§ 6-84. Fair hearing procedure

When a claimant requesting a fair hearing is notified of the date, time, and place of the hearing in writing, he/she will also be given adequate preliminary information about the hearing procedure to allow for effective preparation of his or her case. The claimant shall be permitted to review his or her file prior to the hearing. At a minimum, the claimant will be told the following information, which will govern all fair hearings. All fair hearings will:

(1) Be conducted privately, and will be open only to the claimant, witnesses, legal counsel, or others whom the claimant wants present, and the general assistance administrator, his or her agents, counsel and witnesses;

(2) Be opened with a presentation of the issue by the fair hearing authority;

(3) Be conducted informally, without technical rules of evidence, but subject to the requirements of due process;

(4) Allow the claimant and the administrator the option to present their positions for themselves or with the aid of others, including legal counsel;

(5) Give all participants an opportunity to present oral or written testimony or documentary evidence, offer rebuttal; question witnesses presented at the hearing; and examine all evidence presented at the hearing;

(6) Result in a decision, based exclusively on evidence or testimony presented at the hearing; and

(7) Be tape recorded, and result in a written decision that is given to the claimant and filed with evidence introduced at the hearing. The fair hearing authority will allow the claimant to establish all pertinent facts and circumstances, and to advance any arguments without undue interference. Information that the claimant does not have an opportunity to hear or see will not be used in the fair hearing decision or made part of the hearing record. Any material reviewed by the fair hearing authority must be made available to the claimant or his or her representative. The claimant will be responsible for preparing a written transcript if he/she wishes to pursue court action.

The fair hearing authority shall admit all evidence if it is the kind of evidence upon which reasonable persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs (22 M.R.S.A. § 4322).

(a) Claimant's failure to appear. In the event the claimant fails to appear, the FHA will send a written notice to the claimant that the GA administrator's decision was not altered due to the claimant's failure to appear. Furthermore, the notice shall indicate that the claimant has five (5) working days from receipt of the notice to submit to the GA administrator information demonstrating "just cause," for failing to appear. For the purposes of a claimant's failure to appear at a fair hearing, examples of "just cause" include:

(1) A death or serious illness in the family;

(2) A personal illness which reasonably prevents the party from attending the hearing;

(3) An emergency or unforeseen event which reasonably prevents the party from attending the hearing;

(4) An obligation or responsibility which a reasonable person in the conduct of his or her affairs could reasonably conclude takes precedence over the attendance at the hearing; or

(5) Lack of receipt of adequate or timely notice; excusable neglect, excusable inadvertence, or excusable mistake.

If the claimant (or their attorney) establishes just cause, the request for the hearing will be reinstated and a hearing rescheduled.

In the event a claimant who is represented by legal counsel fails to appear at a fair hearing, legal counsel shall not testify in place of the claimant on matters of "fact" but may cross examine witnesses and make "legal" arguments on behalf of the claimant.

(Ord. of 4-28-2008, Art. VII, § 7.4)