Serritella v. Engelman

OPINION OF THE COURT

Plaintiffs in these cases are challenging New Jersey Welfare regulations,1 which provide that pre-termination fair hearings be held at the county level, as being inconsistent with HEW regulations 2 requiring such hearings at the state level.3

Under the New Jersey system, a welfare recipient’s benefits may be terminated following an adverse adjudication at the county level and before an appeal to the state agency. To justify its scheme, the state contends that the federal regulation is invalid because it is inconsistent with 42 U.S.C. § 602, allowing a “two-tiered” state…