(a) If the petition for hearing is filed after the 15-day period provided for in § 814.6, the Director may grant the request if the employee can establish that the delay was the result of circumstances beyond the employee’s control, or that the employee failed to receive actual notice of the filing deadline.

(b) An employee waives the right to a hearing, and will have his or her disposable pay offset in accordance with the offset schedule established by the Agency, if the employee:

(1) Fails to file a timely request for a hearing, unless such failure is excused; or

(2) Fails to appear at an oral hearing, of which the employee was notified, unless the hearing official determines that the failure to appear was due to circumstances beyond the employee’s control.

(c) The following procedure is instituted upon a failure to appear at a hearing.

(1) In the absence of good cause shown (e.g., illness), an employee who fails to appear at a hearing shall be deemed, for the purpose of this part, to admit the existence and amount of the debt as described in the notice of intent.

(2) If the representative of the creditor agency fails to appear, the hearing official shall proceed with the hearing as scheduled and make a determination based upon oral testimony presented and the documentary evidence submitted by both parties. With the agreement of both parties, the hearing official shall schedule a new hearing date, and both parties shall be given reasonable notice of the time and place of the new hearing.