Split Circuits On Internal Manuals

Professor A. Benjamin Spencer of the University of Richmond Law School reports in his Split Circuits blog on a split among the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals on the issue of whether Social Security's internal policy manuals such as HALLEX and POMS are binding upon the Social Security Administration. The 9th Circuit held that these manuals have no binding effect upon the agency, while the 1st and 5th Circuits have held that Social Security must generally follow its own internal guidelines.