Department of Personnel Administration

DPA's Appeal Process

DPA's jurisdiction over employee appeals covers only the sort of issues listed in the examples and defined in DPA Rule 599.906 (for rank-and-file employees) and DPA Rule 599.859 (for excluded employees). Before you contact the Statutory Appeals Unit about your appeal issue, please refer to the examples and the DPA Rules to be sure your issue falls under DPA's jurisdiction.

When an employee's rights are affected by a particular MOU, actions otherwise appealable under the civil service statutes may be only arbitrated or grievable for members of the particular bargaining unit. In those situations, affected employees are only entitled to the remedy set forth in the MOU.

Deadlines

The deadline to file an appeal is 30 days after being served notice or, if no notice was served, within 30 days after the action that generated the appeal, unless the Government Code and case law dictates a different timeframe. For example, a request to be reinstated after an AWOL resignation must be filed within 15 days after the employee is served written notice of separation.

When a document is sent by fax to DPA or is personally served upon DPA, it's considered "filed" on the date it's actually received at DPA. When a document is sent to DPA by first class, certified, express, or overnight mail, it's considered "filed" on the date postmarked on the envelope.

In some cases, DPA may extend a filing deadline up to 30 days if it finds good cause for the late filing. For more detail, refer to "Late Filings."

Appeals must be brought to hearing within three years unless both sides agree otherwise, in writing, and submit a copy of that agreement to DPA.

How to file

Your appeal must be filed in writing (DPA Rule 599.895). The written appeal must state the facts it's based upon and the relief being requested. It must provide sufficient detail to explain what type of statutory appeal is involved and who the parties are (DPA Rule 599.903).

The appeal or inquiry must include your name, address, job classification, Social Security number, and department where you are/were employed. This information will help DPA process the appeal in a timely manner.

Also include a copy of the notice of document on which the appeal is based. Do not send any other documents. These may be introduced at hearing.

Where to file

The appeal can be filed by fax (916-322-5709), mail, or personal service. Electronic filings or communications are not accepted.

When a document is sent by fax to DPA or is personally served upon DPA, it's considered "filed" on the date it's actually received at DPA. When a document is sent to DPA by first class, certified, express, or overnight mail, it's considered "filed" on the date postmarked on the envelope.

If the appeal is filed by mail or personal service, it must be addressed to:

Department of Personnel Administration

Statutory Appeals Unit

1515 "S" Street, North Building, Suite 400

Sacramento, CA 95814-7243

Do not send appeals to the State Personnel Board (SPB), DPA's Executive Office, or DPA's Legal or Labor Division. Failure to send non-merit statutory appeals to the Statutory Appeals Unit may delay processing of the appeal.

Late filings

If the appeal is filed late, the employee is not entitled to a hearing and the appeal will be denied.

However, DPA Rule 599.904 allows DPA except as otherwise provided by statute, case law, and/or regulation to extend the filing deadline up to 30 days if good cause can be shown for the late filing.

DPA Rule 599.904 applies to most non-merit statutory appeals, but it does not apply to requests to set aside resignations. DPA has the discretion to schedule a jurisdictional hearing to resolve the matter of good cause. The purpose of this hearing is limited to resolving disputed issues of fact regarding the reason the appeal was filed late. In lieu of this jurisdictional hearing, DPA may use an internal review process to consider arguments from the parties and/or their representatives to determine good cause for the late filing.

Hearing procedures

Appeals received by the Statutory Appeals Unit go to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), who reviews the appeal to verify that DPA has jurisdiction and that the appeal has been filed in a timely manner. If there are unresolved issues regarding jurisdiction (including timeliness), the matter may initially be set for a jurisdictional hearing.

If the appeal is within DPA's jurisdiction and is filed within the appropriate timeframe, DPA may set the matter for a hearing before the ALJ or an alternate hearing officer, or conduct an investigation.

If the matter is set for hearing, the Statutory Appeals Unit will send a "Notice of Time and Place of Hearing" or, in some cases, a "Notice of Pre-hearing Conference" to the parties and/or their representatives. These notices give the name of the parties and their representatives, the time of the hearing or conference, and where the hearing or conference is scheduled. In some cases, the notice will provide additional information regarding the issues to be discussed. The "DPA Statutory Appeals Process" is printed on one side of the Notice of Time and Place of Hearing.

The parties are responsible for providing the Statutory Appeals Unit and the opposing party with accurate mailing addresses and the names of their representatives.

Parties may represent themselves or use an attorney or representative. If you use an attorney or representative, you must notify the Statutory Appeals Unit at DPA to ensure communications are sent to that attorney or representative.

