NYLAG v. SSA
NYLAG Sues Social Security Administration for Keeping Key Policies Secret from the Public and Wrongfully Charging Fees to Public Interest Organizations
About NYLAG v. SSA
More Information
Name: NYLAG v. SSA
Dkt. #: 23 Civ. 9363 (S.D.N.Y. 2023)
Court: U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Judge: Hon. Andrew L. Carter
Status: In Litigation
Claims: Violation of the Freedom of Information Act, Administrative Procedure Act
Contact: If your organization has had a public interest fee waiver for a FOIA request wrongfully denied by SSA, contact us at 212-613-5032.
The New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG)—a leading legal services organization that provides legal assistance to over 1,000 individuals per year who receive benefits administered by the Social Security Administration—filed a lawsuit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) alleging two systemic violations of the Freedom of Information Act.
First, NYLAG challenges SSA’s policy and practice of denying virtually all public interest fee waivers to non-profit organizations requesting documents under FOIA. In the past three years, SSA denied 99.7% of FOIA fee waiver applications. Numerous other federal agencies grant these applications at a rate over 100 times higher than SSA’s rate.
Second, NYLAG challenges SSA’s policy and practice of keeping key policy documents secret from the public. Specifically, NYLAG challenges SSA’s failure to make publicly available online: (1) the entirety of the Program Operations Manual System (“POMS”), which is an administrative manual used by SSA staff that contains policies controlling virtually every aspect of the administration of benefits by SSA; (2) all Emergency Messages (EMs) and Administrative Messages (AMs), which supplement the POMS as directions to SSA staff on how to conduct SSA’s business, often under certain, time-limited circumstances; and (3) an index of each of these documents.
“Secret SSA policies are impossible to challenge. Making these policies public is the only way to hold SSA accountable for following the law,” said Danielle Tarantolo, Director of NYLAG’s Special Litigation Unit.
NYLAG also challenges SSA’s denial of fee waivers for five of its own requests, and the agency’s failure to respond to those requests. NYLAG relies on access to SSA policies and records to provide its clients with information on SSA’s processes and counsel them on accessing the benefits they need to afford food, health care, and housing. SSA puts significant obstacles in the way of NYLAG’s work and consequentially does serious harm to its clients when they are unable to access key policies and other records that would assist them in obtaining the critical benefits their clients need to survive.
“Everyone deserves to have full access to SSA’s policies, which govern virtually every aspect of benefits that millions of Americans rely upon to pay for critical needs like housing, food, and medical care,” said Michelle Spadafore, Project Director of NYLAG’s Disability Advocacy Project. “NYLAG is filing this lawsuit to level the playing field for our clients so that they are empowered with the information they need to receive and maintain the benefits that they are legally entitled to.”
Highlights
- NYLAG filed the Amended Complaint in March 2024
- After NYLAG sued, SSA made an index of POMS and EMs available to the public for the first time. You can view those on SSA’s website here.
Documents Produced in Litigation
During the course of the litigation, SSA produced a number of documents NYLAG had requested through FOIA.
- In September 2023, SSA produced POMS GN 02402.007 which describes SSA’s policies toward Direct Express cards.
- In April 2024, SSA produced documents related to the payroll information exchange it entered into with Equifax.
- SSA-Equifax Contract
- Pricing Tables
- Statement of Work
- SSA System Security Requirements for Contractors & Non-Federal Organizations
- Privacy Requirements
- Information Security Policy for SSA
- Data Usage Agreement – Required Notices
- Additional Information Security & Privacy Requirements for Cloud-Based Solutions
- PIE Wage Data Accuracy Study
- March 2023 Memo
- May 2023 Memo
- Summary of SSI Wage Reporting Tests
- Operations Analysis: BBA Section 824 – Payroll Information Exchange (PIE)
- In May 2024, SSA produced POMS GN 00203.011, which relates SSA’s policies on providing language assistance to beneficiaries.
- In August 2024, SSA produced documents related to its policies for Consultative Examiners and Medical Consultants.
- In August 2024, SSA produced three POMS related to its “netting” policies, or the process through which the agency assesses overpayments and underpayments of benefits.
- In September 2024, SSA produced the Standard Hearings Operations Procedure (SHOP) manual used by staff at the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) when making decisions about beneficiaries hearings and administrative appeals.