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Wage and Hour Hearing Info
INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR WAGE AND HOUR HEARING
If the Wage and Hour Unit of the Department of Labor and Industry has transferred your case to the Hearings Bureau because one of the parties to the case has disagreed with the determination made at Wage and Hour, and has requested a hearing. The hearing is a new opportunity to present testimony and other evidence concerning the claim for wages to an independent hearing officer.
The first step in the hearing process is a telephone conference. The notice of hearing contains a date and time for the telephone conference. At the conference, the hearing officer will clarify the issues in the case and discuss what preparation is required before the hearing can begin and will set schedules for the hearing and any other prehearing activity. In most cases, the hearing date will be within 30 - 60 days of the telephone conference. The hearing officer will call the parties at the telephone numbers provided on the hearing notice. If you are not available for the conference, you should designate someone to attend for you with authority to commit to dates for the hearing schedule. The hearing officer will issue a hearing order following the telephone conference.
Filing and exchanging copies of exhibits. Copies of documents from the Wage and Hour Unit investigative file are enclosed with the notice of hearing. Unless otherwise noted in the packet, this is a complete copy of the investigative file. The documents are numbered to allow their use at the hearing by either party.
You will need to provide any additional documents or demonstrative evidence you believe are necessary to substantiate your case to the hearing officer and to the opposing party. Claimant must mark his or her proposed exhibits with consecutive numbers in the lower right hand corner of each page; Respondent must mark its proposed exhibits with consecutive letters in the lower right hand corner.
The hearing officer may refuse to admit exhibits not exchanged by the date established at the scheduling conference. Exhibits which are not admitted at the hearing, including those from the Wage and Hour Unit investigative file, will not be part of the record.
Filing and exchanging witness lists. You must file with the hearing officer and provide to the other party a list of witnesses you intend to have testify at the hearing. The hearing officer may refuse to allow testimony from witnesses not identified by the deadline established at the scheduling conference.
Witness attendance and subpoenas. You are responsible to arrange for the attendance of the witnesses you plan to have testify at the hearing. If you require subpoenas to ensure the attendance of any witness, you must request the hearing officer to issue subpoenas.
Final pre-hearing conference and pre-hearing order. If necessary in this case, the hearing officer will conduct a final pre-hearing conference by telephone at the date and time specified in the order. The hearing officer will issue a hearing order after the conference.
Hearing. The hearing is scheduled to be conducted by telephone. However, you may request a hearing in which the hearing officer, the claimant, the employer, and any witnesses are present in person to hear and present testimony and evidence. If you prefer an in-person hearing, you should notify the hearing officer of this at the telephone conference.
Submitting documents to the Hearings Bureau. Direct all documents to the Hearings Bureau, Department of Labor and Industry, P.O. Box 1728, Helena, Montana 59624. You must also send a copy of any documents submitted to the hearing officer to the opposing party in this matter and note on the copy sent to the hearing officer that you have done so. Allow sufficient mailing time for the Hearings Bureau to receive them on or before the required filing date listed in the pre-hearing schedule. You may fax documents of 20 or fewer pages to the Hearings Bureau for filing at (406) 444-2689, provided that you mail an original of the document for receipt by the Bureau within 3 working days.
Settlement. The Department encourages the parties to explore alternatives to hearing such as compromise and settlement. Upon request, the hearing officer or another Department staff member will provide mediation assistance to the parties.
Reasonable accommodation. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodation in order to participate in this hearing should contact the Hearings Bureau at least two weeks prior to the hearing to permit sufficient time to arrange for the requested accommodation. In particular, please note that we will attempt to relocate an in-person hearing to permit participation by individuals with mobility impairments. We will also arrange in-person hearings in lieu of telephone hearings to accommodate individuals with hearing impairments. Please contact the hearing officer's administrative assistant at the phone number listed in the notice if your participation will require an accommodation.
