HEARING EXAMINER
An employee of an ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY who is charged with conducting adjudicative proceedings on matters within the scope of the jurisdiction of the agency.
Hearing examiners are employees of federal, state, and local administrative agencies who act as judges to resolve conflicts that are within the jurisdiction of their particular agency. Hearing examiners have also been called hearing officers, and since the 1980s, they are commonly referred to as ADMINISTRATIVE LAW judges (ALJs).
The growth of administrative law started with the creation of the federal INTERSTATE
COMMERCE COMMISSION and the FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION in the late nineteenth cen-
tury.Administrative law burgeoned in the 1930s,
as President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT’s NEW
DEAL policies led to the establishment of EXECU-
TIVE BRANCH agencies that were charged with
regulating the economy and overseeing social
welfare policies. Since the 1930s, all levels of
government have established administrative
agencies.
ALJs are governed by the Administrative
Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.A. § 551 et seq. [1966]).
They are appointed through a professional merit
selection system that requires high test scores
and, in many instances, experience in the partic-
ular regulatory program in which they wish to
serve. Once appointed, ALJs may not be
removed or disciplined, except for good cause.
These parameters are meant to shield adminis-
trative law from political appointments and
political pressure.
Hearing examiners serve in different adju-
dicative areas and are involved in all types of
government activity, from the administration
of environmental regulations to the review of
UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION claims. For
example, when an agency is charged with issuing
permits, appropriate procedures are set out in
administrative regulations. If there are objec-
tions to the granting of a permit, a hearing may
be held to determine the merits of the applica-
tion. A hearing examiner conducts the hearing,
enforces appropriate RULES OF EVIDENCE and
procedure, and issues a decision. This decision
may be appealed to a higher level of authority in
the agency, and if that does not resolve the issue,
to a court proceeding in the judicial branch.
Even though they are not as insulated from
political pressures as judicial branch judges,
hearing examiners seek to maintain their inde-
pendence. During the Reagan administration, in
