Current through Register Vol. 24-18, September 15, 2024
(1)
Adoption of brief adjudicative
proceedings. Pursuant to
RCW
34.05.410(1)(a), the
department hereby adopts the use of brief adjudicative proceedings for use in
appeals.
(a)RCW
34.05.488 and
34.05.491 shall not apply to brief
adjudicative proceedings under this rule.
(b) Brief adjudicative proceedings will only
be used if:
(i) The appeal involves a claim
for benefits;
(ii) The appeal is
filed by a claimant;
(iii) No
employer is an interested party pursuant to WAC
192-04-040; and
(iv) The presiding administrative law judge,
in their sole discretion, determines a brief adjudicating proceeding is
warranted.
(2)
Procedure for brief adjudicative
proceedings. The following procedural rules will apply to brief
adjudicative proceedings:
(a) An
administrative law judge with the office of administrative hearings will
conduct the brief adjudicative proceeding.
(b) Not less than seven days before the date
of the hearing, the office of administrative hearings shall serve notice on the
claimant pursuant to WAC
10-08-040 that a brief
adjudicative proceeding will occur. The notice of hearing will contain the
following:
(i) Notice that the claimant may
submit additional relevant documentary evidence and sworn oral statements, if
desired, along with a date by which these submissions must be made and
instructions for doing so;
(ii)
Instructions for how the department or claimant may request that the brief
adjudicative proceeding may be converted to a regular proceeding pursuant to
subsection (4) of this section and the date by which such request must be
submitted; and
(iii) The date of
the brief adjudicative proceeding.
(c) The administrative law judge, in their
sole discretion, may send a written request for additional evidence from the
claimant or the department. The request will contain instructions for how to
submit the additional evidence and the date by which additional evidence must
be submitted.
(d) The
administrative law judge's review will be limited to the record defined in
subsection (3) of this section.
(e)
If the claimant fails to provide any additional relevant documentary evidence
or sworn oral statements, the administrative law judge will affirm the
department's determination unless the evidence provided by the department is
sufficient to resolve the matter in the claimant's favor.
(f) The administrative law judge shall issue
a written decision consistent with WAC
192-04-150.
(3)
Record for brief adjudicative
proceeding. The record with respect to brief adjudicative proceedings
will consist of the following:
(a) The
department's determination letter;
(b) The claimant's appeal of the
determination letter;
(c) All
records relied upon by the department in support of its determination
letter;
(d) Any additional records
submitted by the department;
(e)
Any additional records or sworn oral statements submitted by the claimant;
and
(f) Any additional evidence
submitted by the parties at the written request of the administrative law
judge.
(4)
Conversion of brief adjudicative proceeding to regular proceeding.
(a) A brief adjudicative proceeding will be
converted to a regular proceeding if:
(i) The
claimant files a conversion request by the deadline listed in the notice of the
brief adjudicative proceeding. Such a request shall be automatically granted by
the administrative law judge; or
(ii) The department files a conversion
request by the deadline listed in the notice of the brief adjudicative
proceeding. Such a request shall be automatically granted by the administrative
law judge; or
(iii) The
administrative law judge, at any time prior to issuing a written decision,
determines the brief adjudicative proceeding shall be converted to a regular
proceeding. Reasons the administrative law judge may convert the brief
adjudicative proceeding to a regular proceeding may include, but are not
limited to:
(A) The use of the brief
adjudicative proceeding procedures violates any provision of law;
(B) The protection of the public interest
requires that notice and an opportunity to be heard be given to persons other
than the claimant and the department;
(C) A regular proceeding is required to
adequately develop the record and decide the issues in the appeal; or
(D) The issues and interests involved
otherwise warrant the use of the procedures in a regular proceeding.
(b) When a brief
adjudicative proceeding is converted to a regular proceeding, the office of
administrative hearings shall issue a new notice of hearing.
(5)
Right to petition for
review. A party aggrieved by a decision issued by an administrative law
judge pursuant to a brief adjudicative proceeding shall have the same right to
petition for review as contained in WAC
192-04-060. In conducting this
review of the brief adjudicative proceeding, prior to rendering a decision, the
commissioner shall order the taking of additional evidence by the office of
administrative hearings to be made a part of the record in the case.
