General Information about Telephone Fair Hearings

1) Notice:

• When you receive a notice of decision about the status of your benefits from the agency, you can request a fair hearing to challenge the decision.
• You will not always receive a notice of decision, but you can still request a fair hearing as soon as you see a change in your benefits.
• The notice will include the date that changes to your case will occur (the “effective date“).

2) Request:

• You should request a fair hearing within 60 days from the postmark date of the notice (90 days for SNAP). If you want your benefits to continue, you must request the hearing within 10 days of the postmark date.
• Remember: keep a record of the request and the request number.
• You will receive confirmation in the mail once this request has been processed.

3) Preparation:

• Prepare your arguments, witness(es), and evidence.
• Submit your evidence to the Office of Administrative Hearings at least 2 business days before the fair hearing.
• Request the evidence packet from your local social services office.
• Prepare your phone. Make sure your phone is charged and able to accept calls.

4) Hearing:

• Be ready to pick up the call from the Judge during the scheduled time (either 9 am – 1 pm for a morning appointment or 1 pm – 5 pm for an afternoon appointment).
• Answer any questions from the Judge and Agency Representative. Save your arguments for the end. You will speak after them.
• Correct the representatives of the Agency if they say something untrue.

5) Decision:

• You will receive the decision in the mail, typically 3 weeks after the hearing.
• If you wish to appeal, you must do so within 4 months of getting the decision.

Your fair hearing should be run fairly. Tell the judge if you think it is not. 

1. You have a right to request that your hearing be rescheduled (called an “adjournment”) if
   • You would like to try to get someone to represent you at your hearing but need more time to do so
   • If you are unable to attend your scheduled hearing and your hearing date hasn’t passed yet. You will need to explain to OTDA why you have a good reason (“good cause”) for the hearing to be rescheduled
   • If you did not attend a scheduled hearing, you may request that OTDA reopen and reschedule it. You must do this within one year from the date of the hearing that you missed. You must give OTDA a good reason (“good cause”) why you missed the hearing.  When you miss a hearing, it is considered a “defaulted hearing.” A defaulted hearing will not be restored to the calendar if the request to reopen and reschedule is made a year or more from the date of your failure to appear.

   • You can request that your hearing be rescheduled (“adjournment”) by
     Telephone: 1-877-209-1134
     Faxing a written request: 518-473-6735
     Mailing a written request:
     New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
     Office of Administrative Hearings
     P.O. Box 1930
     Albany, NY 12201-1930

2. You have a right to understand who is speaking. If you do not understand who is on the phone, ask them to both say their name and spell it for you. If later in the hearing you do not understand who is talking, don’t hesitate to ask again.
3. You have a right to speak up if your fair hearing seems unfair or if it is hard for you to represent yourself. Explain in as much detail as you can what the difficulty is. 
4. You have a right to make objections. An objection is when you tell the Judge that you disagree with something that was said or done. For example, you should object if you submitted evidence but the Judge does not have it. 
   • Any evidence that you want to show the Judge should be submitted at least two days before the hearing. Read How to Prepare for a Fair Hearing if you are not sure how to do this.
5. You have a right to see the evidence that the Agency Representative has provided to the Judge. This should have been provided to you in advance of the hearing. If you have not received copies of agency documents in advance of the hearing you should tell the Judge and ask that you be provided with copies. You have the right to request that the Judge postpone your fair hearing (an “adjournment”) if you have not received their evidence.
6. You have a right to question the Agency Representative and any witnesses. Tell the Judge if you think the Agency Representative or one of the witnesses said something untrue.
7. You have a right to have a witness testify to support your case at the hearing. If you have a witness that you want to testify on your behalf, you should tell the Judge and give the Judge the name and telephone number of the witness, and the Judge will add the witness to the call. Be sure to tell your witness the date and time of the hearing so they will be available at the time of the call. Tell the witness to be sure that their phone can accept blocked calls (insert link to instructions on this). The Judge may ask you what you expect the witness to say which is a proper question. For example, if you are trying to establish that you never received a notice, you could have a neighbor tell the Judge about mail delivery or mail theft problems in your building.
8. You have a right to tell the Judge your story.  You can explain to the Judge why you think HRA is wrong in the decision you are appealing.
9. You have a right to submit documents to support your story. Please see the evidence checklist for suggestions on what might be helpful for you to submit.

