Procedures and Requirements for Rescheduling

(A) Rescheduling Before the Day of the Hearing. (1) BOH may change the date, time, and location of the hearing upon due notice to the parties involved. (2) For good cause shown as defined in 130 CMR 610.048(D), BOH may, at the request of any party to a hearing, reschedule the hearing provided that the request is received before the date of the hearing. If the BOH Director or his or her designee concludes that the request does not constitute good cause, the request will be denied. (3) If a party does not request to reschedule or is denied a request to reschedule and fails to attend the hearing, the appeal will be dismissed. (4) BOH will inform the parties of the procedures set forth in 130 CMR 610.048(A)(1) through (3). (B) Rescheduling Following Failure to Appear at a Scheduled Hearing. If a party fails to request or requests but does not receive approval to reschedule a hearing and fails to appear at the hearing, BOH will notify the party and any appeal representative in writing (at the address supplied by the party) that, if the party fails to demonstrate good cause within ten days of the notice, the appeal will be considered abandoned by such party. If the party who does not appear is an appellant and if, in the determination of the BOH Director or his or her designee, good cause, as defined in 130 CMR 610.048(D), has not been timely shown by such appellant, the appeal will be dismissed subject to the procedures set forth in 130 CMR 610.048(C), and aid pending, if any, will be discontinued. If the party who fails to appear is a respondent and not an appellant, BOH will issue an appropriate order. The BOH Director or his or her designee may at his or her discretion reschedule a hearing to another date at which time the party who failed to appear at the scheduled hearing will be required to establish good cause for the failure to appear. A finding by the hearing officer that good cause has not been shown will result in dismissal of the appeal. (C) Procedures for an Appellant to Request Vacating a Dismissal. (1) The appellant will be informed by written notice of the dismissal and of the procedures for requesting that the dismissal be vacated. (2) A request to vacate a dismissal must be in writing and must be signed by the appellant. Such request must be received by BOH within ten days of the date of the dismissal notice. If the dismissal is for failure to appear at a hearing, such a dismissal will be vacated by the BOH Director or his or her designee upon a finding that the appellant has shown good cause for (a) failure to appear at a scheduled hearing; and (b) failure to inform BOH before the date of a scheduled hearing of his or her inability to appear at that hearing. (D) Good Cause. (1) The following circumstances may constitute good cause subject to 130 CMR 610.048(D)(2): (a) a death in the family; (b) a personal injury or illness that reasonably prevents the party from attending the hearing; (c) a sudden and serious emergency or act of nature that reasonably prevents the party from attending the hearing; (d) an obligation or responsibility that a reasonable person in the conduct of his or her serious affairs would conclude takes precedence over attendance at the hearing; (e) the need for additional time to produce evidence or witnesses or obtain legal assistance; or (f) for the purposes of 130 CMR 610.048(A) only, the agreement of the parties to reschedule. (2) In evaluating a party's good cause claim, the BOH Director or his or her designee considers the following factors: (a) the amount of time during which the party had advance notice of the hearing; (b) the party's ability to anticipate the circumstances that resulted in his or her inability to appear for the hearing; (c) the party's ability to reschedule any conflicting event; (d) delay by the party in notifying BOH of his or her inability to attend the hearing; and (e) previous rescheduling requests or failure to appear for scheduled hearings that indicate a pattern of delay or noncompliance with the fair hearing rules. (3) If a party will be required to show good cause at the hearing, BOH will notify that party in advance that a hearing officer will address that issue. The party will also be notified that the party may bring documentation and witnesses in support of the good cause claim and that failure to demonstrate good cause may result in dismissal of the appeal.