If you desire a hearing, you must file a request for a hearing with the Docketing Clerk, citing the docket number assigned to your Section 741 Complaint Request. When the Docketing Clerk receives your request for a hearing, your Section 741 Complaint Request will be assigned to an ALJ. The Docketing Clerk will send a notice of your hearing request to OCR and the agency, notifying them of the docket number and the assigned ALJ. The Docketing Clerk also will send you a notice of receipt of the hearing request that will inform you of the name of the assigned ALJ.

Under section 741, you have a right to a hearing as part of the process for USDA to render a final determination on your eligible complaint. However, if at any time the ALJ determines that your complaint is not an eligible complaint, he or she may dismiss your complaint with a final determination and USDA review of your complaint will then have been completed. You also are not entitled to a hearing if there are no material issues of fact in dispute between you and USDA. In other words, if the only dispute remaining is a question of law, you will not receive a hearing and the ALJ will make a final determination under § 15f.16.

(a) What are the powers of the ALJ? The ALJ is responsible for conducting a hearing at your request on your Section 741 Complaint Request. He or she will have all powers prescribed in these rules and will make a proposed determination on your complaint. The proposed determination then will become the final determination after 35 days, unless the ASCR reviews the proposed determination.

(b) What is an ex parte communication? An ex parte communication is a communication by one party to a proceeding with the ALJ outside of the presence of, or without notice to, the other parties to a proceeding. Ex parte communications in the proceedings on your complaint are prohibited and will be handled as follows:

(1) The ALJ will not engage in ex parte communications regarding the merits of a complaint with any party or with any person having any interest in the proceedings on the complaint, including OCR and any person in an advocacy or investigative capacity, at any time between the assignment of a hearing to him or her and the issuance of a proposed determination. This prohibition does not apply to:

(i) Discussions of procedural matters related to the complaint; or

(ii) Discussions of the merits of the complaint where all parties to the proceeding on the complaint have been given notice and an opportunity to participate.

(2) In the case of a communication described in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section, a memorandum of any such discussion shall be included in the hearing record.

(3) No party to the proceeding or other interested person shall make or knowingly cause to be made to the ALJ an ex parte communication relevant to the merits of the complaint.

(4) If the ALJ receives an ex parte communication in violation of this section, the ALJ will place in the written record:

(i) All such written communications;

(ii) Memoranda stating the substance of all such oral communications; and

(iii) All written responses to such communications, and memoranda stating the substance of any oral responses to such communications.

(c) Upon receipt of a communication knowingly made or knowingly caused to be made by a party in violation of this section the ALJ may, to the extent consistent with the interests of justice and the policy underlying these proceedings, require the party or other interested person making the communication to show cause why such party's claim or interest in the complaint should not be dismissed, denied, disregarded, or otherwise adversely affected on account of such violation.

Within 20 days after you have filed your request for a hearing, ALJ shall file with the Docketing Clerk a notice stating the time, place, and manner of the hearing. The ALJ will have due regard for the public interest and the convenience and necessity of the parties in determining the time, place, and manner of the hearing. The notice will state whether the hearing will be conducted by telephone, audiovisual telecommunication, or personal attendance of any individual expected to participate in the hearing. The Docketing Clerk will send copies of the notice to the complainant and to all other parties to the proceeding.

The first step in this process involves a response to your hearing request by OCR. OCR will turn over its entire file on your complaint to the ALJ. OCR also will file a report with the ALJ stating its position with respect to whether or not your complaint is an eligible complaint, with reasons for its position, as well as stating its position with respect to the merits of your complaint. OCR must turn over its file and make its report on its position on your complaint within 35 days. OCR must provide a copy to you of anything it provides to the ALJ.

(a) At any time after the parties have been notified of your hearing request, you may file a request with the ALJ to make a determination based on the written record. With your request, you should file any other arguments or evidence that you wish the ALJ to consider. The agency and OCR will have 35 days after you file your request to file any additional information, arguments, or evidence for the consideration of the ALJ. The ALJ may recommend dismissal of your complaint on the basis of a finding that it is not an eligible complaint; recommend denial of your eligible complaint on the merits; or make a proposed finding of discrimination on your eligible complaint and recommend to award you such relief as would be afforded under the applicable statute or regulation under which the eligible complaint was filed. The ALJ will make a proposed determination on your complaint based on the original complaint, the Section 741 Complaint Request, the OCR report, and any other evidence or written documents filed by the parties. The proposed determination will become the final determination 35 days after it is filed unless you request review of the proposed determination by the ASCR. The ASCR also may review the proposed determination on his or her own initiative. If the ASCR reviews the decision, he or she will allow the parties a reasonable opportunity to file briefs in support of or opposition to the proposed determination, and afterwards will issue a final determination within 35 days after you request review of the proposed determination.

