Therefore, it is very important for you to read carefully the documents sent to you by the DAL and the agency. Those documents set forth the issues, charges and deadlines involved in your case. An administrative hearing is a legal proceeding before an impartial administrative law judge designed to review a state or local agency decision. Each party to an administrative hearing has a right to present and question witnesses, and submit or challenge documents regarding the decision. The result of the proceeding is a decision to affirm, modify, or set aside the original agency decision.
Cases often settle without going to hearing.
Contact the agency representative to see if you can work your case out. It is appropriate for the parties to discuss settlement, and the parties may agree to resolve a case by settlement at any time. The DAL provides mediation services to parties when both sides want to resolve the case without a hearing. An ALJ who has been trained as a mediator, and who will not hear your case on the merits, may be assigned upon request. Many state agency rules allow a person who wishes to appeal an action of the agency to request a hearing.