§ 4.21 - General provisions.

§ 4.21 General provisions.

(a) Effect of decision pending appeal. Except as otherwise provided by law or other pertinent regulation:

(1) A decision will not be effective during the time in which a person adversely affected may file a notice of appeal; when the public interest requires, however, the Director or an Appeals Board may provide that a decision, or any part of a decision, shall be in full force and effective immediately;

(2) A decision will become effective on the day after the expiration of the time during which a person adversely affected may file a notice of appeal unless a petition for a stay pending appeal is filed together with a timely notice of appeal; a petition for a stay may be filed only by a party who may properly maintain an appeal;

(3) A decision, or that portion of a decision, for which a stay is not granted will become effective immediately after the Director or an Appeals Board denies or partially denies the petition for a stay, or fails to act on the petition within the time specified in paragraph (b)(4) of this section.

(b) Standards and procedures for obtaining a stay. Except as otherwise provided by law or other pertinent regulation:

(1) A petition for a stay of a decision pending appeal shall show sufficient justification based on the following standards:

(i) The relative harm to the parties if the stay is granted or denied,

(ii) The likelihood of the appellant's success on the merits,

(iii) The likelihood of immediate and irreparable harm if the stay is not granted, and

(iv) Whether the public interest favors granting the stay;

(2) The appellant requesting the stay bears the burden of proof to demonstrate that a stay should be granted;

(3) The appellant shall serve a copy of its notice of appeal and petition for a stay on each party named in the decision from which the appeal is taken, and on the Director or the Appeals Board to which the appeal is taken, at the same time such documents are served on the appropriate officer of the Department; any party, including the officer who made the decision being appealed, may file a response to the stay petition within 10 days after service; failure to file a response shall not result in a default on the question of whether a stay should be granted; service shall be made by delivering copies personally or by sending them by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested; and

(4) The Director or an Appeals Board shall grant or deny a petition for a stay pending appeal, either in whole or in part, on the basis of the factors listed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, within 45 calendar days of the expiration of the time for filing a notice of appeal.

(c) Exhaustion of administrative remedies. No decision which at the time of its rendition is subject to appeal to the Director or an Appeals Board shall be considered final so as to be agency action subject to judicial review under 5 U.S.C. 704, unless a petition for a stay of decision has been timely filed and the decision being appealed has been made effective in the manner provided in paragraphs (a)(3) or (b)(4) of this section or a decision has been made effective pending appeal pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of this section or pursuant to other pertinent regulation.

(d) Finality of decision. No further appeal will lie in the Department from a decision of the Director or an Appeals Board of the Office of Hearings and Appeals. Unless otherwise provided by regulation, reconsideration of a decision may be granted only in extraordinary circumstances where, in the judgment of the Director or an Appeals Board, sufficient reason appears therefor. Requests for reconsideration must be filed promptly, or within the time required by the regulations relating to the particular type of proceeding concerned, and must state with particularity the error claimed. The filing and pendency of a request for reconsideration shall not operate to stay the effectiveness of the decision involved unless so ordered by the Director or an Appeals Board. A request for reconsideration need not be filed to exhaust administrative remedies.

[36 FR 7186, Apr. 15, 1971, as amended at 58 FR 4942, Jan. 19, 1993; 75 FR 64663, Oct. 20, 2010]