Rules & Regulations

Dear Mr. Thompson:

Please accept the following comments regarding the Office of Compliance’s Proposed Amendments to the Rules of Procedures pursuant to 2 U.S.C. § 1383(b).

1.05(a) Designation of Representative – The proposed amendment allows the Executive Director to determine whether a party’s representative has a conflict of interest. I would request that the Office of Compliance consider the following suggestions as a way to enhance the proposed amendment.

First, the amendment does not provide any guidance as to what would constitute a conflict of interest. A listing of possible conflicts would allow a party to accurately assess whether to raise a conflict of interest question with the Executive Director.

Second, the amendment should provide an avenue of appeal for the disqualified representative or the party. This would help to ensure that a party has every opportunity to retain the representation of her or his choosing. This can be accomplished by providing for an appeal of the Executive Director’s decision to disqualify a representative to the Board of Directors.

Third, the proposed amendment should provide a concrete time frame during which a party needs to make a claim of a conflict and for the Executive Director to make a disqualifying determination. The proposal states that any claim shall arise during the counseling and mediation period. However, those periods may vary depending upon scheduling. A more concrete time frame would help to provide consistency and protection against possible abuse of the conflict of interest mechanism. If a conflict is not raised in the specific period, the conflict should be considered waived.

4.16 Comments on Occupational Safety and Health Reports – The proposed amendment adding tight response requirements to reports for general distribution should be reexamined to insure that all parties, including the Office of Compliance, can fully examine certain issues. In re-examining this proposal, the Office of Compliance should take into account the following as I believe that they are beneficial to all parties: