What to Expect During a Telephone Hearing

1. 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.
2. 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. 
3. 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 give all your proof to the Judge. You should also tell the Judge if the Agency said something wrong. 
   • You may also find it useful to provide supporting evidence to the Judge which supports your story. The evidence in writing you give to the Judge 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 that you want to testify to support your case, tell the Judge that you would like them to call the witness and provide the judge with the phone number where your witness can be reached. 
   • The Judge and the Agency may ask you or your witness questions. Answer them as best you can. 
4. You will not receive a decision at the hearing. The Judge will tell you that a decision will arrive in mail.

If your notice says your hearing will happen in the morning, then you will receive a call between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. If the notice says your hearing will take place in the afternoon, then you will receive a call between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm. Make sure that you take the steps outlined below to prepare your phone.

Someone from the OTDA might call you the day before your scheduled hearing to remind you about your fair hearing.

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.

You will receive a phone call from the Judge, who will call you from a blocked phone number. 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

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.

You may be able to request that the 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 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.

If you missed the phone call because you lost access to telephone service, you should notify the 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 on What if I miss my Fair Hearing.

If the county or Health Plan representative does not appear at your fair hearing, the ALJ can draw a “negative inference” or “adverse inference” from that failure. That means that you should ask the ALJ 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 is appears on page three of a GIS message, which can be found at: https://otda.ny.gov/policy/gis/2020/20DC076.pdf