THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

 

Background and Mission

          The Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings was established in 1976 to provide a fair, prompt and impartial hearing process for citizens who disagree with actions taken by government. The Office is an independent state agency. It is one of 25 so-called "central panel" hearing agencies across the nation. Prior to 1976, hearing officers presiding at contested ("trial type") cases were employees of the agency involved in the case. The 1975 legislature reform eliminated this appearance of impropriety in contested cases and also gave the Office a role in controversial rulemaking hearings in order to ensure meaningful public participation. Workers’ Compensation Judges were transferred to the Office in 1982. The Office hears and decides cases in three main areas:

    • Administrative Procedure Act (APA) state agency contested

cases and rulemaking hearings.

    • Local government licensing and personnel cases.
    • Workers’ Compensation benefit hearings.

All of these proceedings are conducted by Administrative Law Judges and Workers’ Compensation Judges in a manner similar to what occurs in a court of law. However, these judges are members of the Executive Branch of government rather than the Judicial Branch. All are attorneys with extensive legal backgrounds and practice experience. The Administrative Law Judges are organized into groups based upon subject matter expertise so that only certain Administrative Law Judges are assigned to particular cases such as utility rates, environmental, special education, disability benefits, or mediation. Only Workers’ Compensation Judges hear workers’ compensation benefit cases.

It is not appropriate to contact a judge either by telephone or in writing concerning the merits or substance of your case without the other party or parties being involved. It is permissible to contact a judge without notice to the other party concerning procedural matters only. In addition to fair and knowledgeable decisionmaking, the Office has stressed the timely conduct of hearings and issuance of decisions. In administrative law matters, the average time to issue a decision is 20 days after the close of the record. In workers’ compensation matters, decisions are issued in an average of 35 days after the hearing.

 

OAH Organization

The Office of Administrative Hearings is headed by a Chief Administrative Law Judge. The Chief Administrative Law Judge must be learned in the law, is appointed by the Governor for a six-year term, and must be confirmed by the Senate. The Office has two divisions. The Workers’ Compensation Division employs 29 Workers’ Compensation Judges. The Administrative Law Division hears state agency Administrative Procedure Act cases and local government cases. OAH employs 7 full-time Administrative Law Judges and contracts with 5 part-time Administrative Law Judges. The majority of the part-time Administrative Law Judges are situated in greater Minnesota. The central office, with 42 support staff, is located in Minneapolis.

There is a Workers’ compensation satellite office in Duluth, where three Workers’ Compensation Judges are stationed. A Workers’ Compensation Judge is also stationed in Detroit Lakes. Additionally, full-time Workers’ Compensation Judges and Administrative Law Judges travel throughout the state of Minnesota to conduct hearings. Except for workers’ compensation matters, OAH bills each government unit for which it conducts hearings at an hourly rate for time expended in conducting hearings, traveling to the hearing location and writing a decision. The Workers’ Compensation Division is funded by the Special Compensation Fund, which derives its revenue from a percentage fee of Workers’ Compensation insurance premiums paid by employers.

OAH Jurisdiction

Approximately 6,200 workers’ compensation cases are referred to OAH each year. Approximately 4,600 cases are settled prior to hearing in part through the use of "settlement weeks". Approximately 1,600 cases require a full hearing and a written decision each year. OAH schedules approximately 600 contested cases for state agencies and local government and issues approximately 250 final or recommended decisions in those cases. Twenty-five contested rulemaking hearings are conducted in an average year with a written report prepared by the Administrative Law Judge for each hearing. OAH also reviews all rules adopted without a hearing for legality. OAH does not hear reemployment or welfare benefit cases.

Examples of Administrative Procedure Act contested case hearings for state agencies include the following:

 

Health

    • Nursing home penalty assessments
    • Nursing home discharge
    • WIC program terminations

Pollution Control Agency

    • Permits for air or water discharge
    • Enforcement action
    • Hazardous waste citations

Human Services

    • Day care and foster care licenses
    • Reimbursement rates for nursing homes

Veterans Affairs

    • Hiring, demotion and removal of veterans in public employment

Public Utilities Commission

    • Rate-setting for electricity, telephone and natural gas
    • Resolving service areas disputes
    • Certificates of Need for major energy projects

Natural Resources

    • Alterations of wetlands
    • Permits to work in public waters
    • Appeals of trespass citations

Human Rights

    • Discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations

Labor and Industry

    • OSHA penalty citations

Transportation

    • Railroad clearance variances
    • Appeals of relocation awards

All State Agencies

    • Resolving personnel disputes over suspension, demotion or removal
    • Licensing actions

How Are Hearings Referred to OAH?

For Administrative Procedure Act cases, state agencies are either required by law to set up an APA hearing with an Administrative Law Judge presiding, or are required to offer a citizen affected by state agency action an APA hearing. When OAH receives a request to assign an Administrative Law Judge, a judge is selected based upon expertise and availability, for the preferred hearing dates. The agency is then advised of the ALJ appointed and it sends out a Notice of Hearing to the parties with the hearing date and the name of the Administrative Law Judge. For rulemaking proceedings, a hearing with an ALJ is conducted only when 25 people request one, or if the agency decides to conduct a hearing.

Local government, such as cities, counties and school districts, are not required to use Administrative Law Judges, but often contract with the Office to conduct hearings such as public employee discipline matters, code enforcement or municipal licensing cases. OAH does not have authority to initiate an administrative law case itself. Workers’ compensation matters are referred to the Office from the Department of Labor and Industry, which is where an injured worker initially files a petition for benefits.

The Nature of Administrative Hearings

The hearings tend to be less formal than court proceedings. However, the amount of formality and process for each hearing will depend on the nature of the case. The length and complexity of hearings range from a fifteen minute tax certificate revocation case without attorneys to a multi-week utility rate hearing with several parties all represented by attorneys. While court evidentiary rules are not directly applicable in administrative proceedings, they may be used as guidelines. At the hearing, each party presents his or her case through testimony or written exhibits. Each party may be represented by an attorney, may bring in witnesses or ask that witnesses be subpoenaed to the hearing. A record is kept of all proceedings at the hearing either on tape or by a court reporter. Many parties represent themselves in administrative hearings depending on the complexity of the matter.

Once the hearing is concluded, the judge reviews the evidence and issues a written decision. This decision is based only on the evidence and testimony in the record. The judge produces either a final decision, binding on both parties, or a recommended decision, depending on the type of case involved. Final decisions are made in workers’ compensation cases. Where a recommended decision is prepared, the government agency involved makes the final decision. Final decisions are appealable to the Minnesota Court of Appeals for administrative law cases, and to the Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals for workers’ compensation matters. The final decision or recommended decision will contain information on how to file an appeal or how to file exceptions if the party disagrees with the findings.

Conclusion

The Office of Administrative Hearings is committed to providing Minnesota’s citizens and businesses with a fair and expeditious hearing process, which guarantees their due process rights and ensures their participation in state agency action affecting their lives. An administrative hearing provides the opportunity to appear before an Administrative Law Judge or a Workers’ Compensation Judge to obtain an unbiased and objective review of the action in question. To find out more about the Office of Administrative Hearings, contact:

 

Chief Administrative Law Judge

Office of Administrative Hearings

600 North Robert Street

P.O. Box 64620

Saint Paul, Minnesota 55164-0620

(651) 361-7900

(FAX) – (651) 361-7936

(TDD) – (651) 361-7878

 

 

 

 

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updated 12/11/2007