West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 162 - Consolidated Public Retirement Board › Title 162 - LEGISLATIVE RULE CONSOLIDATED PUBLIC RETIREMENT BOARD › Series 162-09 - West Virginia State Police › Section 162-9-9 - Processes for Appeal of Board Decisions

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
9.1.
				The Board shall not hear appeals directly, but shall appoint hearing officers
				who shall make complete and independent reviews of the disability applications
				or petitions, and make recommendations to the Board. All hearing officers
				appointed by the Board for the hearings must be attorneys licenced to practice
				law in the State of West Virginia.
9.2. The hearing officer shall, within sixty
				(60) days of the Board's receipt of notice of an appeal request, schedule a
				time and place for the appeal to be heard. All parties to the appeal shall be
				given at least ten (10) business days written notice of the hearing.
9.3. At any hearing conducted pursuant to
				this rule, the applicant may appear pro se, or may be represented by counsel or
				by a lay representative. The Agency has the right to appear by a lay designee,
				or by counsel. Counsel for the Board may also appear at any hearing held
				pursuant to this rule. Witnesses or written evidence may be submitted by all
				parties.
9.4. The rules of evidence
				shall not strictly apply at any administrative hearing held pursuant to this
				rule, and the interests of justice and fair play shall guide the
				proceedings.
9.5. All parties to
				the appeal are, subject to any confidentiality or disclosure limitations of
				state and federal law, entitled to copies of any and all relevant medical and
				factual documents and reports which are in the possession of the Board, and
				which were previously considered by the Board in its prior decision on the
				disability application or petition.
9.6. The hearing officer may subpoena
				documents and witnesses if the information sought is relevant and necessary to
				a proper analysis of the disability claim and the formulation of his or her
				recommendation to the Board.
9.7.
				The Board shall cause a stenographic recording of the administrative hearing to
				be made which shall constitute the official record of the hearing. The
				recording shall not be transcribed except upon request of any party, at the
				requesting party's expense.
9.8.
				The hearing officer shall, within sixty (60) days of his or her receipt of any
				and all documents and evidentiary testimony, prepare formal findings of fact
				and conclusions of law, stating therein the reasons for his or her findings,
				and noting with specificity the medical and other evidence considered in
				reaching a recommendation.
9.9.
				Following written notice and tender of the hearing officer's recommended
				decision to all parties, the hearing officer shall present his or her
				recommended decision to the full Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
				The staff of the Board shall notify the member, the Agency and counsel for the
				Board of the date, time and place of the Board's meeting during which the
				appeal and the recommended decision will be presented to the Board by the
				hearing officer. Any party has the right to submit, in writing, a proposed
				final order to the hearing officer for consideration prior to presentation of
				the case to the Board.
9.10. The
				Board shall take action, in open session, on the recommendation of the hearing
				officer on any appeal held pursuant to this rule. Presentation of the appeal
				shall be made by the hearing officer, and no additional oral argument is
				permitted.
9.11. The Board shall
				accept the recommendation of the hearing officer unless an abuse of discretion
				is found to have occurred, or unless the recommendation is found to be based
				upon an error in facts or contrary to law. The Board's final decision shall be
				sent, by certified mail, to the member and to the Agency.