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ESA SNAP Policy Manual 232 19.3 Requesting a Fair Hearing Any public assistance customer who disagrees with ESA action or inaction that affects their participation in a particular program or level of benefits may request a hearing. Customers have 90 days from the postmark on the Notice of Adverse Action to request a hearing. A hearing request is a clear expression, oral or written, by the customer or their representative that they want to take either of the following actions:  Appeal a decision by ESA.  State their case to a higher authority. ESA must treat a request made by the customer’s representative as a request from the customer, as long as the customer provides written authorization of representation within 10 days of the request. Customers or their representatives may file a request for a hearing with any ESA employee or file the request directly at OAH. ESA may not limit or restrict a household’s right to request a hearing on an ESA decision. A customer may make a request verbally or in writing. If it is unclear from the household’s request what action it wishes to appeal, ESA may request the household to clarify its grievance. ESA must assist the customer in completing their hearing request when asked. ESA must accept a request for a fair hearing and electronically transmit the request to the Office of Administrative Review and Appeals (OARA) on the date it is received. Customers have the right to request a hearing if they have been aggrieved by any action or inaction of ESA that affects the receipt, termination, amount, kind or conditions of assistance. OAH is not required to grant a hearing if the sole issue is a federal or District law requiring an automatic change that adversely affects some or all beneficiaries. OAH may deny or dismiss a request for a fair hearing if:  The customer withdraws the request in writing.  The customer fails to appear at a scheduled hearing without good cause. 19.4 Continuation of Benefits Generally, ESA must delay adverse action while awaiting a hearing decision unless the household waives its right to continued benefits, provided the following criteria are met:  The recipient asks for a hearing before the effective date of the adverse action or within 10 days of the postmark date on the Notice of Adverse Action, whichever is later, or the household establishes that it had good cause for not doing so.  The certification period has not expired.

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