Background

This transmittal amends section I-2-6-12 of the Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual to update hearing procedures for hearing-impaired claimants.

Explanation of Content and Changes

HALLEX I-2-6-12 is amended as follows:

I-2-6-12 A – We moved the information in the subsection to subsection B and retitled the subsection “Sign Language Interpreter.” We added information previously in subsection B and made minor editorial changes to the language.

I-2-6-12 B – We moved the information in the subsection to subsection A and retitled the subsection “Real-time Reporting” for consistency with HALLEX I-2-1-72. We clarified that the administrative law judge (ALJ) must provide full access to the speech-to-text transcription during the hearing and ensure the transcription equipment functions properly during the hearing.

I-2-6-12 C – We clarified that when the claimant is lip-reading, the ALJ must face the claimant with an unobstructed view and ensure that the claimant can easily see all other participants to the hearing. We also clarified that an ALJ should not permit lip-reading unless all participants to the hearing will appear in-person or by video-teleconferencing.

I-2-6-12 D – We made minor editorial changes to the language and removed an outdated reference to another HALLEX section.

I-2-6-12 E – We retitled the subsection “Objections by the Claimant to the Method of Communication” to more accurately reflect the content of the subsection. We made minor editorial changes to the language.

Date: October 18, 2019