(a) Prohibited Conduct. Individuals appearing before the Tribunal, including parties, witnesses, Representatives, and attorneys, must not engage in misconduct. Misconduct includes but is not limited to:
(1) Abusive, disorderly, or delaying behavior, a breach of the peace, or any other disturbance that directly or indirectly tends to disrupt, obstruct, or interrupt the proceedings or operations of the Tribunal;
(2) Disruptive conduct or communication that a reasonable person would believe to be intimidating or that shows contempt or disrespect for the proceedings or operations of the Tribunal;
(3) Disregarding the authority of a Hearing Officer, Tribunal employee, or contractor. This may include refusing to comply with directions or behaving in a disorderly, delaying, or obstructionist manner;
(4) Leaving a hearing in progress without the permission of the Hearing Officer;
(5) Attempting to influence or offer to influence any Hearing Officer, Tribunal employee, or contractor by the use of threats, accusations, duress, coercion, promise of advantage, or giving or offering any gift, favor, or thing of value;
(6) Attempting to influence a decision by initiating communication with a Hearing Officer before or after a hearing;
(7) Entering any non-public area, unless accompanied or authorized by a Tribunal employee or contractor. Upon the conclusion of a hearing or upon direction by a Tribunal employee or contractor, the parties, witnesses, Representatives, and attorneys must promptly exit non-public areas;
(8) Requesting any Tribunal employee or contractor to perform tasks that are illegal;
(9) Operating without express authorization any Tribunal computer terminal or other equipment at any time, unless the equipment has been designated for use by the public;
(10) Making a statement, submitting a document, or presenting testimony or other evidence to the Tribunal known to be false or that a reasonable person would know to be false, fraudulent, or misleading, including the submission of a false authorization form;
(11) Inducing or encouraging anyone to make a false statement to the Tribunal;
(12) Soliciting a party or causing the solicitation of a party by another person on Tribunal premises. The exchange of money in any area of the Tribunal will create a rebuttable presumption of solicitation;
(13) Falsely claiming to be an attorney or government employee;
(14) Making or causing to be made an electronic, audio, audiovisual, or other verbatim or photographic reproduction of any proceeding, regardless of whether the proceeding is conducted in person or by remote methods, except upon a request to the Hearing Officer, who may grant or deny the request in full, in part, or upon such conditions as the Hearing Officer deems necessary to preserve the decorum of the proceedings and to protect the interests of the parties, witnesses, and any other concerned persons;
(15) Engaging in any conduct or course of conduct that demonstrates a lack of honesty and integrity in the representation of parties. This includes, but is not limited to, making false or misleading statements, misappropriating fees, and providing misinformation concerning the payment of penalties and fines; and
(16) Threatening to disclose information related to another person's actual or perceived immigration status for the purpose of intimidating or harming the other person in order to affect the outcome of the proceeding.
(b) General Discipline for Misconduct.
(1) Failure to abide by the rules of conduct contained in this section and any other rules of the Tribunal constitutes misconduct. OATH may, for good cause, suspend or bar from attending a proceeding or appearing before the Tribunal any attorney, Representative, member of the public, or witness, other than material fact witness, who fails to abide by these rules. OATH may make public a list of individuals who have been suspended or barred from appearing at the Tribunal.
(2) OATH will provide the individual charged with misconduct with a written notice of the charges setting forth the alleged misconduct and specifying the date by which the individual must respond in writing.
(3) OATH will review the notice of charges, the written response, and all evidence presented, and render a final written determination, based on the preponderance of evidence presented.
(c) Discipline for Behavior Warranting Summary Suspension. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (b) of this section, OATH may summarily suspend or bar a Representative or attorney upon a determination that the Representative or attorney has engaged in behavior before the Tribunal of such a severity that OATH determines that a suspension or bar must be implemented on a summary basis to maintain the integrity, safety, or operations of the Tribunal. The summary suspension or bar is effective on the date set forth in the notice of charges.
(d) Procedures for Summary Suspension.
(1) Upon imposing summary suspension, OATH will provide the individual charged with a written notice of the charges setting forth the conduct allegedly warranting summary suspension, as well as any other allegations of misconduct. Such notice shall be made in a manner reasonably calculated to achieve actual notice to such individual. The notice of charges will contain a warning that a finding of misconduct might result in a bar.
(2) The Respondent may request an in-person trial within fifteen (15) days of service of the notice of charges. Failure to make a timely request will be deemed a waiver of an in-person trial.
(3) If the Respondent requests an in-person trial, OATH will schedule a trial in OATH's Trials Division to be held within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the request. The trial will be conducted pursuant to 48 RCNY Chapter 1, and the notice of charges will constitute the petition referenced in 48 RCNY §§ 1-22 and 1-23.
(4) Notwithstanding 48 RCNY § 1-24, a Respondent must file a written answer within fifteen (15) days of service of the notice of charges.
(5) The administrative law judge presiding over the trial will determine (i) whether the Representative or attorney engaged in misconduct; (ii) whether the summary suspension should be continued; and (iii) any applicable penalty.
(6) A final determination shall be issued within thirty (30) days of the end of the in-person trial. If a determination is not made during this timeframe, any summary suspension must be lifted.
(7) If a Respondent does not request an in-person trial on the summary suspension within the time specified in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, the Respondent shall be deemed to have waived the right to an in-person trial before an administrative law judge, and the matter shall proceed pursuant to the rules for General Discipline of Misconduct under subdivision (b) of this section. Where a Respondent waives the right to an in-person trial, the summary suspension will continue until a final determination is made by OATH.
(e) Judicial Review. A decision pursuant to subdivision (b), (c) or (d) of this section constitutes a final determination. Judicial review of the determination may be sought pursuant to Article 78 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules.
(f) Prohibition against Ex Parte Communication.
(1) Except for ministerial matters, and except on consent or in an emergency, communications with a Hearing Officer concerning a case must occur only with all parties present, either in person or by remote means. If a Hearing Officer receives an ex parte communication concerning the merits of a case to which the Hearing Officer is assigned, then the Hearing Officer must promptly disclose the communication by placing it on the record, in detail, including all written and oral communications and identifying all individuals with whom the Hearing Officer has communicated. A party desiring to rebut the ex parte communication will be allowed to do so upon request.
(2) Communications between a Hearing Officer or other relevant OATH employee and a party that are necessary in order to place a hearing or other meeting on a calendar shall be considered ministerial communications.
(g) This section in no way limits the powers of a Hearing Officer as set out in 48 RCNY § 6-13.
(Amended City Record 7/8/2016, eff. 8/7/2016; amended City Record 4/23/2021, eff. 5/23/2021; amended City Record 8/11/2022, eff. 9/10/2022)