525.22—Employee's right to petition.

(a) Any employee receiving a special minimum wage at a rate specified pursuant to sub section 14(c) of FLSA or the parent or guardian of such an employee may petition the Secretary to obtain a review of such special minimum wage rate. No particular form of petition is required, except that a petition must be signed by the individual, or the parent or guardian of the individual, and should contain the name and address of the employee and the name and address of the employee's employer. A petition may be filed in person or by mail with the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S3502, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. The petitioner may be represented by counsel in any stage of such proceedings. Upon receipt, the petition shall be forwarded immediately to the Chief Administrative Law Judge.

(b) Upon receipt of a petition, the Chief Administrative Law Judge shall, within 10 days of the receipt of the petition by the Secretary, appoint an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to hear the case. Upon receipt, the ALJ shall notify the employer named in the petition. The ALJ shall also notify the employee, the employer, the Administrator, and the Associate Solicitor for Fair Labor Standards of the time and place of the hearing. The date of the hearing shall be not more than 30 days after the assignment of the case to the ALJ. All the parties shall be given at least eight days' notice of such hearing. Because of the time constraints imposed by the statute, requests for postponement shall be granted only sparingly and for compelling reasons.

(c) Hearings held under this subpart shall be conducted, consistent with statutory time limitations, under the Department's rules of practice and procedure for administrative hearings found in 29 CFR part 18. There shall be a minimum of formality in the proceeding consistent with orderly procedure. Any employer who intends to participate in the proceeding shall provide to the ALJ, and shall serve on the petitioner and the Associate Solicitor for Fair Labor Standards no later than 15 days prior to the commencement of the hearing, or as soon as practical depending on when the notice of a hearing as required under paragraph (b) of this section was received, that documentary evidence pertaining to the employee or employees identified in the petition which is contained in the records required by § 525.16 (a), (b), (c) and (d). The Administrator shall be permitted to participate by counsel in the proceeding upon application.

(d) In determining whether any special minimum wage rate is justified, the ALJ shall consider, to the extent evidence is available, the productivity of the employee or employees identified in the petition and the conditions under which such productivity was measured, and the productivity of other employees performing work of essentially the same type and quality for other employers in the same vicinity and the conditions under which much productivity was mesured. In these proceedings, the burden of proof on all matters relating to the propriety of a wage at issue shall rest with the employer.

(e) The ALJ shall issue a decision within 30 days after the termination of the hearing and shall serve the decision on the Administrator and all interested parties by Express Mail or other similar system guaranteeing one-day delivery. The decision shall contain appropriate findings and conclusions and an order. If the ALJ finds that the special minimum wage being paid or which has been paid is not justified, the order shall specify the lawful rate and the period of employment to which the rate is applicable. In the absence of evidence sufficient to support the conclusion that the proper wage should be less than the minimum wage, the ALJ shall order that the minimum wage be paid.

(f) Within 15 days after the date of the decision of the ALJ, the petitioner, the Administrator, or the employer who seeks review thereof may request review by the Secretary. No particular form of request is required, except that a request must be in writing and must attach a copy of the ALJ's decision. Requests for review shall be filed with the Secretary of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20210. Any other interested party may file a reply thereto with the Secretary and the Administrator within 5 working days of receipt of such request for review. The request for review and reply thereto shall be transmitted by the Administrator to all interested parties by Express Mail or other similar system guaranteeing one-day delivery.

(g) The decision of the ALJ shall be deemed to be final agency action 30 days after issuance thereof, unless within 30 days of the date of the decision the Secretary grants a request to review the decision. Where such request for review is granted, within 30 days after receipt of such request the Secretary shall review the record and shall either adopt the decision of the ALJ or issue exceptions. The decision of the ALJ, together with any exceptions issued by the Secretary, shall be deemed to be a final agency action.

(h) Within 30 days of issuance of the final action of the Secretary reviewing the decision of the ALJ or declining to grant such review, any person adversely affected or aggrieved by such action may seek judicial review pursuant to chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. The record of the case, including the record of proceedings before the ALJ, shall be transmitted by the Secretary to the appropriate court pursuant to the rules of such court.