What does a judge do when a claimant requests a hearing where there is already a hearing decision on the same issue and the claimant indicates that the request for hearing was intended to be a request for rehearing?

A hearing request shall be dismissed when the identical issue, which the claimant is protesting, has already been the subject of a previous state hearing involving the claimant. (§22-054.34)

The Director shall grant or deny the request for rehearing no earlier than five nor later than 15 working days after the Chief Administrative Law Judge receives it. If the Director does not act within this period, the request for rehearing shall be deemed denied. (§22-065.3)

If a judge determines that a request for hearing was actually intended to be a request for rehearing, the judge should write a decision dismissing the claim under Section 22-054.34. The judge should determine whether the claimant has also requested a rehearing on the same issue. If the claimant has not requested a rehearing on the same issue, the judge should note in the Summary and the Conclusion of Law sections of the decision that the matter will be referred to the State Hearings Division (SHD) Rehearing Unit.

If the first decision was an abandonment dismissal and the Department has not voided that decision, the judge must dismiss the claim even if the Department reopened the case instead of voiding the initial decision.

The judge will prepare a memo (addressed to the SHD Rehearing Unit) briefly explaining that the request was intended to be a rehearing request. The judge will follow the normal procedure and submit the decision for adoption. Support staff will process the decision as usual.

The decision and case file must be sent directly to the SHSS Rehearing Unit Mail Station 19-37, Attn: Lori Malone.

The Rehearing Unit will handle the case from that point and the request and initial case will be sent to the appropriate Department for rehearing review.