§3246 Administrative adjudication

Summary

People who apply for financial help under this law, or recipients who were ordered to take corrective action or given a penalty, can ask for a hearing before an administrative law judge at the Department of Labor if they disagree with the Secretary’s decision. The judge’s decision becomes the Secretary’s final decision unless someone files written objections with the Secretary within 20 days after getting the judge’s decision. If you don’t raise a specific objection in those 20 days, you lose it. After an objection is filed, the Secretary has 30 days to say the case will be reviewed. If the Secretary accepts it, the Secretary must decide within 180 days or else the judge’s decision becomes final. Other rules elsewhere in the law also apply to any final decision.