West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 162 - Consolidated Public Retirement Board › Title 162 - LEGISLATIVE RULE CONSOLIDATED PUBLIC RETIREMENT BOARD › Series 162-10 - Deputy Sheriff Retirement System › Section 162-10-9 - 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 will
				receive 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 Sheriff 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
				federal or state 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 constitutes 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, in which he or she states 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 Sheriff 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 Sheriff.