How Does a Fair Hearing Work?
An Administrative Law Judge (Judge) will begin the hearing by identifying all of the parties to the hearing and stating what the hearing is about.
The NYC/County Agency representative will explain their side of the story and try to show the Judge that they are right. They will present evidence and may have witnesses to prove their arguments.
You can now tell your side of the story. While you are speaking, tell your whole story and give all your proof to the judge. You should also tell the judge if the agency representative said something wrong.
The Judge will tell you that the decision will come in a mail.
You will meet these people at a Fair Hearing:
- An Administrative Law Judge (the “Judge” ) who is employed by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) will conduct the hearing, listen to your defense, review evidence from both parties, and make the final judgment. A list of common questions that ALJ asks in Fair Hearings can be found here.
- A representative of your local social services agency (the “Agency” ) that made the decision on your public benefits will be there to explain and defend the decision.
- You and/or your advocate (e.g., a friend or a lawyer) will be there to present your arguments and challenge their decision.
- If needed, an interpreter for you will be present.
- If you have witnesses, they can be present.
Please read more in the Common Questions section below if you have further questions.
Common Questions
Who should I call for my Fair Hearing?
Review your fair hearing scheduling notice closely. Sometimes you will have to call-in for your telephone hearing. Other times, you will have to wait for the Judge to call you directly. You may also be scheduled in person. Check your Fair Hearing scheduling notice!
**Warning! The language in the scheduling notice about calling in or getting a call language is easy to miss.**
Example of a “call-out” notice: You will receive a call from the Judge. Morning hearings: You must be ready from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Afternoon hearings: You must be ready from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. You should make sure that your phone is able to accept blocked calls. This will usually show up on your phone as “Unknown Caller” or “No Caller ID.” Instructions on how to make sure your phone is able to accept blocked calls, along with other instructions for preparing your phone are described on the previous page How to Prepare for Your Fair Hearing.
Example of a “call-in” notice: You will have to call the Judge to attend your Fair Hearing:
Make sure you call within your 40 minute window of time (10 minutes before or 30 minutes after). Be prepared for long holds and to type in your Fair Hearing number. Check out How to Prepare for Your Fair Hearing for more information on how to do call in/call out Fair Hearings.
Who will speak during my Fair Hearing and in what order?
- The Judge should begin the hearing by identifying all of the parties to the hearing and stating what the hearing is about.
- The judge will begin the hearing by describing why the hearing is being held. Tell the Judge if you have asked for a hearing for a different reason. However, you cannot change the issue at your fair hearing to something different than you requested.
- The Judge should make sure that the entire hearing is going on the record (which means it is being recorded). This recording may help if you lose your fair hearing and would like to appeal.
- The Judge may use technical language to describe what the hearing is about. Please ask the Judge to clarify any word, phrase, or language if you are unsure what it means.
- If the Judge does not say at the beginning of your hearing that he or she has your evidence, you should tell the judge what evidence you submitted and when and how you submitted it. Proof of how you submitted your evidence may be useful.
- The Agency’s representative will then explain its side of the story and try to show the Judge that they are right. They will also provide the Judge with their evidence. They may also provide witnesses to prove their arguments.
- After the representative speaks, you have the right to ask them questions about the statements they made and the documents they presented. This is the “cross-examination.”
- Be sure to tell the Judge if you do not have the agency’s evidence packet. If you requested the Agency’s evidence, you mention this and you should include your request for evidence as evidence for your case and provide it to the judge.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions and tell the Judge if you disagree. Ask the Judge to explain any papers or anything the agency says that you don’t understand.
- After the representative speaks, you will have your chance to tell your side of the story. While you are speaking, tell your whole story and make sure the Judge has received your evidence beforehand. If you have new or additional evidence that you didn’t submit earlier, let the Judge know. . You should also tell the Judge if the Agency representative said something about your case that was incorrect.
