California Code of Regulations
Title 8 - Industrial Relations
Division 1 - Department of Industrial Relations
Chapter 8 - Office of the Director
Subchapter 2.1 - Illegally Uninsured Employers. Determinations by the Director: Prima Facie Illegally Uninsured, Corporate Parent and Substantial Shareholder; Notice; Hearings; Appeals
Article 3 - Hearings Under Code Section 3720.1
Section 15732 - Conduct of Hearing

(a) Hearing Officer. The hearing officer shall have full authority as the director would to make all decisions necessary for the proper conduct of the hearing and for the making of a decision thereon. Not limiting the foregoing, the hearing officer may administer oaths, take testimony, admit or exclude evidence, schedule the hearing, continue or adjourn the hearing, require a statement of contentions, issue a subpoena and subpoena duces tecum for the attendance of a person and the production of testimony, books, or documents, and to decide when the case is submitted for decision.

(b) Admissible Evidence. The California Evidence Code and the common law rules of evidence shall not apply in the hearing, and the hearing officer may admit, consider, and rely upon evidence which would not be admissible if such rules of evidence governed.

(c) Testimony under Oath. All witnesses testifying before the hearing officer shall testify under oath, affirmation or penalty of perjury.

(d) Transcripts. The hearings shall be recorded by audio tape recording. A party desiring a transcript must pay for the transcription or provide and pay for a court reporter. In either case, a copy of the transcript must be provided to the director.

(e) Witness fees. Costs of subpoenaing witnesses are to be borne by the party requesting the subpoena.

(f) Documents. If a person seeking to establish that the person is not a parent or substantial shareholder does not produce corporate documents which relate the ownership of the applicable corporation, and there is evidence that the person was a shareholder or owner of a beneficial interest in the corporation, the hearing officer may presume that the corporate documents not produced would contain evidence establishing the opposite of the contention asserted by the person not offering them.