Opinion ID: 4541398
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Social Security Administrative Procedure

Text: When a Social Security claimant seeks disability benefits, the SSA makes an “[i]nitial determination” regarding entitlement. 20 C.F.R. § 404.900(a)(1). Dissatisfied claimants may seek agency reconsideration. Id. § 404.900(a)(2). 3 A claimant who disagrees with the reconsidered determination may request a hearing before an SSA ALJ. Id. § 404.900(a)(3). An ALJ may (1) dismiss the request for a hearing, id. § 404.957, (2) remand for a revised determination, id. § 404.948(c), (3) issue a decision, id. § 404.948(a), or (4) hold a hearing and then issue a decision, id. § 404.953. “The issues before the [ALJ] include all the issues brought out in the initial, reconsidered or revised determination that were not decided entirely in [the claimant’s] favor,” id. § 404.946(a), as well as new issues the ALJ raises, id. § 404.946(b). Claimants must “notify the [ALJ] in writing at the earliest possible opportunity” if they “object to the issues to be decided at the hearing.” Id. § 404.939. A claimant may appeal an ALJ’s decision to the SSA Appeals Council (“Appeals Council”). Id. § 404.900(a)(4). If the Appeals Council affirms or declines to review, the claimant may sue in district court within 60 days. Id. § 404.900(a)(5); 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).