HOW ARE SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY HEARINGS TAKING PLACE?
Among the many changes we’re experiencing, changes to the way hearings for Social Security claims are happening are among the most drastic. As of this writing (May 2020), no in-person or video hearings are taking place. Instead, individuals who’ve requested a hearing are given the opportunity to have it by telephone with all the involved parties included. This has been the case since the middle of March, and there have been no signs yet of reverting back to the old system. Most of my clients are deciding to have telephonic hearings because those who want to have an in-person hearing currently have to wait until September, at the earliest.
Social Security officials may decide it’s not a good idea for these at-risk people to be concentrated in large numbers inside the Social Security hearing office. Furthermore, many of the judges are also older
adults who may also be at-risk. They won’t want to conduct hearings in the small hearing rooms with three to four people who are potentially sick.
Though there are benefits to these telephone hearings, we understand that they aren’t ideal. Sometimes there are technical difficulties that cause delays or lengthen hearing times. In some hearings I’ve been in, one or more of the parties involved have been disconnected from the call, causing the hearings to be stopped while people reconnected. There have also been a few instances of recording equipment failure, which can result in the need for additional supplemental hearings or redoing the entire hearing. A certain amount of visual communication — which could influence the outcome of a case — is also lost, as no one can see anyone else. At this time, it’s unclear when the Social Security offices will reopen and hearings will take place in person once more. To stay up to date with this information and any other information regarding Social Security and COVID-19, visit SSA.gov/coronavirus.
As the country is starting to open back up, people will begin to be far more active. This, of course, comes with drawbacks, and we don’t know what’s going to happen as a result. By the time fall comes around, there may be an increased spread of the virus, causing activity to be, once again, restricted throughout the country. All this could push the schedule for in-person hearings out even further. Also, most folks who are applying for Social Security disability tend to be older individuals or individuals with health problems. Many of these health problems put them at an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 and suffering from associated outcomes. In light of this,
THE WAIT FOR A DECISION
Delays Within the Social Security Systems
The COVID-19 pandemic has set many people back, which is something we’ll continue to feel for many months in the future. Within the Social Security system, people may expect delays, which will shift from stage to stage over time. For instance, over the last two years, the wait between the time of requesting a hearing and getting it underway has dropped fairly significantly. However, at the time of this writing, it remains to be seen whether or not the wait for hearings is going to change drastically or not. As stated in a previous article, most of the hearings are taking place over the telephone, something the hearing office is encouraging. But there are a certain number of hearings that have been canceled and need to be rescheduled as a result of the pandemic, which will have an impact on the wait time. While the Social Security Administration (SSA) is doing its best to keep the hearings moving, I believe there will likely be an increase in the time it takes to get a hearing after it’s been requested. At the first two levels of review — the initial and reconsideration levels — those first few decisions are made by employees who work for
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