This part explains which units of the Board are authorized to make initial determinations with respect to entitlement to benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and waiver of recovery of overpayments under that Act. This part explains how notice of such determinations is to be communicated to the claimant and to his or her base-year employer(s) and how these determinations may be appealed.

As used in this part—

Base-year employer means the railroad employer(s) for whom a claimant worked and earned compensation creditable under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act during the base year. The base year is the calendar year immediately preceding the benefit year for which a claim is being filed. A benefit year is generally the period July 1 through the following June 30.

Party means the claimant, the base-year employer(s), or any person so designated under this part.

An initial determination shall be made with respect to each claim for unemployment or sickness benefits by the appropriate adjudicating office as provided by § 320.6 of this part. Prior to making an initial determination the Board shall provide the claimant's base-year employer(s) and most recent employer if different with notice that a claim has been filed and that the employer(s) has an opportunity to submit information which may be pertinent to the adjudication of the claim. The adjudicating office shall make its determination on the basis of the claimant's application and claim and any relevant information or evidence including any information received from the base-year employer(s). A determination allowing payment of an initial claim shall not establish a presumption that benefits for subsequent claims in the same period of unemployment or sickness are also payable. The Director of Policy and Systems shall issue instructions with respect to the adjudication of claims and initial determination on such claims. If it is found that only part of the benefits claimed may initially be paid, a partial payment shall be made prior to a final decision on the whole claim.

(a) The term “adjudicating office” means any subordinate office of the Board which is authorized to make initial determinations and reconsideration decisions with respect to claims for benefits. The following paragraphs state which offices of the Board are adjudicating offices and define their authority to make determinations or decisions.

(b) Field offices. Field offices are authorized to make initial determinations on the following issues relating to eligibility for unemployment or sickness benefits, as the case may be:

(1) Availability for work;

(2) Voluntary leaving of work, with or without good cause;

(3) Failure to accept work or apply for work or failure to report to an employment office;

(4) Timely registration for unemployment benefits under § 325.2 of this chapter and timely filing of claims for sickness benefits under § 335.4(c) of this chapter;

(5) Receipt of remuneration for claimed days of unemployment or sickness, as the case may be;

(6) Mileage or work restrictions and stand-by or lay-over rules;

(7) Whether the claimant's unemployment is due to a strike.

(8) Whether a claimant's earnings attributable to days in a period for which he or she has registered for unemployment benefits exceed the amount of the applicable monthly compensation base.

(c) Field Service-Headquarters. Field Service-Headquarters staff are authorized to make determinations on any of the issues listed in paragraph (b) of this section. In addition, Field Service-Headquarters staff are authorized to make initial determinations on the following issues:

(1) Erroneous payment of benefits, including fraud;

(2) Applicability of the disqualification in section 4(a-2)(iii) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act if the claimant's unemployment results from a strike against a non-railroad employer by which he is employed;

(3) Determination of the amount of the Board's claim for reimbursement from pay for time lost payments under section 2(f) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act or damages for personal injury under section 12(o) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

(d) Director of Operations. The Director of Operations is authorized to make determinations on all issues of eligibility for unemployment and sickness benefits as set forth in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, and on any other issue not reserved to the Director of Policy and Systems by paragraph (e) of this section.

(e) Director of Policy and Systems. The Director of Policy and Systems shall adjudicate:

(1) The applicability of the disqualification in section 4(a-2)(iii) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act if the claimant's unemployment results from a strike against a railroad employer by which he or she is employed; and

(2) Whether a plan submitted by an employer or other person or company qualifies as a nongovernmental plan for unemployment or sickness insurance, within the meaning of part 323 of this chapter.

(f) Debt Recovery Manager. The Debt Recovery Manager shall adjudicate:

(1) All requests for waiver of recovery of an erroneous payment made under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act; and

(2) Offers of compromise of debts arising out of the benefit provisions of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

(a) Benefits payable. If benefits are payable for a claim, no special notice of the award will be issued to the claimant. A notice of the award will be sent to the base-year employer(s). The amount of benefits due will be certified to the United States Treasury Department for payment.