(b) To the maximum extent practicable, a final determination will be made within 180 days of your filing of the Section 741 Complaint Request.

(a) Do I need to file another answer or pre-hearing brief? You may file a pre-hearing brief in support of your complaint.

(b) Will there be a pre-hearing conference? The ALJ may hold a pre-hearing conference. If such a conference is to be held, the notice of the pre-hearing conference also will contain a notice to the parties of a time and date for the pre-hearing conference. Pre-hearing conferences normally will be held by telephone. Issues that may be addressed at the pre-hearing conference may include: simplification of the issues; the possibility of obtaining stipulations of fact and of the authenticity of documents; limitation of the number of witnesses; exchange of copies of hearing exhibits; negotiation, compromise or settlement of issues; identification of documents of which official notice will be requested; a schedule for completion of the actions decided upon at the conference; and any other matters that may aid and expedite the conclusion of the proceeding. No transcript of the pre-hearing conference will be made but the ALJ will issue a written memorandum summarizing the results of the pre-hearing conference.

(c) What else may the ALJ ask for before the hearing? Prior to the hearing, the ALJ may require each of the parties to furnish any or all of the following: an outline of a party's position with respect to the complaint, the facts upon which the party intends to rely, the legal theories upon which the party intends to rely, copies of or a list of the documents and exhibits which the party anticipates on introducing at the hearing, and a list of anticipated witnesses.

(a) A party may request an order from the ALJ to take the testimony of any person by deposition upon oral examination or written interrogatories before any officer authorized to administer oaths at the place of examination, for use as evidence. The application for the order must specify the reason and need for taking testimony by deposition.

(b) The time, place, and manner of taking depositions will be as mutually agreed by the parties, or failing agreement, by order of the ALJ.

(c) No testimony taken by depositions will be considered as part of the evidence in the hearing until such testimony is offered and received in evidence at the hearing, and ordinarily it will not be received into evidence if the deponent is present and can testify at the hearing. However, when the deponent is present and can testify, the deposition may be used to contradict or impeach the testimony of the deponent given at the hearing. Where you have requested a final determination by the ALJ based on the written record without a hearing, the ALJ, in his or her discretion, may receive depositions to supplement the record.

(d) Each party will bear its own expenses associated with the taking of any deposition.

In most cases, there will be no parties to a proceeding under these rules, other than the complainant, OCR, and, and if it so desires, the agency. However, if there are circumstances in which additional parties have an interest in the proceeding, such as a bank which participated in a case involving a guaranteed loan, such other interested parties may be permitted to participate in the proceeding at the discretion of the ALJ.

No. USDA has no statutory authority to subpoena witnesses to testify at the hearing.

(a) Who may appear at the hearing? You may appear at the hearing in person or through your attorney. OCR or the agency will appear through a designated representative, which may include a USDA attorney. Any person who appears as counsel must conform to the standards of ethical conduct required of practitioners before the courts of the United States.

(b) What happens if I fail to show up? If, after having received notice of the hearing under § 15f.14, you fail to appear at the hearing without good cause, you will have waived your right to a hearing in the proceeding and the ALJ may proceed to issue a final determination based on the written record as provided for under § 15f.16.

(c) Which party presents its case first at the hearing? You, as the complainant, will proceed first at the proceeding, unless otherwise determined by the ALJ.

(d) What kind of evidence will be admitted and how will it be handled?—(1) In general. The hearing will be conducted by the ALJ in the manner he or she determines most likely to obtain the facts relevant to the matter or matters at issue. The ALJ may confine the presentation of facts and evidence to pertinent matters and exclude irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence, information, or questions. Each party will have the opportunity to present oral and documentary evidence, oral testimony of witnesses, and arguments in support of the party's position; controvert evidence relied on by any other party; and question all witnesses. The testimony of witnesses at a hearing will be on oath or affirmation and will be subject to cross-examination. Any evidence may be received by the ALJ without regard to whether that evidence could be admitted in judicial proceedings. Upon a finding of good cause, the ALJ may order that any witness be examined separately and apart from all other witnesses except those who may be parties to the proceeding.

(2) Objections. (i) If a party objects to the admission of any evidence or to the limitation of the scope of any examination or cross-examination or to any other ruling of the ALJ, the party must state briefly the grounds of such objection.

