, Disability 
benefits, Old-age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Social security.

20 CFR Part 416

    Administrative practice and procedure, Aged, Blind, Disability 
benefits, Public assistance programs, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

    Dated: June 9, 2000.
Kenneth S. Apfel,
Commissioner of Social Security.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, we propose to amend 
subpart J of part 404 and subpart N of part 416 of chapter III of Title 
20 of the Code of Federal Regulations as set forth below:

PART 404--FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE 
(1950-    )

Subpart J--[Amended]

    1. The authority citation for subpart J of part 404 continues to 
read as follows:

    Authority: Secs. 201(j), 204(f), 205(a), (b), (d)-(h), and (j), 
221, 225, and 702(a)(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
401(j), 404(f), 405(a), (b), (d)-(h), and (j), 421, 425, and 
902(a)(5)); 31 U.S.C. 3720A; sec. 5, Pub. L. 97-455, 96 Stat. 2500 
(42 U.S.C. 405 note); secs. 5, 6(c)-(e), and 15, Pub. L. 98-460, 98 
Stat. 1802 (42 U.S.C. 421 note).

    2. Section 404.961 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 404.961  Prehearing and posthearing conferences.

    (a) What are the types of conferences that we may hold? We may hold 
a prehearing or posthearing conference. There are two types of 
prehearing conferences, an informal prehearing conference and a formal 
prehearing conference. There is only one type of posthearing 
conference, a formal posthearing conference. We explain the different 
types of conferences in the remaining paragraphs of this section.
    (b) When may we decide to hold an informal prehearing conference? 
We may decide on our own, at your request, or at the request of any 
other party to the hearing, to hold an informal prehearing conference. 
We may hold an informal prehearing conference to clarify an issue or 
issues in your claim, or to decide whether more evidence is needed. If 
you do not have a representative, we may hold an informal prehearing 
conference to tell you about your right to representation and to 
determine if you want a representative. We may also hold an informal 
prehearing conference for any other reason that we decide is 
appropriate.
    (c) How will we hold an informal prehearing conference? (1) We may 
hold an informal prehearing conference with you or your representative, 
or with other parties to the hearing, or the representative(s) of those 
parties.
    (2) If we hold an informal prehearing conference, we will generally 
hold it by telephone. However, we may also decide to hold the 
conference with you or your representative in person or by 
videoconference. We will reach agreement with you, directly or through 
your representative, regarding the time, place and purpose of the 
conference. We may arrange a conference by telephone, in person, or in 
writing. At the conference, we may consider matters in addition to 
those that were agreed to in arranging the conference, if the persons 
participating in the conference agree to consider the additional 
matters. We will record the information that we get at the conference 
by any method that we decide accurately reflects the information.
    (3) If you do not have a representative, we will explain your right 
to representation, and give you a list of groups in your community that 
can give you help in finding a representative. If you state at the 
conference that you do not want a representative, you may still be 
represented if you decide at any time that you want a representative at 
your hearing.
    (4) If you do not have a representative, we will not make any 
agreements with you at the informal prehearing conference.
    (d) When may we decide to hold a formal prehearing conference? 
After we assign a case to an administrative law judge, the 
administrative law judge may decide on his or her own, at your request, 
or at the request of any other party to the hearing, to hold a formal 
prehearing conference. If the administrative law judge decides to hold 
a formal prehearing conference, he or she may conduct it, or may 
request that an attorney adviser designated by the hearing office 
conduct it. We will not designate an attorney adviser to hold a formal 
prehearing conference if you do not have a representative. Only an 
administrative law judge may hold a formal prehearing conference with 
you if you do not have a representative.
    (e) How will we hold a formal prehearing conference? We will hold a 
formal prehearing conference by telephone, in person, or by 
videoconference. The administrative law judge or the attorney adviser 
designated by the hearing office will determine the appropriate method. 
The administrative law judge or the attorney adviser designated by the 
hearing office will give you and any other parties to the hearing 
advance written notice of the time, place, and purpose of the 
conference, unless you and any other parties state in writing that you 
do not want written notice of the conference. We will mail a required 
written notice to you at least seven days before the date of the 
conference, unless we have already gotten the written notice to you in 
another way. The administrative law judge may enter into agreements 
with your representative at the conference. The attorney adviser 
designated by the hearing office may enter into agreements with your 
representative at the conference, which are subject to the approval of 
the administrative law judge under paragraph (g) of this section. We 
will make a record of the formal prehearing conference by any method 
that we decide accurately reflects the information we get at the 
conference.
    (f) May we consider other matters at the formal prehearing 
conference? At the formal prehearing conference, the administrative law 
judge, or an attorney adviser designated by the hearing office to hold 
the conference, may consider matters in addition to the ones that we 
stated in the notice, if you and the other parties to the hearing agree 
in writing.
    (g) What will we do after a formal prehearing conference? If we 
hold a formal prehearing conference that results in one or more 
agreements or actions, the administrative law judge will issue an order 
to state all of the agreements and actions that resulted from the 
conference. If an attorney adviser designated by the hearing office has 
held the conference, any agreements made by the attorney adviser are 
subject to approval by the administrative law judge. The agreements and 
actions in the administrative law judge's order will become binding on 
all the parties to the hearing and be made part of the hearing record, 
unless you or another party to the hearing objects in writing to the 
administrative law judge's order and the administrative law judge rules 
favorably on your objection.
    (h) When will we hold a posthearing conference? If the 
administrative law judge decides that it is necessary, he or she may 
hold a posthearing conference. If the administrative law judge decides 
to hold a posthearing conference, he or she may conduct it, or may 
request that it be conducted by an attorney adviser designated by the 
hearing office. If we hold a posthearing conference, we will

[[Page 38800]]

apply the rules in paragraphs (e) through (g) of this section.