(b) Benefits not payable. If an initial determination results in denial of a claim, either in whole or in part, the adjudicating office shall issue a notice of the denial within 15 days of the date that it makes its determination. The notice shall explain the basis for the denial of benefits and shall set forth what steps the claimant can take to contest the denial.

(c) Communication of notice of denial. When the adjudicating office mails the denial notice to the claimant's address of record, it shall be considered that notice of the denial has been communicated to the claimant on the date of mailing such notice. If the adjudicating office has been notified that a claimant has an attorney or other representative helping him or her with the claim, a copy of the denial notice shall be sent to the attorney or such other representative.

(a) Content of notice. When an adjudicating office determines that benefits were paid erroneously, that office shall issue to the claimant a notice of the amount of the erroneous payment and the basis for the determination. The notice shall include a statement telling the claimant of his or her right to request reconsideration of the determination, of the provisions for waiver and of his or her right to request waiver.

(b) Communication of notice of erroneous payment. When the adjudicating office mails the erroneous payment notice to the claimant's address of record, it shall be considered that notice of the erroneous payment has been communicated to the claimant on the date of mailing such notice. If the adjudicating office has been notified that a claimant has an attorney or other representative helping him or her with the claim, a copy of the erroneous payment notice shall be sent to the attorney or such other representative.

(a) Request. A claimant shall have the right to request reconsideration of an initial determination under § 320.5 of this part which denies in whole or in part his or her claim for benefits. A claimant shall have the right to request reconsideration of a notice of overpayment under § 320.9 of this part. The base-year employer(s) shall have the right to request reconsideration of an initial determination under § 320.5 of this part which awards in whole or in part a claimant's claim for benefits. A reconsideration request shall be made in writing and addressed to the adjudicating office that issued the initial determination and must be received by the adjudicating office no later than 60 days from the date of the notice of the initial decision. A railroad employer may fulfill the written request requirement by using an electronic system that has been approved by the agency in the manner prescribed by the agency.

(b) Review of evidence. Upon request, the party requesting reconsideration shall have an opportunity to review all evidence and documents that pertain to the initial determination. The Board shall made all reasonable efforts to protect the identity of the source of adverse evidence.

(c) Notice of decision. The adjudicating office shall, as soon as possible, render a decision on the request for reconsideration. If a decision rendered by a district office, as the adjudicating office, sustains the initial determination, either in whole or in part, the decision shall be referred to the appropriate Field Service-Headquarters staff for review prior to issuance. The party who requested reconsideration shall be notified, in writing, of the decision on reconsideration no later than 15 days from the date of the decision or, where the Field Service-Headquarters staff has conducted a review of the decision, within 7 days following the completion of the review. If the decision results in denial of benefits, the claimant shall be notified of the right to appeal as provided in § 320.12 of this part. If the decision results in payment of benefits, the base-year employer(s) shall be notified of the right to appeal as provided in § 320.12 of this part.

(d) Right to further review of initial determination. The right to further review of a determination made under § 320.5 or § 320.9 of this part shall be forfeited unless a written request for reconsideration is filed within the time period prescribed in this section or good cause is shown by the party requesting reconsideration for failing to file a timely request for reconsideration. A railroad employer may fulfill the written request requirement by using an electronic system approved by the agency in the manner prescribed by the agency.

(e) Timely request for reconsideration. In determining whether either the claimant or the base-year employer(s) has good cause for failure to file a timely request for reconsideration, the adjudicating office shall consider the circumstances which kept either the claimant or the base-year employer(s) from filing the request on time and whether any action by the Board misled either of them. Examples of circumstances where good cause may exist include, but are not limited to:

(1) A serious illness which prevented the claimant from contacting the Board in person, in writing, or through a friend, relative or other person;

(2) A death or serious illness in the claimant's immediate family which prevented him or her from filing.

(3) The destruction of important and relevant records;

(4) A failure to be notified of a decision;

(5) The existence of an unusual or unavoidable circumstance which demonstrates that either the claimant or the base-year employer(s) would not have known of the need to file timely or which prevented either of them from filing in a timely manner; or

(6) The claimant thought that his or her representative had requested reconsideration.

