Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 208 - Department of Workforce Services › Rule 208.00.11-001 - Regulation 27

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
EMPLOYER COVERAGE HEARINGS
Previous Regulation Next
			 Regulation
This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the
			 Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code
			 11-10-306,
			 308, 315 and 316 to read as follows:
(A) The hearing officer in employer coverage
		  matters shall be a person designated as such in writing by the Director, Such
		  designation shall remain in effect until such time as it is revoked in writing
		  by the Director.
(B) All employer
		  coverage hearings shall be conducted at the administrative office of the
		  Department of Workforce Services in Little Rock by telephone, or in person at
		  the discretion of the hearing officer. The hearing officer shall set the time
		  and date of such hearings, giving reasonable notice to all interested parties.
		  The hearing officer ma/, upon his own motion or upon request of a party for
		  good cause shown, reschedule the hearing time and/or date provided such request
		  is received prior to the scheduled time of the hearing.
(C) The hearing officer may require the
		  parties, prior to the hearing, to provide to him and/or to exchange with each
		  other information including, but not limited to, names and addresses of
		  representatives who are to appear; names, addresses, and telephone numbers of
		  potential witnesses; lists and descriptions of exhibits to be introduced; and
		  theories of liability or nonliability, including citations to pertinent
		  statutes and case precedent.
(D)
		  The hearing officer shall conduct himself in an impartial manner and may at any
		  time withdraw if he deems himself disqualified. Any party may file an affidavit
		  of personal bias or disqualification, which shall be ruled on by the hearing
		  officer and granted if timely made, sufficient, and filed in good faith. If the
		  hearing officer withdraws, he shall so advise the Director in writing. The
		  Director shall then appoint another hearing officer to conduct the hearing from
		  which the usual hearing officer has disqualified himself.
(E) The hearing officer shall have power to
		  (1) administer oaths and affirmations, (2) take depositions, (3) issue
		  subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books,
		  papers, correspondence, memoranda, and other records deemed necessary as
		  evidence, (4) maintain order, (5) rule upon all questions arising during the
		  course of a hearing, (6) generally regulate and guide the course of the pending
		  proceeding, and (7) make recommended decisions to the Director,
(F) Any person or party appearing at a
		  hearing shall have the right to be accompanied and advised by legal
		  counsel.
(G) The hearing officer
		  shall not be bound by common law or statutory rules of evidence or by technical
		  rules of procedure, but any hearing shall be conducted in such manner as to
		  ascertain the substantial rights of the parties.
(H) Parties shall have the right to conduct
		  such cross-examination as may be required for a full and true disclosure of the
		  facts.
(I) Official notice may be
		  taken of judicially cognizable facts and of generally recognized technical
		  facts within the agency's specialized knowledge. Parties shall be notified of
		  material so noticed, including any staff memoranda or data, and shall be
		  afforded reasonable opportunity to show the contrary.
(J) A record shall be kept of all testimony
		  and proceedings, but the testimony will not be transcribed unless the hearing
		  officer's determination is appealed.
(K) The hearing officer shall issue
		  recommended findings of fact and, on the basis thereof, recommended
		  determinations for the Director's approval and signature with respect to
		  employer coverage.
(L) If the party
		  which made application for the hearing fails, without good cause shown, to
		  appear at the scheduled hearing, the hearing officer shall admit into the
		  record the relevant Department of Workforce Services' file or files and shall
		  make his recommended determination on the evidence contained therein and any
		  evidence submitted by any interested party or parties who appear for the
		  scheduled hearing.
(M) In case of
		  refusal to obey a subpoena issued by the hearing officer, such hearing officer
		  shall have the power to continue the hearing, on his own motion or on motion of
		  the party who requested the subpoena, until such time as the person who refuses
		  to obey the subpoena is either ordered to comply with or is relieved of
		  complying with said subpoena by a court of competent jurisdiction.
This Regulation shall take effect and be in force on and after
			 July 31, 2011.