At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when businesses and pretty everything else began to shutdown in March of 2020 Social Security transitioned from in-person disability hearings to phone hearings. A large number of hearings are still being conducted by phone. Each participant, the disability claimant, the claimant’s representative, and the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) all appear remotely by phone for the hearing, but now Social Security is conducting a good portion of its hearings by video.
These video hearing, which are conducted through the Microsoft Teams platform, allow all participants to appear by video, which is a bit more beneficial to the claimant until Social Security begins to conduct in-person hearings again. Because this is new technology it is important to understand how video hearings work. Below is an explanation from Social Security about these online video hearings.
SSA Online Video Hearing During COVID-19
Welcome to the Online Video Hearings Webpage. Here we provide important information to consider when deciding whether to have an online video hearing, and participating in an online video hearing.
General Information
In our continued effort to provide flexible and convenient service options and protect the health and safety of the people we serve, we are pleased to announce that as of Fall 2020 we are now offering online video hearings using a free platform called Microsoft (MS) Teams.
Claimants and representatives can attend their online video hearing from any private place with a secure internet connection using their camera enabled phone, tablet, or computer. We will conduct online video hearings the same way we conduct telephone and in-person hearings. The ALJ will swear in all hearing participants, listen to your testimony, and ask you questions, if necessary. You also will have the opportunity to ask questions during the hearing. You will see the ALJ and your representative if you have appointed one, and you are not in the same location. Other participants such as vocational experts, medical experts and interpreters will join by phone only.