(a) Time limitation. The claimant shall have 60 days from the date of the notification of the erroneous payment determination in which to file a request for waiver, except that where an erroneous payment is not subject to waiver in accordance with § 340.10(e) of this chapter, waiver may not be requested and recovery will not be stayed. Such requests shall be made in writing and be filed by mail or in person at any Board office. The claimant shall, along with the request, submit any evidence and argument which he or she would like to present in support of his or her case. A request solely for reconsideration of an overpayment shall not be considered a request for waiver under this section but shall be treated as a request for reconsideration under § 320.10 of this part.

(b) Recovery action. Where a claimant has made a timely request for waiver of recovery, no action will be taken to recover the erroneous payment by setoff against current benefits prior to a decision on such request; provided however, That the Board may, prior to a decision, withhold the amount of the erroneous payment from benefit payments under any of the following circumstances:

(1) The claimant admits he or she was at fault in causing the overpayment;

(2) The claimant is found to have committed fraud;

(3) The claimant authorizes recovery by setoff or agrees to repayment; or

(4) The amount of erroneous payment is not subject to waiver or provided for in § 340.10(e) of this chapter.

(c) Review of evidence. Upon request, the claimant shall have an opportunity to review all evidence and documents that pertain to the erroneous payment determination.

(d) Decision. The Debt Recovery Manager shall make a decision on the claimant's request for waiver of recovery and shall notify the claimant accordingly. The decision of the Manager shall include the basis of the decision, setting forth his or her reasons for the decision including the impact, if any, of any evidence submitted by the base-year or last employer. If the Manager decides that waiver of recovery is not appropriate, the adjudicating office shall wait 15 days from the date of the notification of the waiver decision before taking any action to recover the erroneous payment. If the Manager decides that recovery should be waived, any amount of the erroneous payment so waived but previously recovered by setoff shall be refunded to the claimant.

(e) Appeal. If the Debt Recovery Manager decides that waiver of recovery is not appropriate, the claimant shall have the right to appeal such decision as provided under § 320.12 of this part.

(f) Requests made after 60 days. Nothing in this section shall be taken to mean that waiver of recovery will not be considered in those cases where the request for waiver is not filed within 60 days, but action to recover the erroneous payment will not be deferred if such request is not filed within 60 days, and any amount of the erroneous payment recovered prior to the date on which the request is filed shall not be subject to waiver under part 340 of this chapter. Further, it shall not be considered that a claimant prejudices his or her request for waiver by tendering all or a portion of an erroneous payment or by selecting a particular method of repaying the debt. However, no waiver consideration shall be given to a debt which is settled by compromise.

(g) Evidence provided by base-year employer(s) and most recent employer, if different. In making a decision under paragraph (d) of this section, the Debt Recovery Manager shall consider all evidence of record including any evidence submitted by the claimant's base-year employer(s) and the most recent employer, if different. Where a claimant has requested waiver the Manager shall notify his or her base-year employer(s) and the most recent employer, if different, of the right to submit, within 30 days, any information which may be pertinent to the waiver decision.

(a) Any party aggrieved by a decision under § 320.10 of this part or a claimant aggrieved by a decision under § 320.11 of this part may appeal such decision to the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals. Such an appeal shall be made by filing the form prescribed by the Board for such purpose. The appeal must be filed with the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals within 60 days from the date upon which notice of the decision on reconsideration or waiver of recovery was mailed to either a claimant or the base year employer(s). Any written request stating an intent to appeal which is received within the 60-day period will protect the claimant's or base-year employer's right to appeal, Provided that the claimant or base-year employer files the appeal form within the later of the 60-day period from the date of the reconsideration decision, or the 30-day period following the date of the Board's letter sending the appeal form to the claimant or base-year employer.

(b) If no appeal is filed within the time limits specified in paragraph (a) of this section, the decision of the adjudicating office under §§ 320.10 or 320.11 of this part shall be considered final and no further review of such decision shall be available unless the hearings officer finds that there was good cause for the failure to file a timely appeal as described in § 320.10 of this part.

(c) Where a timely appeal seeking waiver of recovery of an erroneous payment has been filed with the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals, the Board shall not commence recovery of the erroneous payment by suspension or reduction of a monthly benefit payable by the Board until a decision with respect to such appeal seeking waiver has been made and notice thereof has been mailed to the claimant.