You can request a Fair Hearing 1) online, 2) by mail, 3) in person, 4) by phone, or 5) by fax. Instructions for doing so can be found on the OTDA’s website. The OTDA will send you a letter (called an “OAH-4420 Acknowledgement of Fair Hearing Request and Confirmation of Aid Status”) via US mail once the fair hearing request has been received and reviewed. Click here to see a sample notification.

No matter what method you chose to request a fair hearing, you should 

1. Tell the OTDA in your request if you need a certain time for your hearing, an interpreter, or other special help at your hearing;
2. Make sure that the reasons stated on your request are accurate and sufficiently detailed because you cannot change them during the hearing;
3. Make a copy of your request before you submit it and bring the copy to the hearing; and
4. Keep a record of your Fair Hearing request number if you are given one.

Tip: It is best to request a Fair Hearing in writing, either by submitting an Online Request Form or mailing a Printable Request Form to the OTDA, because you will have a record of your request. These forms are available in many non-English languages. This document has instructions on how to fill out an online request form. This document has instructions on how to fill out a printable request form. 

If one of those options does not work, you can request a Fair Hearing by phone. The wait times for requesting a fair hearing by phone are usually very long.

Right away! You should ask for a fair hearing the moment you know there is a problem with your benefits even before you receive any written notice. The sooner you request a Fair Hearing, the better. 

Generally, you have 60 days to request a Fair Hearing after you receive a written notice about a change in your benefits (you will have 90 days for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)). The notice is called a Notice of Intent or Notice of Decision. In the written notice, the social services agency should state the time limit (i.e., 60 days or 90 days) for requesting a Fair Hearing. If you do not request a fair hearing and your time limit to request one has passed, then you will forfeit your right to challenge the agency’s decision or any changes made and will not be able to do anything about it.

Remember: If you would like your benefits to continue without change until your Fair Hearing (called “aid continuing”), then you generally must request a Fair Hearing before the effective date stated on the notice or within 10 days of the postmark date of the notice. However, this is not always the case. Please see the below question, “What happens to my benefits before the Fair Hearing occurs?” for more information on Aid Continuing.

Normally, it can take several weeks to a month before your hearing is scheduled. You can ask for an emergency fair hearing under certain circumstances. For example,

• you do not have food or a place to live, 
• you have a notice of eviction, or 
• your gas or electricity is going to be shut off. 

An emergency fair hearing is held within a week of the request and a decision is issued much faster. In NYC, to request an emergency fair hearing, please call 1(800) 205-0110 on Monday to Friday between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Outside of New York City, write an explanation on the fair hearing request form in the comment section. Explain why you need a hearing right away.

If you would like your benefits to continue without change until your Fair Hearing (called “aid continuing”), then you generally must request a Fair Hearing before the effective date stated on the notice or within 10 days of the postmark date of the notice. 

Shortly after you make your request for a Fair Hearing, you will receive a letter telling you that your hearing request was received. This letter is called an Acknowledgement of Fair Hearing Request and Confirmation of Aid Status. This letter will also say if you got aid continuing. 

Call the Fair Hearing Office (1-800-342-3334) if you do not get this letter.

After the effective date, you can still request a fair hearing (60 days for cash assistance, child care, HEAP, and Medicaid & 90 days for food stamps) but you will not get aid continuing. However, you will get back all of your lost benefits if you win your fair hearing.
 

If you never received a notice, it will be harder to get aid continuing. You should request a Fair Hearing as soon as you have a problem with your benefits (e.g., the money you should receive is stopped or reduced). You should tell the hearing office you never received a notice. There is no time limit for such requests.
 

