§ 501.21 - Delegation of authorities.

§ 501.21 Delegation of authorities.

(a) Authority and delegation. Section 105 of Reorganization Plan No. 7 of 1961, August 12, 1961, authorizes the Commission to delegate, by published order or rule, any of its functions to a division of the Commission, an individual Commissioner, an administrative law judge, or an employee or employee board, including functions with respect to hearing, determining, ordering, certifying, reporting or otherwise acting as to any work, business or matter. In subpart A of this part, the Commission has delegated general functions, and in this subpart C it is delegating miscellaneous, specific authorities set forth in §§ 501.23, et seq., to the delegatees designated therein, subject to the limitations prescribed in subsequent subsections of this section.

(b) Deputies. Where bureau or office deputies are officially appointed, they are hereby delegated all necessary authority to act in the absence or incapacity of the director or chief.

(c) Redelegation. Subject to the limitations in this section, the delegatees may redelegate their authorities to subordinate personnel under their supervision and direction; but only if this subpart is amended to reflect such redelegation and notice thereof is published in the Federal Register. Under any redelegated authority, the redelegator assumes full responsibility for actions taken by subordinate redelegatees.

(d) Exercise of authority; policy and procedure. The delegatees and redelegatees shall exercise the authorities delegated or redelegated in a manner consistent with applicable laws and the established policies of the Commission, and shall consult with the General Counsel where appropriate.

(e) Exercise of delegated authority by delegator. Under any authority delegated or redelegated, the delegator (Commission), or the redelegator, respectively, shall retain full rights to exercise the authority in the first instance.

(f) Review of delegatee's action. The delegator (Commission) or redelegator of authority shall retain a discretionary right to review an action taken under delegated authority by a subordinate delegatee, either upon the filing of a written petition of a party to, or an intervenor in, such action; or upon the delegator's or redelegator's own initiative.

(1) Petitions for review of actions taken under delegated authority shall be filed within ten (10) calendar days of the action taken:

(i) If the action for which review is sought is taken by a delegatee, the petition shall be addressed to the Commission pursuant to § 502.69 of this chapter.

(ii) If the action for which review is sought is taken by a redelegatee, the petition shall be addressed to the redelegator whose decision can be further reviewed by the Commission under paragraph (f)(1)(i) of this section, unless the Commission decides to review the matter directly, such as, for example, in the incapacity of the redelegator.

(2) The vote of a majority of the Commission less one member thereof shall be sufficient to bring any delegated action before the Commission for review under this paragraph.

(g) Action - when final. Should the right to exercise discretionary review be declined or should no such review be sought under paragraph (f) of this section, then the action taken under delegated authority shall, for all purposes, including appeal or review thereof, be deemed to be the action of the Commission.

(h) Conflicts. Where the procedures set forth in this section conflict with law or any regulation of this chapter, the conflict shall be resolved in favor of the law or other regulation.