[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR320.22]

[Page 528-529]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
                  CHAPTER II--RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
 
PART 320_INITIAL DETERMINATIONS UNDER THE RAILROAD UNEMPLOYMENT 
 
Sec. 320.22  Notice of hearing.

    (a) Notification of parties. In any case in which an oral hearing is 
to be held, the hearings officer shall schedule a time and place for the 
conduct of the hearing. The hearings officer shall promptly notify the 
party or parties to the proceeding by mail as to said time and place for 
the hearing. The notice shall include a statement of the specific issues 
involved in the case. The hearings officer shall make every effort to 
hold the hearing within 150 days after the date the appeal is filed.
    (b) Notice of objection. A party to the proceeding may object to the 
time and place of the hearing, or as to the stated issues to be 
resolved, by filing a written notice of objection with the hearings 
officer. The notice of objection shall clearly set forth the matter 
objected to and the reasons for such objection, and, if the matter 
objected to is the time and place of the hearing, said notice shall 
further state that party's choice as to the time and place for the 
hearing. Said notice of objection shall be filed at the earliest 
practicable time, but in no event shall said notice be filed later than 
five business days prior to the scheduled date of the hearing.
    (c) Ruling on objection. The hearings officer shall rule on any 
objection timely filed by a party under this section and shall notify 
the party of his or her ruling thereon. The hearings officer may for 
good cause shown, or upon his or her own motion, reschedule the time 
and/or place of the hearing. The hearings officer also may limit or 
expand the issues to be resolved at the hearing.
    (d) Failure to appear or to file objection. If neither a party nor 
his or her representative appears at the time and place scheduled for 
the hearing, that party shall be deemed to have waived his or her right 
to an oral hearing unless said party either filed with the hearings 
officer a notice of objection showing good cause why the hearing should 
have been rescheduled, which notice was timely filed but not ruled upon, 
or, within 10 days following the date on which the hearing was 
scheduled, said party files with the hearings officer a motion to 
reschedule the hearing showing good cause why neither the party nor his 
or her representative appeared at the hearing and further showing good 
cause as to why said party failed to file at the prescribed time any 
notice of objection to the time and place of the hearing.

[[Page 529]]

    (e) Rescheduling the hearing. If the hearings officer finds either 
that a notice of objection was timely filed showing good cause to 
reschedule the hearing, or that the party has within 10 days following 
the date of the hearing filed a motion showing good cause for failure to 
appear and to file a notice of objection, the hearings officer shall 
reschedule the hearing. If the hearings officer finds that the hearing 
shall not be rescheduled, he or she shall so notify the party in 
writing.

[53 FR 2488, Jan. 28, 1988]