Within a reasonable time after a party has filed a properly executed appeal, the Director of Hearings and Appeals shall appoint a hearings officer to act in the appeal. Such hearings officer shall not have any interest in the parties or in the outcome of the proceeding, shall not have directly participated in the initial determination from which the appeal is made, and shall not have any other interest in the matter which might prevent a fair and impartial hearing. In any case in which employee status or creditability of compensation is an issue, the hearings officer shall receive evidence and report to the Board thereon with recommendations. In all other cases, the hearings officer shall consider and decide the appeal; in each such case where the hearings officer determines that an issue of fact exists, the parties shall have the right to a hearing.

(a) Claimant files an appeal. Where the claimant has filed an appeal under § 320.12 of this part the hearings officer shall notify the claimant's base-year employer(s) that such an appeal has been filed and shall provide the base-year employer with a statement of issues on appeal. The hearings officer shall inform the base-year employer(s) that such employer(s) shall have a right to be present at any hearing which is to be held under this part and the right to submit evidence with respect to the issues on appeal. Within 30 days of the date of such notice a base-year employer shall provide the hearings officer with a statement in writing which summarizes the evidence which such employer intends to present with respect to the issues on appeal, which indicates whether the employer wishes to be present at any hearing which may be held, and which designates who will represent the employer with respect to the appeal. An employer who fails to respond in the time prescribed shall be barred from further participation in the appeal and shall forfeit any further right to review as provided for in this part.

(b) Base-year employer files an appeal. Where a base-year employer files an appeal under § 320.12 of this part, the hearings officer shall notify the claimant that such an appeal has been filed and shall provide the claimant with a statement of issues on appeal. The hearings officer shall inform the claimant that he or she or a duly authorized representative shall have a right to be present at any hearing which is to be held under this part and the right to submit evidence with respect to the issues on appeal. Within 30 days of the date of such notice the claimant shall file with the hearings officer an election to participate in the appeal. A claimant who fails to file an election in the time prescribed shall be barred from further participation in the appeal and shall forfeit any right of review as provided for in this part.

In the development of an appeal, the hearings officer shall have the power to hold hearings, require and compel the attendance of witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, and make all necessary investigations.

(a) Notification of parties. At the discretion of the hearings officer, any hearing required under this part may be held in person, by telephone conference call, or by video teleconferencing as described in § 320.25(d). 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. If an individual objects to having a hearing by video teleconferencing, the hearings officer will find the individual's wish not to appear by video teleconferencing to be a good reason for changing the time or place of the scheduled hearing and will reschedule the hearing for a time or place where a telephone conference call or an in person hearing will be held. 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.

(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.

(a) Manner of conducting hearing. The hearing shall be informal, fair, and impartial, and shall be conducted in such manner as to ascertain the substantial rights of the parties. The hearing shall not be open to the public.

(b) Evidence presented in support of appeal. (1) Any party, or his or her representative, shall be afforded full opportunity to present evidence upon any controversial question of fact, orally or in writing or by means of exhibits; to examine and cross-examine witnesses; and to present argument in support of the appeal.

(2) The formal rules of evidence shall not apply; however, the hearings officer may exclude evidence which he or she finds is irrelevant or repetitious. Any evidence excluded by the hearings officer shall be described and that description made part of the record.

(3) If, in the judgment of the hearings officer, evidence not offered is available and is relevant and material to the merits of the claim, the hearings officer may obtain such evidence upon his or her own initiative. If new evidence is obtained after an oral hearing, other than evidence submitted by a party or his representative, the hearings officer shall provide the parties or their representatives with a copy of such evidence. In such event, any party shall have 30 days to submit rebuttal evidence or argument or to request a supplemental hearing to confront and challenge such new evidence. Any party may move for an extension of time to submit rebuttal evidence or argument and the hearings officer may grant the motion upon a showing of good cause.

(c) Where no oral hearing required. Where the hearings officer finds that no factual issues are presented by an appeal, and the only issues raised by the parties are issues concerning the application or interpretation of law, the parties or their representatives shall be afforded full opportunity to submit written argument in support of their position but no oral hearing shall be held.

