Fair Hearing Resources
Fair Hearing Related Litigation
Legal Research
by Gene Doyle, LMSW Several companies offer online legal research services, which allow users to search for federal and state court decisions as well as federal and state laws and regulations. Two of the most widely used services are Westlaw and Lexis. These services are available through...
01 Sep, 2020
Fair Hearings Must Comply with Constitutionally Protected Due Process
by Gene Doyle, LMSW In the landmark case of Goldberg v Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 264 (1970), brought by New York City public assistance recipients, the United States Supreme Court held that "when welfare is discontinued, only a pre-termination evidentiary hearing provides the recipient with procedural...
29 Aug, 2020
Access to Appellants' Case Records Before and During Fair Hearings
by Gene Doyle, LMSW Federal and state regulations require that appellants and their representatives have access to their case records at any time prior to and during their Fair Hearings. See 45 CFR § 205.10(a)(13)(i); 42 CFR § 431.242(a); 7 CFR § 273.15(p)(1); 18 NYCRR §§ 358-3.7(a)(1) and...
30 Aug, 2020
Homebound Fair Hearing
by Gene Doyle, LMSW In Varshavsky v Perales, Index No. 40767/91 (Sup. Ct. New York Co. March 5, 1992), affd. 202 A.D.2d 155 (1st Dept. 1994), the court certified a statewide plaintiff class, consisting of "all applicants for and recipients of public assistance benefits residing in New York...
29 Aug, 2020
Dismissal of a Fair Hearing Request
by Gene Doyle, LMSW New York State Policy According to 18 NYCRR § 358-5.5(a), "(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b) of this section, OAH will consider a fair hearing request abandoned if neither the appellant nor the appellant’s authorized representative appears at a fair hearing,...
30 Aug, 2020
Requesting the Reopening of a Dismissed Fair Hearing Request
by Gene Doyle, LMSW OTDA revised 18 NYCRR § 358-5.5, effective November 13, 2012, as a result of the settlement of Matter of Johnson v Berlin, Index No. 400081/2010 (Sup. Ct. New York Co. September 19, 2012). OTDA replaced 18 NYCRR § 358-5.5 with a new version, effective April 1, 2020, as a...
30 Aug, 2020
Written Materials Must Be Provided in Alternative Formats, Upon Request, to Blind or Seriously Visually Impaired Applicants and Recipients
by Gene Doyle, LMSW To comply with the Stipulation and Order of Settlement in Rafferty v Doar, 13-CV-1410 (S.D.N.Y. October 23, 2015), OTDA and DOH jointly issued Administrative Directive 16-ADM-08 on June 22, 2016 to provide "social services districts (SSD) with a summary and instructions on...
30 Aug, 2020
HHS Amicus Brief Backs Plaintiff: A Fair Hearing Must Definitively Determine an Appellant's Medicaid Eligibility
by Gene Doyle, LMSW On February 19, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) submitted an amicus brief to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Lisnitzer v Zucker, No. 19-470, declaring that Medicaid regulations . . . require a State's fair hearing to render a final and...
30 Aug, 2020