Ind. Code § 22-4-17-6 – Disputed claims; conduct of hearings and appeals

(a) The manner in which disputed claims shall be presented and the conduct of hearings and appeals, including the conduct of administrative law judges, review board members, and other individuals who adjudicate claims during a hearing or other adjudicative process, shall be in accordance with this article.
(b) The proceedings before an administrative law judge are de novo, except as provided in subsection (e).
(c) All proceedings before an administrative law judge shall be conducted informally in order to determine the substantial rights of the parties. The parties may present evidence as the administrative law judge deems necessary for determining the substantial rights of the parties. An administrative law judge:
1. (1) shall have the right to examine all witnesses;
2. (2) may require the parties to produce any available evidence that the parties deem necessary for a proper determination of the case; and
3. (3) where either party fails to appear, or where either party is not represented by an attorney or duly authorized agent, shall have the duty to examine the party's witnesses, and to cross-examine all witnesses of the other party, in order to ensure complete presentation of the case.
(d) If this article does not provide for the procedural rules governing a claim or action before an administrative law judge or the review board, the proceedings are governed by the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure and the Indiana Rules of Evidence.
(e) Administrative law judges, review board members, and other individuals who adjudicate claims during a hearing or other adjudicative process may consider as evidence and include in the record described in subsection (h) records of the department that are material to the issues being considered in the hearing if the records are made available to the interested parties prior to the hearing.
(f) An administrative law judge shall consider all hearsay evidence as would be admissible under common law or the Indiana Rules of Evidence. Hearsay evidence that is not admissible under a recognized hearsay exception may be admitted but is not entitled to the same evidentiary weight as direct testimony. Hearsay evidence properly objected to, but not falling within a recognized hearsay exception, that is admitted into the record may not form the sole basis for a decision by an administrative law judge or the review board.
(g) No paper or document written in any foreign language shall be introduced into evidence in a proceeding related to a disputed claim unless it is accompanied by an accurate English translation, with satisfactory proof, as determined by the administrative law judge, or the review board, that the translation is a correct translation of the original. Testimony in a language other than English, or by the hearing impaired, shall be translated by an interpreter provided by the department, at the department's expense. The interpreter is subject to the interpreter oath or affirmation, which shall be administered by the administrative law judge or the review board.
(h) A full and complete record shall be kept of all proceedings in connection with a disputed claim. The testimony at any hearing upon a disputed claim may not be transcribed unless a review board decision is appealed to the court of appeals of Indiana.
(i) Each party to a hearing before an administrative law judge held under section 3 of this chapter shall be sent a notice of the hearing at least ten (10) days before the date of the hearing specifying the date, place, and time of the hearing, identifying the issues to be decided, and providing complete information about the rules of evidence and standards of proof that the administrative law judge will use to determine the validity of the claim.
(j) If a hearing so scheduled has not commenced within at least sixty
(60) minutes of the time for which it was scheduled, then a party involved in the hearing may request a continuance of the hearing. Upon submission of a request for continuance of a hearing under circumstances provided in this section, the continuance shall be granted unless the party requesting the continuance was responsible for the delay in the commencement of the hearing as originally scheduled. In the latter instance, the continuance shall be discretionary with the administrative law judge. Testimony or other evidence introduced by a party at a hearing before an administrative law judge or the review board that another party to the hearing:
(1) is not prepared to meet; and
(2) by ordinary prudence could not be expected to have anticipated;
shall be good cause for continuance of the hearing and upon motion such continuance shall be granted.
(k) The administrative records of the department are self-authenticating and admissible in the administrative hearing.
Formerly: Acts 1947, c.208, s.1806; Acts 1963, c.208, s.1. As amended by P.L.144-1986, SEC.105; P.L.219-1989, SEC.1; P.L.135-1990, SEC.10; P.L.108-2006, SEC.31; P.L.175-2009, SEC.31; P.L.122-2019, SEC.30; P.L.119-2020, SEC.2; P.L.200-2025, SEC.23; P.L.121-2026, SEC.45.