DPA records the hearing, usually by tape recording. The hearing isn't conducted according to technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses, except as explained here or in the DPA rules and laws listed previously.

Each party has the right to call and examine witnesses; to cross-examine opposing witnesses on any matter relevant to the issues even if that matter wasn't covered in the direct examination; and to impeach any witness regardless of which party first called that witness to testify. Witnesses are placed under oath and must testify truthfully. If a witness asks for witness and/or mileage fees, the party who subpoenaed the witness is required by law to pay them.

Each party also has the right to introduce exhibits and rebut evidence.

Witnesses to testify at the hearing and documents to be produced at the hearing may be obtained through the subpoena process, pursuant to Government Code sections 18672-18674. A subpoena and/or subpoena duces tecum must be obtained from the Statutory Appeals Unit. The ALJ may require the purpose of the witness(es) and/or document(s) for which the subpoena and/or the subpoena duces tecum is being requested.

Any documents to be presented at the hearing must be copied ahead of time (in triplicate) and presented to the opposing party and ALJ at the hearing before they can be offered as evidence. Documents to be used as evidence should not be submitted to the ALJ prior to the hearing unless specifically requested.

Any relevant evidence will be admitted if it's the sort of evidence responsible persons are accustomed to rely upon in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule that might make improper the admission of the evidence over objection in a civil action.

Hearsay evidence may be used to supplement or explain other evidence, but if there's a timely objection the ALJ won't consider that evidence by itself sufficient to support a finding unless it would be admissible over objection in a civil action.

The ALJ has discretion to exclude evidence if its value to prove something is substantially outweighed by the probability that its admission will consume an undue amount of time.

Both sides must submit all evidence to the ALJ before the ALJ closes the record. There's no opportunity to submit documents or testimony after the record is closed.

Special hearing needs

If an interpreter or a telephone is needed at the hearing, DPA must be notified in advance. DPA will arrange for the interpreter, although the party requesting the interpreter will be responsible for payment.

The hearing locations are accessible to persons with disabilities. However, if a reasonable accommodation is needed, the Statutory Appeals Unit should be contacted to verify that the accommodation can be arranged.

The parties may want to consider settling the appeal. The ALJ will ask at hearing if the parties have had an opportunity to discuss settlement and may allow a limited amount of time for the parties to engage in settlement discussion. Parties are encouraged to explore settlement prior to the day of hearing.

Rescheduling a hearing

If either party can't attend a hearing as scheduled, the ALJ may allow a postponement ("continuance") if the requesting party demonstrates good cause. Before requesting a continuance, contact the opposing party (or representative) to see if he/she will agree to reschedule and identify possible new hearing dates. Then submit a written request with this information and the reason for the request to the ALJ.

If the ALJ doesn't agree to postpone the hearing, and a party doesn't show up for it, the ALJ has the discretion to treat the appeal as withdrawn. If that occurs, the appealed action will be final.

Proposed decision

After the hearing, the ALJ's proposed decision will be forwarded to the DPA director or the director's designee for final review and decision. The director (or designee) has authority to adopt, modify, augment, or reject the ALJ's proposed decision except where otherwise provided by a contract.

The decision becomes final 30 days after DPA serves the parties with a copy of the decision, unless a proper application for rehearing is made (Rule 599.910).

Petition for rehearing

Rule 599.859 and Rule 599.907 allow the employee (appellant) or employer (respondent) to file a "petition for rehearing" with DPA. The petition must be filed within 30 days of receipt of the decision. It must be faxed, mailed, or delivered to the Statutory Appeals Unit. If the petition is not filed on time, the decision becomes final and DPA loses jurisdiction to act further in the case.

If you file a petition for rehearing, you must show that due process was denied during the original hearing; new and compelling information now exists that was unavailable at the time of the original hearing; factual findings were made and/or omitted in error; and/or the original decision contained legal errors.

Once the Statutory Appeals Unit receives your petition for rehearing, it will notify the other party and ask if the party wishes to respond. The petition also will be forwarded to the DPA director or the director's designee for review. After the director (or designee) completes this review, the matter may be reset for hearing or the petition denied. If a matter is reset for hearing, DPA will send a notice to the parties along with an explanation of the issues to be addressed at the rehearing. If DPA fails to act upon the petition for rehearing within 90 days, the petition is automatically denied.

A petition for rehearing need not be filed to exhaust administrative remedies. The employee (appellant) or employer (respondent) may seek judicial review of a DPA decision by filing a writ of mandamus in Superior Court.

Updated February 5, 2008 at 3:58 PM.

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