(d) Hearing by telephone or video teleconferencing. As stated in § 320.22(a), at the discretion of the hearings officer, any hearing required under this part may be conducted in person, by telephone conference call, or by video teleconferencing. The hearings officer may determine the hearing should be conducted by telephone conference call or video teleconferencing if use of these methods would be more efficient than conducting an in person hearing and the hearings officer does not determine that there is a circumstance in the particular case preventing the use of these methodologies to conduct the hearing.

The hearings officer will make a record of the material evidence. The record will include the applications, written statements, reports, and other documents that were used in making the determination under review and any other additional evidence the appellant or any other party to the hearing presents in writing. If a hearing was held in the appeal, the tape recording of the hearing will be part of the record while the appeal is pending. The hearings officer's decision will be based on the record. The entire record at any time during the pendency of the appeal shall be available for examination by any party or by his or her duly authorized representative.

As soon as practicable after the completion of the record, the hearings officer shall render his decision, or submit his report to the Board, as may be appropriate in the case. The decision or report shall be based on the record and shall be in writing. Such decision shall contain a brief statement of (a) the issue or issues raised, (b) the evidence submitted, (c) findings of fact, (d) the decision made, and (e) the reasons therefor. Such report shall contain a statement of (1) the issue or issues raised, (2) the evidence submitted, (3) findings of fact, (4) conclusions of law, (5) recommendations as to the decision to be made by the Board, and (6) such discussion of the foregoing as the hearings officer may desire to present to the Board. Within 15 days after rendition of the decision or submission of the report, a copy of the decision or report shall be mailed to each party at the last address of record. In the case of a report, a copy of the transcript of the hearing, if any was held, shall also be mailed to each party.

A decision of the hearings officer, subject to review as hereinafter provided, shall be binding upon any adjudicating office and upon all parties;

(a) With respect to the initial determination involved, and

(b) With respect to other initial determinations, irrespective of whether they have been appealed, which involved the same parties and which were based upon the same issue or issues determined in the decision of the hearings officer.

The Board may, on its own motion, review a decision of the hearings officer on the basis of the evidence previously submitted in the case, and may designate any employee of the Board to take additional evidence and to report his findings to the Board.

Any claimant aggrieved by a decision of the hearings officer and any base-year employer(s) whose employee was awarded benefits, who participated in the appeal before the hearings officer, may appeal to the Board for review of the decision.

(a) An appeal to the Board from the decision of a hearings officer shall be filed on the form provided by the Board and shall be executed in accordance with the instructions on the form. Such appeal shall be filed within 60 days from the date upon which notice of the decision of the hearings officer was mailed to the parties. The right to further review of a decision of a hearings officer shall be forfeited unless formal final appeal is filed in the manner and within the time prescribed in this section. Any written request stating an intent to appeal which is received within the 60-day period will protect the claimant's right to appeal, Provided that the claimant files the appeal form within the later of the 60-day period following the date of the hearing officer's decision, or the 30-day period following the date of the letter sending the appeal form to the claimant. However, when a party fails to file an appeal before the Board within the time prescribed in this section, the Board may waive this requirement if along with the final appeal, the party in writing requests an extension of time. The request for an extension of time must give the reasons why the final appeal form was not filed within the time limit prescribed in this section. If in the judgment of the Board the reasons given establish that the party has good cause for not filing the final appeal form within the time limit prescribed, the Board will consider the appeal to have been filed in a timely manner. The Board will use the standards found in § 320.10(e) of this part in determining if good cause exists.

(b) Where a timely appeal seeking waiver of recovery of an erroneous payment has been filed with the three-member Board, the Board shall not commence recovery of the erroneous payment by suspension or reduction of a monthly benefit payable by the Board until a decision with respect to such appeal seeking waiver has been made and notice thereof has been mailed to the claimant.

Upon the filing of an appeal to the Board from a decision of a hearings officer, the Secretary to the Board shall notify all parties to the decision of the hearings officer that an appeal has been filed. The parties shall not have the right to submit additional evidence, except that:

(a) The Board may permit the submission of additional evidence upon a showing by a party that he or she has additional evidence to present which, for valid reasons, he or she was unable to present at an earlier stage;

(b) The Board may request the submission of additional evidence; and

(c) The Board may designate any employee of the Board to take additional evidence and to report his or her findings to the Board. Any such additional evidence shall be submitted in such manner as the Board may indicate and shall be included in the record.

