Division Cautions Parties Against Ex Parte Communications with Hearings Officials
Two senior regulators for the Division of Workers’ Compensation’s hearings department have issued a memorandum reminding system participants that, while a contested case hearing is pending at the DWC, they are not allowed to contact DWC managers or other staff for the purpose of indirectly or directly influencing the hearing officer or the Appeals Panel in the performance of their duties.
The memorandum, written by Kerry Sullivan, Deputy Commissioner for Hearings and Daniel Barry, Appeals Panel Director outlines several prohibitions that they describe as barring attorneys (and other system participants) from communicating with division staff for the purpose of encouraging staff to intervene with the hearing officer. They also bar attorneys from communicating informally with the Appeals Panel in an effort to influence the Appeals Panel’s action on an appeal—including its decision whether to write on a case or to allow it to go final administratively.
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