§ A400-14. Fair hearings.

A. 

Requests. A request for a fair hearing is a written request by the applicant(s) or recipient(s) to the effect that he/she wants an opportunity to present his/her case to a higher authority.

B. 

The Fair Hearing Officer. The Mayor assigns the Fair Hearing Officer. The Fair Hearing Officer presiding over the fair hearing request must:

(1) 

Not have participated in the decision causing dissatisfaction.

(2) 

Be impartial.

(3) 

Be sufficiently skilled in interviewing to be able to obtain evidence and facts necessary for a fair determination.

(4) 

Be capable of evaluating all evidence fairly and realistically, to explain to the claimant the laws and regulations under which the Welfare Official operated and to interpret to Welfare Officials any evidence of unsound, unclear or inequitable policies, practices, or actions.

C. 

Time limits for request and hearing.

(1) 

When an application is denied or when a recipient desires to challenge a decision made by the Welfare Official relative to the receipt of assistance, a request for a fair hearing must be received within five working days of receipt of the notice of decision at issue.

(2) 

Hearings requested by claimants must be held within a reasonable amount of time, not to exceed 10 working days of the receipt of the request. The Welfare Official shall give notice to the claimant setting forth time and location of the hearing. The notice must be given to the claimant at least 48 hours in advance of the hearing or mailed by certified mail to the claimant's last known address at least 72 hours in advance of the hearing.

(3) 

Any applicant may withdraw, in writing, his/her request for a fair hearing any time prior to the fair hearing and up to the time of the fair hearing. An applicant believing to have good cause to request a continuance or postponement may do so by contacting the Welfare Officer at the earliest possible time prior to the fair hearing. Good cause shall include, but not be limited to, medical emergency or unforeseen circumstances that prevent the claimant from attending the scheduled hearing. A claimant shall provide documentation of such circumstance to the Welfare Officer no later than 72 hours after the request is made. Failure to provide such documentation and/or failure to show for a scheduled fair hearing shall be deemed as a withdrawal of the fair hearing request of the claimant.

D. 

Fair hearings.

(1) 

Claimant access to information. Prior to a fair hearing, a claimant has the right to examine all records, papers and documents from the claimant's case file which either party may wish to introduce at the fair hearing, as well as available documents not contained in the case file, but relevant to the action of the Welfare Official, which is the basis for the claimant's complaint. The claimant may introduce any such documents, papers or records into evidence. No record, paper or document, which the claimant has not been allowed to examine prior to the hearing, shall be introduced at the hearing or become part of the record.

(2) 

Welfare Department access to information. The Welfare Official (or a duly authorized representative) shall have the right to examine at the fair hearing all documents on which the claimant plans to rely at the fair hearing and may request a twenty-four-hour continuance if such documents contain evidence not previously provided or disclosed by the claimant.

(3) 

Procedures for fair hearings.

(a) 

All fair hearings shall be conducted in such a manner as to ensure due process of law.

(b) 

Fair hearings shall not be conducted according to strict rules of evidence or legal procedures.

(c) 

The burden of proof shall be on the claimant who shall be required to establish his/her case by a preponderance of the evidence that the Welfare Official was unlawful or unreasonable under the welfare guidelines.

(d) 

The Welfare Official responsible for the decision complained of shall attend the hearing and testify about his/her actions and the reasons therefore.

(e) 

Both parties shall be given the opportunity to offer evidence and explain their positions.

(f) 

The claimant or his/her representative and the Welfare Official or his/her representative shall have the opportunity to examine all records and documents used at the hearing. The claimant shall have the opportunity to present his/her own case or at the claimant's option, with the aid of others and to bring witnesses to establish all pertinent facts, to advance any arguments, without undue interference, to question or refute testimony or evidence, including the opportunity to confront and cross examine adverse witnesses.

(g) 

The decision of the Fair Hearing Officer must be based solely on the record in light of these guidelines. Evidence, both written and oral, which is admitted at the hearing shall be the sole contents of the records. The hearing officer shall not review the case record or other materials prior to introduction at the hearing.

(h) 

The parties may stipulate to any facts.

(i) 

Any claimant may withdraw in writing his/her request for a fair hearing at any time up to the time of the hearing. A claimant who fails to appear for any scheduled fair hearing shall be deemed to have withdrawn his request for such a hearing.

(j) 

A claimant who believes he has verifiable good cause to request a continuance or postponement of a scheduled fair hearing shall contact the Welfare Official at the earliest possible time prior to the hearing. Upon verifiable good cause shown, the Welfare Official may reschedule such hearing. Verifiable good cause shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, demonstrated medical emergency, or other demonstrated unforeseen circumstances, which reasonably prevents the claimant from attending such scheduled hearing. A claimant shall provide documentation of such circumstances to the satisfaction of the Welfare Official no later than 72 hours after the request for postponement is made. If the claimant does not provide documentation of such circumstances to the Welfare Official within 72 hours, then the request shall be deemed withdrawn by the claimant.

(4) 

Decisions.

(a) 

Fair hearing decisions shall be rendered within five working days of the hearing. Decisions shall be in writing, setting forth the reasons for decisions and the facts on which the Fair Hearing Officer relied in reaching his/her decision. A copy of the decision shall be mailed or delivered to the claimant and to the Welfare Official.

(b) 

Fair hearing decisions will be rendered based on the evidence presented, both oral and written, the officer's findings of fact, these guidelines and state and federal law. The fair hearing decision shall set forth appropriate relief.

(c) 

In the case of a hearing to review a denial of aid, the decision is retroactive to the date of the action being appealed. If a claimant fails to prevail at the hearing, the assistance given pending the hearing shall be a debt owed by the individual to the municipality and a repayment schedule shall be established.

(d) 

The Welfare Official shall keep record of all fair hearing decisions on file in chronological order. These records will include an audio tape recording of the hearing, documentary evidence presented at the hearing, and the written decision of the fair hearings officer. However, neither the failure of the hearings officer or of the Welfare Officer to record or retain any such audiotape shall invalidate the decision of the fair hearings officer.

(e) 

None of the procedures specified herein shall limit any right of the claimant to subsequent court action to review or challenge the adverse decision.