The Commissioner has delegated to the General Counsel the authority to initiate, withdraw, and settle representative sanction cases against representatives. The General Counsel has redelegated these responsibilities to OGCߴs Office of General Law (OGL).

With respect to the procedures described in this section, the term “General Counsel” also includes any authorized designees of the General Counsel.

As discussed in GN 03970.010D, an entity’s point of contact (POC) is considered a “representative” for purposes of the Rules of Conduct and Standards of Responsibility for Representatives, regardless of whether the POC provides representational services. In addition to suspension or disqualification from serving as a representative before us, an individual who is sanctioned may not serve as a POC.

The General Counsel has authority to initiate sanction proceedings against a representative. OGC prepares a notice of charges and proposed sanctions against the representative, including a POC. If the General Counsel or authorized designee signs the charges, OGC serves this notice on the representative by certified or registered mail to the representative’s last known address. The notice advises the representative to file an answer with OGC stating why the representative should not be suspended or disqualified from acting as a representative before us or from serving as an entity POC and informs the representative that failure to respond in writing will preclude the representative from presenting evidence during any sanctions proceedings.

When a POC is suspended or disqualified, and that sanction becomes final, their entity will become ineligible for direct payment of fees unless or until the entity names a new, qualified POC. In order to provide the entity and POC notice and to allow the entity ample time to name a new POC, if desired, OGC will also address this potential ineligibility in the cover letter to the notice of charges and proposed sanctions served on a POC. We expect the POC to inform their entity of the contents of this notice, any sanctions proceedings, and the ultimate outcome of those proceedings. If the entity does not update its registration with a qualified POC before the existing POC’s sanction becomes final, follow the instructions in GN 03970.060D.4.

The representative's answer must be in writing, signed under oath (or affirmation), and filed within 14 business days from the date of the notice, or from the date the notice was delivered personally to the representative. The representative may request an extension to file an answer and present good cause as to why the representative needs the extension. Upon a finding of good cause, OGC may extend the representative’s time for filing an answer. The representative must file the answer with OGC at the address indicated in the notice. If the representative fails to file an answer, files an untimely answer without good cause, or files a defective answer, the representative will not have the right to present evidence at a hearing. However, even if the representative loses the right to present evidence, the hearing officer may still permit the representative to present a statement about the sufficiency of the evidence or the validity of the proceedings.

If the representative's answer or the available evidence establishes to the satisfaction of OGC that the representative should not be suspended or disqualified from acting as a representative before us or from serving as an entity POC, OGC may withdraw the charges. OGC mails the notice of withdrawal of the charges to the representative at the representative's last known address.

If OGC does not receive an answer within the time allowed, or withdraw the charges, OGC will ask the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO), Office of the Chief Administrative Law Judge, to designate an administrative law judge to serve as the hearing officer to adjudicate the case.

A representative may accept a proposed sanction by submitting to OGC a signed written statement in which the representative waives the right to a hearing and agrees to accept the sanction. On receipt of the statement, OGC may impose the proposed sanction or reject the statement. If OGC rejects the statement, OGC may:

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  Ask the representative to sign an acceptable statement;

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  Attempt to enter into a settlement agreement with the representative; or

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  Proceed with the sanction case.

Only the General Counsel may enter into settlement agreements with representatives to resolve sanction cases. The General Counsel may settle a case even before filing charges against a representative.

The parties may agree to any terms that are not in violation of Federal law or regulation. If the parties sign a settlement agreement before the General Counsel asks OHO to designate a hearing officer, the agreement becomes effective according to the terms of the agreement. If the parties sign the settlement agreement after OHO designates a hearing officer, the agreement becomes effective when the designated hearing officer enters the agreement into the record, issues an order accepting the agreement, and dismisses the General Counsel's request for a hearing.

Example: If a representative collected money from a claimant without authorization in the amount of $3,000 and later returns the $3,000 pursuant to the FO’s request, the FO may close the case in their systems but make a referral to OGC.  In this circumstance, FO staff must not inform the representative that the matter is closed because OGC may open a matter to investigate the representative’s conduct regarding the initial collection of the unauthorized fee.

Refer questions regarding this section to OGC using the contact information in GN 03970.070.