The decision on whether the circumstances justify the granting
of a waiver shall be made at the sole discretion of the director upon
consideration of all relevant factors. The director may bring a request for a
waiver to the commission for discussion prior to issuing a decision on the
waiver The director shall notify the commission of any waiver granted or
denied.
(1) The
director may, in
response to a completed petition or on the
director's own motion, grant a
waiver from a rule, in whole or in part, as applied to the circumstances of a
specified situation if the
director finds each of the following:
a. Application of the rule to the person at
issue would result in hardship or injustice to that person; and
b. Waiver on the basis of the particular
circumstances relative to that specified person would be consistent with the
public interest; and
c. Waiver in
the specific case would not prejudice the substantial legal rights of any
person; and
d. Waiver in the
specific case would not have a negative impact on any person affected by the
waiver
In determining whether a waiver should be granted, the director
shall consider the public interest, policies and legislative intent of the
statute on which the rule is based. When the rule from which a waiver is sought
establishes administrative deadlines, the director shall balance the special
individual circumstances of the petitioner with the overall goal of uniform
treatment of all constituents.
(2) Special waiver rules not precluded. These
uniform waiver rules shall not preclude the director from granting waivers in
other contexts or on the basis of other standards if a statute or other
department rule authorizes the director to do so and the director deems it
appropriate to do so.
(3) Time
period of waiver. A waiver shall not be permanent unless the petitioner can
show that a temporary waiver would be impracticable. If a temporary waiver is
granted, there is no automatic right to renewal. At the sole discretion of the
director, a waiver may be renewed if the director finds that grounds for the
waiver continue to exist.
