Visit our web site (www.oah.nc.gov) for information on our services and how to use them, forms, document libraries (NC Register, NC Administrative Code, contested case decisions) and FAQ's. The Office of Administrative Hearings provides three major services to the citizens of North Carolina and is organized in three corresponding divisions - hearings, rules and civil rights. Hearings Division (www
.ncoah.com/hearings)- The Office of Administrative Hearings is an independent, quasi-judicial agency that was established to provide a source of independent Administrative Law Judges to preside in administrative law contested cases. People can petition OAH to open a contested case hearing against a State agency or commission where allowed by NC general statutes. The contested case hearing process is described on our web site. North Carolina operates under the "central panel" system of administrative adjudication. The ten Administrative Law Judges who are employed by OAH work for the central panel rather than the state agency. Rules Division (www.ncoah.com/rules) - The Rules division deals with the procedure governing rulemaking in North Carolina. The Administrative Procedure Act provides a uniform procedure for the adoption of permanent and temporary rules, and authorizes OAH to publish the North Carolina Register and the North Carolina Administrative Code. Except for minor exemptions, all State agencies are required to follow this procedure for conducting public rulemaking hearings, for adopting proposed rules and for filing the adopted rules. The public is notified of agency rulemaking hearings through a notice published in the North Carolina Register. This notice provides a means for interested parties to be present and discuss a proposed rule before adoption by the agency. After the formal adoption, review by the Rules Review Commission and Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee (unless a bill is enacted by the General Assembly specifically disapproving a proposed rule), the rule is filed for codification in the North Carolina Administrative Code. All of the rules adopted by State agencies are published in the Administrative Code. Civil Rights Division (www.ncoah.com/civil) - The civil rights function of OAH is found under the provisions of Chapter 7A of the North Carolina General Statutes where the Office of Administrative Hearings is designated as a 706 deferral agency of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Civil Rights Division is charged with the investigation of alleged acts of unlawful employment practice for all charges filed by State and local government employees covered under the State Personnel Act, Chapter 126 of the General Statutes. The Director of this Division is assigned the duty to confer, conciliate or resolve the civil rights charges filed with OAH. In the event that these procedures do not produce a settlement for meritorious charges, OAH's Administrative Law Judges are empowered to grant full relief through the contested case hearing process.
