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1 Aggregation of Similar Claims in Agency Adjudication 1 (2016)

handle is hein.usfed/aggsclag0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Administrative Conference Recommendation 2016-2 Aggregation of Similar Claims in Agency Adjudication Adopted June 10, 2016 Federal agencies in the United States adjudicate hundreds of thousands of cases each year-more than the federal courts. Unlike federal and state courts, federal agencies have generally avoided aggregation tools that could resolve large groups of claims more efficiently. Consequently, in a wide variety of cases, agencies risk wasting resources in repetitive adjudication, reaching inconsistent outcomes for the same kinds of claims, and denying individuals access to the affordable representation that aggregate procedures promise. Now more than ever, adjudication programs, especially high volume adjudications, could benefit from innovative solutions, like aggregation.' The Administrative Procedure Act (APA)2 does not provide specifically for aggregation in the context of adjudication, though it also does not foreclose the use of aggregation procedures. Federal agencies often enjoy broad discretion, pursuant to their organic statutes, to craft procedures they deem necessary and appropriate to adjudicate the cases and claims that come before them.' This broad discretion includes the ability to aggregate common cases, both 1 Other related techniques that can help resolve recurring legal issues in agencies include the use of precedential decisions, declaratory orders as provided in 5 U.S.C. 554(e), and mlemaking. With respect to declaratory orders, see Recommendation 2015-3, Declaratory Orders, 80 Fed. Reg. 78,163 (Dec. 16, 2015), available at https://www.acus. gov/recommendation/declaratory-orders. The Supreme Court has recognized agency authority to use rulemaking to resolve issues that otherwise might recur and require hearings in adjudications. See Heckler v. Campbell, 461 U.S. 458 (1983). 2 See Administrative Procedure Act, Pub. L. No. 79-404, 60 Stat. 237 (1946) (codified as amended at 5 U.S.C. §§ 551-559, 701-706 and scattered sections in Title 5). 1 Broad discretion exists both in formal adjudication, where the agency's statute requires a hearing on the record, triggering the APA's trial-type procedures, and in informal adjudication, where the procedures set forth in APA §§ 554, 556 & 557 are not required, thus allowing less formal procedures (although some informal adjudications are nevertheless quite formal).

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