Social Security has instituted a new procedure when it comes to scheduling disability hearings before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), a phase in a disability case that is probable for most disability applicants who continue with claims. The new procedure is that Social Security reserves the right to schedule a hearing Via Video Teleconferencing (VTC) unless the claimant objects to the idea.
A VTC hearing is where the claimant and representative, if a claimant has a representative, appears at the closest Social Security Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), but the ALJ is actually in a different location. Many times the ALJ is several states away, but the ALJ can see the claimant and the claimant’s representative via video and the claimant and the claimant’s representative can see the ALJ via video.
Social Security has been doing hearings this way for years, but now is giving the claimant a say in the matter.
Every claimant waiting for a hearing before an ALJ should receive a letter from Social Security that allows the claimant to object to a VTC hearing and opt for a hearing before a live judge. Social Security warns claimants that rejecting the possibility of a VTC hearing can delay the scheduling of their hearing, but this is not always the case.
In certain circumstances a claimant’s representative may inform the claimant to request one type of hearing over another, but representatives and attorneys who are knowledgeable about the Social Security disability process will have a lot of experience doing hearings either way.
The idea behind Social Security’s insistence of doing VTC hearings was that if judges in less backlogged jurisdictions could take some of the load off of judges with considerably larger case loads that hearing wait times could be reduced. Unfortunately that really did not happen.
To learn more about VTC hearings click here.
