The Office of Fair Hearings will send you a notice telling you the date and time of your Fair Hearing. The notice will include a list of guidelines that explain what your rights are at the Fair Hearing.
At the Fair Hearing, you and the OPA will each present your argument to an impartial judge called an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). You or an advocate can present evidence, bring in witnesses, and ask the OPA representative questions to support your argument for why the decision is wrong.
The OPA representative can also present evidence, bring in witnesses, and ask you questions to support their argument of why the decision was correct. When you ask the OPA representative questions that is called cross examination. The OPA representative may also cross examine you.
Most Fair Hearings happen over the phone. So, if you have any documents that you want to use as evidence, you need to make sure you send copies to the Office of Fair Hearings before your hearing.
The ALJ will listen to both sides before making a decision. Most ALJs don’t make a decision at the Fair Hearing. Instead, the ALJ will usually end the hearing and then write a decision at a later date. The ALJ will send you their decision in the mail.
The written decision will tell you how you can appeal if you don’t agree with the ALJ’s decision.