(a) Hearings may be conducted in-person or
virtually by telephone, videoconference or other electronic means.
(1) Any hearing conducted all or in part
virtually by telephone, videoconference, or other electronic means must be
sufficiently audible that it can be clearly recorded and made part of the
official record of the hearing. The hearing officer will grant a continuance of
the hearing if at any time the audibility is such that it cannot be clearly
recorded.
(2) If a
hearing is held
virtually by telephone, videoconference, or other electronic means, each party
shall ensure that all witnesses called by that party:
(A) Have access to appropriate equipment to
participate in the hearing,
(B)
Have all information necessary to log in, connect, or otherwise participate in
the hearing, including, web links, passwords, or telephone numbers,
(C) Have in their possession a copy of all
exhibits and discovery. Exhibits and discovery shall be provided to the witness
ten or more business days before the date set for the commencement of the
hearing.
(D) Failure to follow the
provisions of this section shall result in exclusion of the evidence and/or
witness.
(b)
A party may object to all or part of a
hearing being held virtually by
telephone, videoconference, or other electronic means.
(1) Any objection to conducting all or part
of a hearing held virtually by telephone, videoconference, or other electronic
means must be made at the time the hearing is requested or scheduled.
(2) No objection to conducting all or part of
a
hearing by telephone, videoconference, or other electronic means shall be
granted absent a showing of facts demonstrating the following:
(A) Actual prejudice arising from holding the
hearing virtually by telephone, videoconference, or other electronic means;
and
(B) No reasonable actions could
be taken to avoid the prejudice.
(3) The hearing officer may grant or deny the
objection or may, in their discretion, deny the objection and make such orders
or structure the hearing to address the specific issues or prejudice raised by
the objection.
