[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR34.20]

[Page 142-143]
 
                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS
 
                     CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE
 
PART 34--COLLECTION OF DEBTS--Table of Contents
 
                        Subpart C--Salary Offset
 
Sec. 34.20  Hearings.

    (a) If an employee timely files a request for a hearing under 
Sec. 34.19, STATE shall select the time, date, and location of the 
hearing.
    (b) Hearings shall be conducted by a hearing official not under the 
control or authority of STATE.
    (c) Procedure.
    (1) After the employee requests a hearing, the hearing official or 
administrative law judge shall notify the employee of the form of the 
hearing to be provided. If the hearing will be oral, notice shall set 
forth the date, time and location of the hearing. If the hearing will be 
paper, the employee shall be notified that he or she should submit 
arguments in writing to the hearing official or administrative law judge 
by a specified date after which the record shall be closed. This date 
shall give the employee reasonable time to submit documentation.

[[Page 143]]

    (2) Oral hearing. An employee who requests an oral hearing shall be 
provided an oral hearing if the hearing official or administrative law 
judge determines that the matter cannot be resolved by review of 
documentary evidence alone (e.g. when an issue of credibility or 
veracity is involved). The hearing is not an adversarial adjudication, 
and need not take the form of an evidentiary hearing. Oral hearings may 
take the form of, but are not limited to:
    (i) Informal conferences with the hearing official or administrative 
law judge, in which the employee and agency representative will be given 
full opportunity to present evidence, witnesses, and argument;
    (ii) Informal meetings with an interview of the employee; or
    (iii) Formal written submissions, with an opportunity for oral 
presentation.
    (3) Paper hearing. If the hearing official or administrative law 
judge determines that an oral hearing is not necessary, he or she will 
make the determination based upon a review of the available written 
record (5 U.S.C. 5514).
    (4) Record. The hearing official must maintain a summary record of 
any hearing provided by this subpart. See 4 CFR 102.3. Witnesses who 
testify in oral hearings will do so under oath or affirmation.
    (5) Content of decision. The written decision shall include:
    (i) A statement of the facts presented to support the origin, 
nature, and amount of the debt;
    (ii) The hearing official's findings, analysis, and conclusions; and
    (iii) The terms of any repayment schedules, if applicable.
    (6) Failure to appear. In the absence of good cause shown (e.g. 
excused illness), an employee who fails to appear at a hearing shall be 
deemed, for the purpose of this subpart, to admit the existence and 
amount of the debt as described in the notice of intent. The hearing 
official shall schedule a new hearing date upon the request of the 
creditor agency representative when good cause is shown. Both parties 
shall be given reasonable notice of the time and place of the new 
hearing.

[54 FR 13365, Apr. 3, 1989; 54 FR 28416, July 16, 1989]