Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March
18, 2024
(a) The
Commissioner may issue an order directing a carrier to cease and desist from an
act or omission that violates a provision of the rules of this chapter that are
applicable to the carrier, which order shall serve as constructive written
notice to the carrier of an intent to levy a penalty for the violation of the
rules, notwithstanding that a specific statement to that effect is not included
in the order, if the order is followed by a written notice in compliance with
(b)3 below.
1. A carrier shall have the right
to request a hearing on the order within 20 days following the date of service
of the order on the carrier, which shall be conducted in accordance with the
Administrative Procedures Act,
52:14B-1 et seq., and the Uniform
Administrative Procedure Rules, N.J.A.C. 1:1.
i. When requesting a hearing, the carrier
shall specify in writing all reasons for which it disputes the order to cease
and desist, enclose a copy of the order and verification of the date on which
the order was served.
ii. When
requesting a hearing, the carrier shall notify the Department of the request,
providing the information set forth in (a)1i above.
2. The agency that issued the order to cease
and desist shall determine whether to transfer the case to the Office of
Administrative Law based upon the papers before it.
3. In the event that a civil penalty is to be
levied in the circumstance in which an order to cease and desist is issued, the
civil penalty shall not be effective until the rendering of a final agency
decision on the matter in favor of the Department.
4. In the event that a civil penalty is to be
levied in the circumstance in which an order to cease and desist is issued, the
request for a hearing shall not toll the time for calculation of the
penalty.
(b) If the
Commissioner intends to levy a civil penalty against a carrier for violation of
an applicable rule, the Commissioner shall provide the carrier with written
notice of an intent to levy a penalty at least five business days prior to the
date that the penalty shall be effective, except as (b)3 below applies.
1. Except as (b)3 below applies, written
notice of an intent to levy a penalty shall provide the following information:
i. The rules the carrier has violated or is
violating;
ii. The facts upon which
the Commissioner is relying in determining that the carrier is in violation of
a rule applicable to the carrier;
iii. The known duration of the violation,
including a statement of whether the violation is believed to be
continuing;
iv. The daily dollar
amount of the penalty, which shall be no less than $ 250.00 and no more than $
10,000 per day; and
v. The date
upon which the levy of the penalty shall be effective.
2. In addition to (b)1 above, the
Commissioner may, through the written notice of intent to levy a penalty,
provide the carrier with an opportunity to reduce or eliminate the civil
penalty, or toll the violation period through correction of the violation
within a specified period of time, in which event, the written notice shall
contain the following information:
i. The
time period for correction of the violation, which shall be no less than 30
calendar days from the date of the written notice;
ii. The minimum actions that the carrier is
required to take in order to determine at the end of the period whether the
carrier has corrected the violation; and
iii. The effect of correction of the
violation upon the levying of the civil penalty.
3. An order to cease and desist shall serve
as a written notice of an intent to levy a penalty if followed within no more
than five business days of the date of service of the order to cease and desist
with a written notice including all of the statements required in (b)1 above,
except that the effective date of the penalty may be the same as the date of
the written notice.
(c)
In accordance with the provisions of the act, the Commissioner may seek
injunctive relief against a carrier.
