§405.405 Decision Review Board.

(a) The Board is comprised of administrative law judges and administrative appeals judges, who are appointed to the Board by the Commissioner. It is responsible for evaluating and reviewing certain decisions made by administrative law judges under this part before the decisions are effectuated.

(b) As described in §405.410, the Board will review administrative law judge decisions. You may not appeal an administrative law judge's decision to the Board. The Board may affirm, modify, or reverse the administrative law judge's decision. It also may remand your claim to the administrative law judge for further action and decision.

(c) The Board is also the final step in the administrative review process if the administrative law judge dismissed your request for a hearing under §405.380 of this part. As explained in §405.382 of this part, you must ask the administrative law judge to vacate his or her dismissal order before you may ask the Board to vacate the order.

(d) In addition, the Board may review your claim after the administrative law judge's decision has been effectuated to study our disability determination process. If the Board reviews your claim under this paragraph, it will not change the administrative law judge's decision in your claim, unless the Board determines that the rules in subpart G of this part apply. If the Board determines that subpart G applies, it may reopen and revise the administrative law judge's decision.

(e) The Board also may identify issues that impede consistent adjudication at all levels of the disability determination process and may recommend improvements to that process.