West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 83 - Employment Security › Title 83 - LEGISLATIVE REGULATIONS DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY › Series 83-01 - Regulations Of The Commissioner Of Employment Security › Section 83-1-17 - Administrative Hearings Upon Applications for Review and Redetermination of Contribution Rates and Chargeability of Benefits to an Employer's Account

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
17.1. Application for review and
						redetermination of contribution rate.
An employer desiring to have a review and redetermination of
							his contribution rate shall file an application for such review within thirty
							(30) days after the mailing to the employer at his last known address of the
							notice of contribution rate.
17.2. Application for review and
						redetermination of chargeability of benefits.
An employer desiring to protest and to have a review and
							redetermination of the charging of any particular benefits to his account shall
							file a written application in duplicate for such review and redetermination, with
							the West Virginia Division of Employment Security, attention Legal Section, 112
							California Avenue, Charleston, West Virginia, 25305, within sixty (60) days after
							the mailing to the employer at his last known address of the notice of charging
							of such benefits. Such application shall state the name and address and official
							position of any person filing the application on its behalf; the name, address
							and social security number of the individual to whom were paid the benefits the
							charging of which to applicant's account is protested; the week-ending period or
							periods for which the benefits charged were paid; the date of the statement on
							which the protested charge or charges appeared; the date on which the statement
							was received by applicant; and a brief statement of the reasons for the
							application. Forms for making such applications will be furnished upon request
							addressed as above. However, this regulation does not apply to an employer who
							has chosen to make payments in lieu of contributions.
17.3. Hearings.
Upon the receipt of an application for review and
							redetermination of an employer's contribution rate, or of the charging of certain
							benefits to an employer's account, as the case may be, the Commissioner shall
							schedule a hearing and shall mail a notice of hearing to the employer at his last
							known address at least ten (10) days before the hearing, specifying the time and
							place of the hearing. Hearings shall be held at the central office of the West
							Virginia Division of Employment Security, unless in his discretion the
							Commissioner or his special deputy may determine upon another place within the
							state. The Commissioner or a special deputy designated in each case by the
							Commissioner shall preside over the hearing. Hearings shall be conducted
							informally and in such manner as to bring out the facts relevant to the
							determination of the application. All testimony at the hearing shall be by oath
							or affirmation and shall be recorded but need not be transcribed unless requested
							by any party in interest. The employer may make a written submission of the facts
							involved and shall be permitted a reasonable opportunity to present oral
							argument, supplemented by written briefs, upon the questions involved. The
							Commissioner or his special deputy may decide the questions on the basis of such
							stipulation and arguments, or may, in his discretion, set the questions for
							hearing and take such further evidence as he deems necessary. The Commissioner or
							his special deputy shall use his best judgment as to when adjournment of a
							hearing shall be granted in order to secure all the evidence which is necessary.
							If the employer or his representative fails to appear at the hearing, the
							contribution rate as originally determined, or the charging of benefits as
							originally made, as the case may be, will become final unless the employer within
							ten (10) days appears and shows good cause for his former nonappearance, in which
							latter event the Commissioner or his special deputy shall reschedule the
							hearing.
17.4. Appearances.
Any individual may appear for himself in any proceeding before
							the Commissioner or his special deputy. Any partnership may be represented by any
							of its members and any corporation by any of its officers or officials. Any
							employer may appear by any attorney-at-law admitted to practice before a court of
							record of this state or of any state or territory of the United States or by an
							auditor or an accountant in charge of the books of such
							employer.
17.5. Subpoenas.
Subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the
							production of records for any hearing on the chargeability of benefits, unless
							directed to issue by the Commissioner or his special deputy, shall be issued by
							the Commissioner or his special deputy only upon a showing of a necessity
							therefor by the employer or his representative.
17.6. Supplying information.
Orders for supplying information from the state agency to an
							employer or his representative, to the extent necessary for the proper
							presentation of his case, shall issue only upon application therefor. All
							applications for information from the records of the state agency shall, state,
							as nearly as possible, the nature of the information desired.
17.7. Determinations.
After the conclusion of a hearing, the Commissioner, or his
							special deputy, shall prepare tentative findings of fact and conclusions of law
							and deliver the same to the employer or mail them to the employer at his last
							known address. The employer shall then be given opportunity, within a period of
							ten (10) days after the delivery or mailing of such tentative findings and
							conclusions, to present arguments, written or oral, at the discretion of the
							Commissioner or his special deputy, on such findings and conclusions. As soon
							thereafter as practicable the Commissioner or special deputy shall announce his
							findings of fact and determination. Both the findings of fact and the
							determination shall be in writing and shall be signed by the Commissioner or
							special deputy who presided at the hearing. A copy of the determination shall be
							mailed to the employer at his last known address.