Subpart
1.
Authority.
Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section
171.306,
subdivision 4, paragraph (b), the commissioner shall grant an employment
exception variance to a program participant when the conditions of variance
have been satisfied in order for the program participant to drive, operate, or
be in physical control of an employer-owned motor vehicle.
Subp. 2.
Persons not eligible.
The commissioner shall not grant an employment exception
variance to a program participant who is self-employed, or to a person who
wholly or partially owns an entity that owns an employer-owned motor
vehicle.
Subp. 3.
Restrictions and limitations.
A program participant who is granted an employment variance
shall not drive, operate, or be in physical control of any of the
following:
A. a rental car in the
normal course and scope of employment duties;
B. an employer-owned motor vehicle for
personal use; or
C. a Type III
vehicle, within the meaning of Minnesota Statutes, section
169.011, where the
program participant is transporting children under the age of 18 or vulnerable
adults within the meaning of Minnesota Statutes, section
626.5572, subdivision
21.
Subp. 4.
Variance procedure.
The program participant requesting the variance shall submit
the variance request in writing to the commissioner. The request must include a
letter from the program participant's employer that:
A. describes the program participant's need
for use of an employer-owned motor vehicle;
B. specifies the normal course and scope of
employment duties of the program participant;
C. avers that the employer-owned motor
vehicle to be operated by the program participant must display special
registration plates under Minnesota Statutes, section
169A.60;
and
D. must be notarized or
completed in the presence of an authorized representative of the
commissioner.
Subp. 5.
Variance criteria; conditions.
The commissioner shall grant a variance request if:
A. the request was made as prescribed in
subpart
4;
B. the variance will have no potential
adverse effect on public safety;
C.
the variance has only future effect; and
D. the variance does not vary a statutory
standard.
Subp. 6.
Notice of decision.
The commissioner shall notify the program participant in
writing of the commissioner's decision to grant or deny the variance.
A. If the variance is granted, the notice
must specify the period of time for which the variance will be
effective.
B. The commissioner
shall deny the variance request if the commissioner determines that the
criteria in subpart
4 or
5 are not met.
C. If the variance is denied, the denial
notice must specify the reasons for the denial and indicate that the program
participant may request a review of the commissioner's decision. A person who
disagrees with a decision of the commissioner issued under this part may
request a contested case hearing. The request for a contested case hearing must
be submitted in writing to the commissioner within 15 days of the date of the
commissioner's decision. The request for a contested case hearing must set out
in detail the reasons why the person contends the decision of the commissioner
should be reversed or modified. If the commissioner receives a written request
for a contested case hearing, the commissioner shall schedule a hearing within
30 days after the request is received under the procedures in Minnesota
Statutes, sections
14.57
to
14.62, and the
contested case rules of the Office of Administrative Hearings in parts
1400.5010 to
1400.8400. The decision of the
administrative law judge shall be submitted to the commissioner for the
commissioner's consideration. The commissioner's decision on the issue under
appeal is the final decision of the department.
D. The program participant must have proof of
the variance in the program participant's possession while driving, operating,
or being in physical control of the employer-owned motor vehicle.
E. If the program participant violates the
conditions attached to the variance, the program participant is subject to the
enforcement actions and penalties attached to the applicable law or
rule.
F. The program participant to
whom a variance has been granted shall notify the commissioner in writing
within 15 calendar days of a change in the conditions on which the variance was
granted, or if the program participant is no longer employed by the employer
under whom the variance is granted.