(d) Any party may submit additional argument in writing with the appeal to the Board. No party shall have the right to an oral presentation before the Board except where the Board so permits. Such presentation may be limited in form, subject matter, length, and time as the Board may indicate to the parties.

(a) After submission to the Board of a hearings officer's report, in an appeal involving employee status or the creditability of compensation, any party to the proceeding may, within twenty days after the mailing to him of a copy of the report, file with the Board and serve upon other parties by mailing to their last addresses of record such exceptions in writing as he desires to make to the hearings officer's findings of fact and conclusions of law. Each exception shall specifically designate the particular finding of fact or conclusion of law to which exception is taken, and shall set forth in detail the grounds of the exception. General exceptions and exceptions not specifically directed to particular findings of fact or conclusions of law will not be considered. Each party shall have ten days after the receipt of exceptions taken by other parties in which to file with the Board replies to the exceptions. The Board may, upon the application of any party and for cause shown, extend the time for filing and serving of exceptions or filing of replies thereto. The hearings officer's report shall be advisory but shall be presumed to be correct. Findings of fact to which no exceptions are taken will, subject only to the power of the Board to reject or modify, stand confirmed.

(b) Further argument will not be permitted except upon a showing by any party that he has arguments to present which for valid reasons he was unable to present at an earlier stage, and in cases in which the Board requests further elaboration of arguments. In such cases, the further argument shall be submitted orally or in writing, as the Board may indicate in each case, and shall be subject to such restrictions as to form, subject matter, length, and time as the Board may indicate.

The decision of the Board, whether on an appeal to the Board from a decision of a hearings officer, or after submission of a report by a hearings officer, shall be made upon the basis of the record established in accordance with the foregoing sections. Notice of such decision, together with the Board's findings of fact and conclusions of law in connection therewith, shall, within 15 days from the date on which the decision is made, be mailed to the parties at the latest addresses furnished by them. Subject only to judicial review in accordance with § 320.45, the decision of the Board shall be final and conclusive for all purposes:

(a) With respect to the initial determination involved, and

(b) With respect to other initial determinations, irrespective of whether they have been appealed, which involve the same parties and which were based on the same issue or issues determined in the decision of the Board. In a case in which there has been a hearings officer's report, in an appeal involving employee status or the creditability of compensation, the decision of the Board on all issues determined in such decision shall be final and conclusively establish all rights and obligations, arising under the Act, of every party notified as hereinabove provided of his or her right to participate in the proceedings.

Upon being notified of a decision of the Board made (a) upon review, on the Board's own motion, of a decision of a hearings officer, or (b) upon an appeal to the Board, an aggrieved party may obtain judicial review of such final decision, by filing a petition for review within ninety days after the date on which notice of such decision was mailed to him, or within such further time as the Board may allow, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the circuit in which the party resides or will have had his principal place of business or principal executive office, or in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit or in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

In the event a party to any proceeding within the Board, under the preceding regulations in this part, desires to be represented by another person, he shall file with the Board prior to the time of such representation a power of attorney signed by him and naming such other person as the person authorized to represent him: Provided, however, That without requiring such power of attorney the Board may recognize as the duly authorized representative of the claimant the person designated by the claimant's railway labor organization to act in behalf of members of that organization on such matters whenever such representative acts or appears for such claimant.

(a) General rule. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this section, for purposes of this part, a document or form is filed on the day it is received by an office of the Board or by an employee of the Board who is authorized to receive it at a place other than one of the Board's offices.

(b) Other dates of filing. The Board will also accept as the date of filing the date a document or form is mailed to the Board by the United States mail, if using the date the Board receives it would result in the loss or lessening of rights. The date shown by a U.S. postmark will be used as the date of mailing. If the postmark is unreadable, or there is no postmark, the Board will consider other evidence of when the document or form was mailed to the Board.

(c) Use of electronic mail. By agreement between a base-year employer and the Board, any document required to be filed with the Board or any notice required to be sent to the employer may be transmitted by electronic mail.