20 C.F.R. § 416.1436 Time and place for a hearing before an administrative law judge.
Title 20 - Employees' Benefits
(a) General. The administrative law judge sets the time and place for the hearing. He or she may change the time and place, if it is necessary. After sending you reasonable notice of the proposed action, the administrative law judge may adjourn or postpone the hearing or reopen it to receive additional evidence any time before he or she notifies you of a hearing decision. (b) Where we hold hearings. We hold hearings in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The “place” of the hearing is the hearing office or other site(s) at which you and any other parties to the hearing are located when you make your appearance(s) before the administrative law judge, whether in person or by video teleconferencing. (c) Determining how appearances will be made. In setting the time and place of the hearing, the administrative law judge determines whether your appearance or that of any other individual who is to appear at the hearing will be made in person or by video teleconferencing. The administrative law judge will direct that the appearance of an individual be conducted by video teleconferencing if video teleconferencing technology is available to conduct the appearance, use of video teleconferencing to conduct the appearance would be more efficient than conducting the appearance in person, and the administrative law judge does not determine that there is a circumstance in the particular case preventing use of video teleconferencing to conduct the appearance. Section 416.1450 sets forth procedures under which parties to the hearing and witnesses appear and present evidence at hearings. (d) Objecting to the time or place of the hearing. If you object to the time or place of your hearing, you must notify the administrative law judge at the earliest possible opportunity before the time set for the hearing. You must state the reason for your objection and state the time and place you want the hearing to be held. If at all possible, the request should be in writing. The administrative law judge will change the time or place of the hearing if you have good cause, as determined under paragraph (e) and (f) of this section. Section 416.1438 provides procedures we will follow when you do not respond to a notice of hearing. (e) Good cause for changing the time or place. If you have been scheduled to appear by video teleconferencing at the place of your hearing and you notify the ALJ as provided in paragraph (d) of this section that you object to appearing in that way, the administrative law judge will find your wish not to appear by video teleconferencing to be a good reason for changing the time or place of your scheduled hearing and will reschedule your hearing for a time and place at which you may make your appearance before the administrative law judge in person. The administrative law judge will also find good cause for changing the time or place of your scheduled hearing, and will reschedule your hearing, if your reason is one of the following circumstances and is supported by the evidence: (1) You or your representative are unable to attend or to travel to the scheduled hearing because of a serious physical or mental condition, incapacitating injury, or death in the family; or (2) Severe weather conditions make it impossible to travel to the hearing. (f) Good cause in other circumstances. In determining whether good cause exists in circumstances other than those set out in paragraph (e) of this section, the administrative law judge will consider your reason for requesting the change, the facts supporting it, and the impact of the proposed change on the efficient administration of the hearing process. Factors affecting the impact of the change include, but are not limited to, the effect on the processing of other scheduled hearings, delays which might occur in rescheduling your hearing, and whether any prior changes were granted to you. Examples of such other circumstances, which you might give for requesting a change in the time or place of the hearing, include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) You have attempted to obtain a representative but need additional time; (2) Your representative was appointed within 30 days of the scheduled hearing and needs additional time to prepare for the hearing; (3) Your representative has a prior commitment to be in court or at another administrative hearing on the date scheduled for the hearing; (4) A witness who will testify to facts material to your case would be unavailable to attend the scheduled hearing and the evidence cannot be otherwise obtained; (5) Transportation is not readily available for you to travel to the hearing; (6) You live closer to another hearing site; or (7) You are unrepresented, and you are unable to respond to the notice of hearing because of any physical, mental, educational, or linguistic limitations (including any lack of facility with the English language) which you may have. [68 FR 5220, Feb. 3, 2003]
Title 20: Employees' Benefits
PART 416—SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED
Subpart N—Determinations, Administrative Review Process, and Reopening of Determinations and Decisions
Hearing Before an Administrative Law Judge
§ 416.1436 Time and place for a hearing before an administrative law judge.