If you are applying for new benefits or shelter stay, you will not qualify for aid continuing. 

• Tip: The notice envelopes have postmark dates (the date the notice was sent) stamped on them. Keep the notice envelopes if you need to prove you received the notice late.
• Tip: If your benefits do not continue, you should reapply while you are waiting for your Fair Hearing to be held. A new application for benefits will not affect your Fair Hearing,

Note that if you lose your fair hearing, the benefits you received while waiting for your decision will be considered an overpayment of assistance. The agency can recover that amount by taking up to 10% of your grant. This is called “recoupment.” If the recoupment causes you financial hardship, you can ask your worker to reduce it to 5%. Tell your worker that a 10% recoupment causes you “undue hardship.”

No. After you ask for your fair hearing, you can try to solve your problem at the Agency through a conference. A conference is not a fair hearing. It is a meeting with an agency worker to discuss your case. If you are happy with the outcome of a conference, make sure you get proof in writing that all problems with your case have been fixed before you withdraw your fair hearing request.

You will receive a letter (called a “Notice of Fair Hearing” or “Notice of Telephone Hearing”) from the OTDA that states when and where your hearing will occur. In most instances, your hearing will be scheduled about three to four weeks after it is requested.

If you are not granted aid continuing (that is, the continued receipt of your benefits at their original levels until the date of the hearing), then you will receive scheduling priority.

If your hearing has been scheduled, you can also get this information by calling this toll-free number, 1-800-342-3334, and following the prompts. In most instances, your hearing will be scheduled about three to four weeks after it is requested.

You will receive a notice telling you the time and date of your hearing. If you have a morning appointment, then the Judge will call you at any time between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. If you have an afternoon appointment, then the Judge will call you anytime between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm.

Rescheduling Fair Hearing (“Adjournment”)

• You may request an adjournment of a fair hearing in a few ways. You can request either 1) by submitting an Online Adjournment Form, 2) by mailing or faxing a Printable Adjournment Form, 3) by telephone, or, 4) in person. The forms are available in many non-English languages. More instructions can be found on the OTDA’s website. If using U.S. mail, please take delivery time into account to ensure the request is delivered timely.
• However, you must have a good reason (“good cause”) for the fair hearing to be rescheduled. Good cause typically means something unexpected and outside of your control that prevents you from participating in the hearing. Some possible examples include:
  • If you are sick, at the doctor’s office or in the hospital. 
  • If you are called into work unexpectedly.
  • If you unexpectedly lose connection to your telephone service.
  • If you have to take a sick child to the doctor or pick them up from school.

Canceling Fair Hearing (“Withdrawal”)
If you have a hearing scheduled and you no longer wish to attend it, you may request a cancellation of your fair hearing in a few ways. You can request either 1) by submitting an Online Withdrawal Form, 2) by mailing or faxing a Printable Withdrawal Form, 3) by telephone, or, 4) in person. The forms are available in many non-English languages. More instructions can be found on the OTDA’s website. You should only withdraw the fair hearing request if the problem(s) for which you requested the hearing has/have been corrected. If your worker has told you they will fix the problem, do not withdraw your fair hearing unless you have something in writing saying the problem has been fixed. If you do not have anything in writing, tell the Judge that you want the agency to state how they are solving the problem “on the record.”

If you miss your Fair Hearing, you may be able to request that the OTDA reopen and reschedule your Fair Hearing. You must provide a good reason (“good cause”) for failing to appear at the scheduled hearing within one year from the date of your failure to appear. 

You may request a reopening of your fair hearing in a few ways. You can request either 1) by submitting an Online Reopening Form, 2) by mailing or faxing a Printable Reopening Form, 3) by telephone, or, 4) in person. The forms are available in many non-English languages. More instructions can be found on the OTDA’s website

If using U.S. mail, please take delivery time into account to ensure the request is delivered timely.