PART 416--SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND 
DISABLED

Subpart N--[Amended]

    3. The authority citation for subpart N of part 416 continues to 
read as follows:

    Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1631, and 1633 of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 902(a)(5), 1383, and 1383b); 31 U.S.C. 
3720A.

    4. Section 416.1461 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 416.1461  Prehearing and posthearing conferences.

    (a) What are the types of conferences that we may hold? We may hold 
a prehearing or posthearing conference. There are two types of 
prehearing conferences, an informal prehearing conference and a formal 
prehearing conference. There is only one type of posthearing 
conference, a formal posthearing conference. We explain the different 
types of conferences in the remaining paragraphs of this section.
    (b) When may we decide to hold an informal prehearing conference? 
We may decide on our own, at your request, or at the request of any 
other party to the hearing, to hold an informal prehearing conference. 
We may hold an informal prehearing conference to clarify an issue or 
issues in your claim, or to decide whether more evidence is needed. If 
you do not have a representative, we may hold an informal prehearing 
conference to tell you about your right to representation and to 
determine if you want a representative. We may also hold an informal 
prehearing conference for any other reason that we decide is 
appropriate.
    (c) How will we hold an informal prehearing conference? (1) We may 
hold an informal prehearing conference with you or your representative, 
or with other parties to the hearing, or the representative(s) of those 
parties.
    (2) If we hold an informal prehearing conference, we will generally 
hold it by telephone. However, we may also decide to hold the 
conference with you or your representative in person or by 
videoconference. We will reach agreement with you, directly or through 
your representative, regarding the time, place and purpose of the 
conference. We may arrange a conference by telephone, in person, or in 
writing. At the conference, we may consider matters in addition to 
those that were agreed to in arranging the conference, if the persons 
participating in the conference agree to consider the additional 
matters. We will record the information that we get at the conference 
by any method that we decide accurately reflects the information.
    (3) If you do not have a representative, we will explain your right 
to representation, and give you a list of groups in your community that 
can give you help in finding a representative. If you state at the 
conference that you do not want a representative, you may still be 
represented if you decide at any time that you want a representative.
    (4) If you do not have a representative, we will not make any 
agreements with you at the informal prehearing conference.
    (d) When may we decide to hold a formal prehearing conference? 
After we assign a case to an administrative law judge, the 
administrative law judge may decide on his or her own, at your request, 
or at the request of any other party to the hearing, to hold a formal 
prehearing conference. If the administrative law judge decides to hold 
a formal prehearing conference, he or she may conduct it, or may 
request that an attorney adviser designated by the hearing office 
conduct it. We will not designate an attorney adviser to hold a formal 
prehearing conference if you do not have a representative. Only an 
administrative law judge may hold a formal prehearing conference with 
you if you do not have a representative.
    (e) How will we hold a formal prehearing conference? We will hold a 
formal prehearing conference by telephone, in person, or by 
videoconference. The administrative law judge or the attorney adviser 
designated by the hearing office will determine the appropriate method. 
The administrative law judge or the attorney adviser designated by the 
hearing office will give you and any other parties to the hearing 
advance written notice of the time, place, and purpose of the 
conference, unless you and any other parties state in writing that you 
do not want written notice of the conference. We will mail a required 
written notice to you at least seven days before the date of the 
conference, unless we have already gotten the written notice to you in 
another way. The administrative law judge may enter into agreements 
with your representative at the conference. The attorney adviser 
designated by the hearing office may enter into agreements with your 
representative at the conference, which are subject to the approval of 
the administrative law judge under paragraph (g) of this section. We 
will make a record of the formal prehearing conference by any method 
that we decide accurately reflects the information we get at the 
conference.
    (f) May we consider other matters at the formal prehearing 
conference? At the formal prehearing conference, the administrative law 
judge, or an attorney adviser designated by the hearing office to hold 
the conference, may consider matters in addition to the ones that we 
stated in the notice, if you and the other parties to the hearing agree 
in writing.
    (g) What will we do after a formal prehearing conference? If we 
hold a formal prehearing conference that results in one or more 
agreements or actions, the administrative law judge will issue an order 
to state all of the agreements and actions that resulted from the 
conference. If an attorney adviser designated by the hearing office has 
held the conference, any agreements made by the attorney adviser are 
subject to approval by the administrative law judge. The agreements and 
actions in the administrative law judge's order will become binding on 
all the parties to the hearing and be made part of the hearing record, 
unless you or another party to the hearing objects in writing to the 
administrative law judge's order and the administrative law judge rules 
favorably on your objection.
    (h) When will we hold a posthearing conference? If the 
administrative law judge decides that it is necessary, he or she may 
hold a posthearing conference. If the administrative law judge decides 
to a hold a posthearing conference, he or she may conduct it, or may 
request that it be conducted by an attorney adviser designated by the 
hearing office. If we hold a posthearing conference, we will apply the 
rules in paragraphs (e) through (g) of this section.

    Dated: June 9, 2000.
Kenneth S. Apfel,
Commissioner of Social Security.
[FR Doc. 00-15645 Filed 6-21-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P