(ii) Only objections made before the ALJ may subsequently be relied upon in the proceeding.

(3) Depositions. The deposition of any witness will be admitted in the manner provided in and subject to the provisions of § 15f.18(c) of these rules.

(4) Exhibits. Unless the ALJ finds that the furnishing of copies is impracticable, two copies of each exhibit must be filed with the ALJ. A party submitting an exhibit must provide every other party (except interested parties) a copy of the exhibit one week before the hearing. A true copy of an exhibit may be substituted for the original.

(5) Official records or documents. An official government record or document or entry therein, if admissible for any purpose, will be admissible in evidence without the production of the person who made or prepared the same, and will be prima facie evidence of the relevant facts stated therein. Such record or document must be evidenced by an official publication thereof or a copy certified by a person having legal authority to make such certification.

(6) Official notice. Official notice will be taken of such matters as are judicially noted by the courts of the United States and of any other matter of technical, scientific, or commercial fact of established character if the parties are given adequate notice of matters so noticed, and the parties will be given adequate opportunity to show that such facts are erroneously noticed.

(7) Offer of proof. Whenever evidence is excluded by the ALJ, the party offering such evidence may make an offer of proof, which must be included in the transcript. The offer of proof should consist of a brief statement describing the evidence excluded. If the evidence consists of a brief oral statement, it must be included in the transcript in its entirety. If the evidence consists of an exhibit, it must be marked for identification and inserted in the hearing record.

(8) Interlocutory review. Interlocutory review of rulings by the ALJ will not be permitted.

(9) Transcript or recording. (i) Hearings to be conducted by telephone will be recorded verbatim by electronic recording device. Hearings conducted by audio-visual telecommunication or by the personal attendance of parties and witnesses must be transcribed, unless the ALJ finds that recording the hearing verbatim would expedite the proceeding and the ALJ orders the hearing to be recorded verbatim. The ALJ must certify that to the best of his or her knowledge and belief any recording made pursuant to this paragraph with exhibits that were accepted into evidence is the record of the hearing.

(ii) If a hearing is recorded verbatim, a party requests the transcript of a hearing or part of a hearing, and the ALJ determines that the disposition of the proceeding would be expedited by a transcript of the hearing or part of a hearing, the ALJ shall order the verbatim transcription of the recording as requested by the party.

(iii) The costs of transcription or verbatim recordings will be paid for by USDA and charged to the agency whose action gave rise to the complaint at issue. Copies of recordings or transcripts of hearings will be made available to any party at the actual cost of duplication.

The ALJ will fix a reasonable time for filing posthearing briefs, proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, and if permitted, reply briefs. Briefs should include a summary of evidence relied upon together with references to exhibit numbers and citations to the transcript and authorities relied upon. Briefs must be filed with the Docketing Clerk with copies to all parties.

The original complaint, the Section 741 Complaint Request, the OCR report, the agency answer, the transcript of testimony, exhibits, affidavits, depositions, briefs, memoranda of law, and all pleadings, motions, papers, and requests filed in the proceeding, including rulings, and the proposed determination by an ALJ (if applicable) shall constitute the exclusive record for the final determination.

(a) The ALJ will make a proposed determination orally at the close of a hearing, or in writing within 35 days. The ALJ may recommend dismissal of your complaint on the basis of a finding that it is not an eligible complaint; recommend denial of your eligible complaint on the merits; or make a proposed finding of discrimination on your eligible complaint and recommend to award you such relief as would be afforded under the applicable statute or regulation under which the eligible complaint was filed. The proposed determination will become the final determination 35 days after it is made, unless you request review of the proposed determination by the ASCR. The ASCR also may review the proposed determination on his or her own initiative. If the ASCR reviews the proposed determination, he or she will allow the parties a reasonable opportunity to file briefs in support or opposition to the proposed determination, and afterwards file a final determination within 35 days after you request review of the proposed determination.

(b) To the maximum extent practicable, a final determination will be filed within 180 days after you filed your Section 741 Complaint Request.

If you prevail on your eligible complaint, either in whole or in part, after a proceeding before an ALJ under the procedures in this subpart, you may be eligible for an award of attorneys fees as a prevailing party under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 5 U.S.C. 504. To get an EAJA award, you must file an application for such fees with the ALJ within 30 days after the final determination is made. Instructions for filing an EAJA application and obtaining an EAJA award are contained in 7 CFR part 1, subpart J. The ALJ must follow those rules, and not these Section 741 Complaint Request rules, in making any EAJA award.