California Code of Regulations › Title 8 - Industrial Relations › Division 1 - Department of Industrial Relations › Chapter 3.5 - Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board › Subchapter 1 - Rules of Procedure for Permanent Variances and Appeals from Temporary Variances › Article 3 - Prehearing Proceedings › Section 417.1 - Objection to Hearing Panel or Hearing Officer or Board Member

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) Any party may
					 request, in writing, that a variance proceeding be heard by the board itself
					 rather than by a hearing panel. Such a request must be accompanied by a showing
					 of good cause and may be granted or denied at the discretion of the
					 chairperson. The request must be made prior to, or upon receipt of, the notice
					 of hearing and at least ten working days prior to the scheduled hearing date.
					 Failure to provide a timely request will be sufficient grounds for denying the
					 request. The hearing shall not be held until a determination is made on the
					 party's request.
(b)
					 Disqualification of Hearing Officer or Standards Board Member.
(1) Any party may request the
					 disqualification of any hearing officer and/or Standards Board member by filing
					 an affidavit, at least ten working days prior to the scheduled hearing date,
					 stating with particularity the grounds upon which it is claimed that a fair and
					 impartial hearing cannot be accorded.
(2) The name of the hearing officer and the
					 hearing panel members shall be included in the notice of hearing served on all
					 parties. If any change is made to the hearing panel and/or hearing officer
					 assignments subsequent to service of the notice of hearing, the parties,
					 whenever possible, shall be notified of such changes. If the parties are
					 notified of such changes less than ten working days before the scheduled
					 hearing, a party wishing to request a disqualification must make the request as
					 soon as it learns of the new assignment(s). Under such circumstances, the
					 request initially may be made orally, including by telephone, and shall be made
					 to the board before the hearing is convened whenever possible. The request
					 shall then be submitted in writing, in accordance with subsection (b)(1), as
					 soon as possible, and no later than ten working days after the oral request is
					 made. If the request to change the hearing panel and/or hearing officer
					 assignments cannot be made prior to the beginning of the hearing because the
					 parties were not notified of such assignments, or not notified in a timely
					 manner, the request shall be made prior to the taking of evidence at the
					 hearing. If an oral request is made on the record at the hearing and is fully
					 explained at that time, a written request need not be submitted.
(3) The request to disqualify the hearing
					 officer and/or a Standards Board member shall be determined by the Standards
					 Board. In the case of a request to disqualify a Standards Board member, the
					 individual member named in the request shall not participate in the
					 disqualification decision pertaining to him or her.
(4) If a request to disqualify is made prior
					 to the hearing being convened, the hearing shall not begin until a
					 determination has been made on the party's request. If a party is unable to
					 make its request prior to the convening of the hearing because it was not
					 timely notified of the hearing panel and/or hearing officer assignments, the
					 hearing will be held for the sole purpose of allowing the party to state its
					 request on the record. The remainder of the hearing will be postponed until a
					 determination on the request has been made.
(5) Failure to make a request to disqualify
					 in accordance with the time specifications in this subsection is sufficient
					 grounds for denying the request.