- You can submit supporting evidence to the Judge which helps prove your case. This evidence is called an exhibit. When talking about your evidence, you should provide a page number and exhibit name, or describe which evidence you are referring to so that the other parties can follow along with you.
- If you have a witness who can help explain your situation, you can ask the Judge to call them into the hearing. Provide the Judge with the name and phone number where your witness can be reached. The Judge and the Agency may ask you or your witness questions. Answer the questions as best you can.
- You will not receive a decision at the hearing. The Judge will tell you that a decision will arrive in mail.
What should I do if I do not have access to a telephone?
You should notify the OTDA at the earliest possible time so that they can arrange for another way for you to have your hearing. If you don’t do this, the OTDA might think you no longer wish to have your hearing and will consider it abandoned.
You can make this request by mail at:
NYS OTDA
Office of Administrative Hearings
P.O. Box 1930
Albany, NY 12201-1930
You can also visit the OTDA in person at:
Office of Administrative Hearings
14 Boerum Place, 1st Floor (Between Adams and Livingston Streets)
Brooklyn, New York 11201
Monday – Friday: 8:45 AM – 4:30 PM
Or
Office of Administrative Hearings
Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
40 North Pearl Street
Albany, New York 12243
You may also try to make this request via email at: oahrequests@dos.ny.gov. Please be sure to use your fair hearing number in the subject line of the email.
If you do not reside in New York City, the OTDA may try to accommodate you by working with District Offices to identify locations and methods for your participation in a Fair Hearing.
What happens if I forget to call or do not answer the phone call and miss my Fair Hearing?
For a call out, the Judge will leave voice messages when possible for you and your authorized representatives who fail to answer their phones. The Judge will call you and your authorized representatives two times during the scheduled hearing period, with at least twenty minutes between calls.
If you do not answer the phone and participate in the hearing, the request for a Fair Hearing may be abandoned.
For a call in, if you do not call the Judge 30 minutes after your appointment time, the request for a Fair Hearing may be abandoned.
You may be able to request that OTDA reopen and reschedule your Fair Hearing. You must provide a good reason (“good cause”) for failing to participate at the scheduled hearing within one year from the date of your failure to appear.
You may request a reopening of your Fair Hearing in a few ways. You can request either by 1) filling out an Online Request, 2) by mailing or faxing the printable form, 3) by telephone, or, 4) in person. Instructions for doing so can be found at the following link.
If using U.S. mail, please take delivery time into account to ensure the request is delivered timely.
What happens if I lost telephone service?
If you missed the phone call or appointment time because you lost access to telephone service, you should notify OTDA at the earliest possible time. After you regain access to telephone service, you should check your voicemail to see if you received any information from the Judge about how to contact them.
You can also try to request a reopening of your hearing and explain that you missed the hearing because you lost access to telephone services. Find more instructions below.
What if I miss my hearing?
If you miss your Fair Hearing, you may be able to request that OTDA reopen and reschedule your Fair Hearing. You must provide a good reason (“good cause”) for failing to appear at the scheduled hearing within one year from the date of your failure to appear.
You may request a reopening of your Fair Hearing in a few ways. You can request either 1) by submitting an Online Reopening Form, 2) by mailing or faxing a Printable Reopening Form, 3) by telephone, or, 4) in person. The forms are available in many non-English languages. More instructions can be found on OTDA’s website
If using U.S. mail, please take delivery time into account to ensure the request is delivered timely.
What happens if I call in or appear at my Fair Hearing and the County or Health Plan representative does not appear?
If the county or Health Plan representative does not appear at your Fair Hearing, the Judge can draw a “negative inference” or “adverse inference” from that failure. That means that you should ask the Judge to decide the case in your favor because the other side did not appear. The way to do that is to say:
“Your honor, because the county/the health plan has not appeared, I ask that you draw a negative inference and rule in my favor. The authority for this request appears on page three of a policy document, GIS message, which can be found at: https://otda.ny.gov/policy/gis/2020/20DC076.pdf
