BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY

STATE OF MONTANA

 

In the matter of the adoption of NEW RULE I requests for information, the amendment of ARM 24.11.101, 24.11.317, 24.11.511, and 24.11.534, and the repeal of ARM 24.11.901, 24.11.902, 24.11.903, 24.11.904, 24.11.907, 24.11.908, 24.11.909, and 24.11.2231 regarding unemployment insurance

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CORRECTED NOTICE OF AMENDMENT

 

TO: All Concerned Persons

 

          1. On April 16, 2015, the Department of Labor and Industry (department) published MAR Notice No. 24-11-304 pertaining to the public hearing on the proposed adoption, amendment, and repeal of the above-stated rules at page 357 of the 2015 Montana Administrative Register, Issue Number 7. On May 14, 2015, the department published an amended notice of public hearing on the proposed adoption, amendment, and repeal of the above-stated rules at page 510 of the 2015 Montana Administrative Register, Issue Number 9.  

 

2. On July 16, 2015, the department published a Notice of Adoption, Amendment, and Repeal of the above-stated rules at page 932 of the 2015 Montana Administrative Register, Issue Number 13. In that notice, the department stated that no public comments had been received.

 

          3. The department has determined that one comment, regarding ARM 24.11.317, was timely submitted and received, but was inadvertently overlooked following the close of the comment period. The department has now thoroughly considered the comment that was received. A summary of the comment received and the department's response is as follows:

 

Comment 1: A third party administrator for various employers in Montana expressed concern that, due to recent changes in the USPS processes, employers may not receive timely notice of a rescheduled hearing.  The commenter suggested that subsection (5) of the rule be amended to allow shorter notice only upon the agreement of the parties or a waiver of the notice period. 

 

Response 1:  The department recognizes that it must provide reasonable notice to the parties of the time and place of a prehearing conference and of the hearing as a matter of due process.  Balancing the need for timely decisions on unemployment insurance benefits with providing adequate notice of a hearing, the department concludes that after the initial 10 days' written notice of a matter has been given to the parties, the department may reasonably provide shorter notice of a rescheduled hearing. As an example, a party might, at the last minute, show good cause for a continuance. In that situation, the department would reschedule the hearing and provide notification to the parties via telephone, fax, or e-mail of the new (rescheduled) date and time for the unemployment insurance hearing. In order to address the concerns raised by the commenter, the department will amend ARM 24.11.317(5) as shown in paragraph 4, below.

 

          4. The department has amended ARM 24.11.317 as proposed, but with the following changes from the original proposal, new matter underlined, deleted matter interlined:

 

          24.11.317 NOTICE OF HEARINGS (1) through (4) remain as adopted.

          (5) The advance notice requirements in (2) and (3) do not apply to rescheduled hearings or rescheduled prehearing conferences, if the parties have been given reasonable notification of the new date and time.

 

          AUTH: 39-51-301, 39-51-302, MCA

          IMP:     39-51-1109, 39-51-2407, MCA

 

 

 

/s/ MARK CADWALLADER         /s/ PAM BUCY      

Mark Cadwallader                        Pam Bucy, Commissioner

Rule Reviewer                             DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY

 

         

Certified to the Secretary of State September 14, 2015.