§ 1603.204 Ex parte communications.

(a) Oral or written communications concerning the merits of an adjudication between the administrative law judge or decision-making personnel of the Commission and an interested party to the adjudication without providing the other party a chance to participate are prohibited from the time the matter is assigned to an administrative law judge until the Commission has rendered a final decision. Communications between the administrative law judge or Commission personnel and one party concerning the status of the case, the date of a hearing, the method of transmitting evidence to the Commission, and other purely procedural questions are permitted. (b) “Decision-making personnel of the Commission” includes members of the Commission and their staffs as well as personnel in the Office of Federal Operations but does not include investigators and intake staff. (c) Any communication made in violation of this section shall be made part of the record and an opportunity for rebuttal by the other party allowed. If the communication was oral, a memorandum stating the substance of the discussion shall be placed in the record. (d) Where it appears that a party has engaged in prohibited ex parte communications, that party may be required to show cause why, in the interest of justice, the party's claim or defense should not be dismissed, denied, or otherwise adversely affected.