R 408.22233 Hearing officers or other officials; powers and duties.

Rule 1233. (1) A hearing officer designated to preside over a hearing shall have all powers necessary or appropriate to conduct a fair, full, and impartial hearing, including the power to. (a) Administer oaths and affirmations. (b) Rule upon offers of proof and receive relevant evidence. (c) Provide for the taking of testimony by deposition. (d) Regulate the course of the hearings, set the time and place for continued hearings, and fix the time for filing of briefs and other documents. (e) Consider and rule upon procedural requests. (f) Hold conferences for the settlement or simplification of the issues by consent of the parties. (g) Make, or to cause to be made, an on-site visit to the place of employment involved. (h) Prepare proposed decisions. (2) Except to the extent required for the disposition of ex parte matters, a hearing officer shall not consult a person or a party on any fact at issue, unless upon notice and opportunity for all parties to participate. (3) When a hearing officer deems himself disqualified to preside over a particular hearing, he shall withdraw therefrom by notice on the record directed to the director. A party who deems a hearing officer for any reason to be disqualified to preside, or to continue to preside, over a particular hearing, may file with the director, a motion to disqualify and remove the hearing officer. The motion shall be supported by affidavits setting forth the alleged grounds for disqualification. The director shall rule upon the motion.