Social Security Administration August 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
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Setting the Manner of Appearance of Parties and Witnesses at Hearings
We are revising our hearing regulations to provide that claimants may appear at hearings in one of four ways: by agency video, by online video, by audio, or in person. Those four manners will all be standard manners of appearance in our hearing process. For online video and audio appearances, claimants may appear for hearings remotely, using private electronic devices that we do not own, operate, or approve. For online video appearances, a claimant may appear for a hearing using approved online video conferencing applications, rather than conferencing options using equipment that we own or approve. Additionally, while our current regulations permit us to schedule claimants to appear by telephone in limited circumstances only, this final rule will allow us to schedule claimants to appear by audio without similar restrictions, if the claimant does not object to appearing in that manner. We expect that this final rule will provide us and claimants with additional flexibility, allowing us to manage our hearing process more efficiently.
Charging Standard Administrative Fees for Non-Program Information
On August 22, 2012, we announced in the Federal Register a schedule of standard administrative fees we charge to the public. When authorized, we charge these fees to recover our full costs when we provide information and related services for non-program purposes. We are announcing an update to the previously published schedule of standard administrative fees. The updated standard fee schedule is part of our continued effort to standardize fees for non-program information requests. Standard fees provide consistency and ensure we recover the full cost of supplying information when we receive a request for a purpose not directly related to the administration of a program under the Social Security Act (Act).
Changes to the Administrative Rules for Claimant Representation and Provisions for Direct Payment to Entities
We are revising our regulations to enable us to directly pay entities fees we may authorize to their employees, as required by the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (First Circuit) in Marasco & Nesselbush, LLP v. Collins. To make direct payments, issue the necessary tax documents, and properly administer these rules, we are requiring all entities that want to be assigned direct payment of authorized fees and all representatives who want to be appointed on a claim, matter, or issue to register with us. We also are standardizing the registration, appointment, and payment processes. This rule will help us implement the changes required by the Marasco decision, increase accessibility to our electronic services, reduce delays, and help us prepare for more automation, thereby improving our program efficiencies.
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