Rule 13 hearings are Tax coverage hearings which may be granted to an Employer in any case involving tax liability or any question relating to contributions or reimbursements. These hearings are presided over by a staff attorney from the Special Hearings Department. At Rule 13 hearings testimony is taken under oath primarily through a question and answer format. During the Rule 13 hearing, both the Tax Department and Employer present their arguments. After the hearing has concluded the Special Hearings Attorney prepares a written proposed decision and presents it to the Commission, at an open meeting, for their review. The Commissioners vote and sign the proposed decision at the Commission docket meeting. Copies of the signed decision are mailed to the Employer and the Tax Department.

1. Requests for Rule 13 hearings must be in writing.  The hearing request must include the business name, address, tax account number, adverse tax determination and reason for the hearing request.  Faxed and e-mail requests are allowed as long as the written request is attached.
   
   
2. If a caller requests a Rule 13 hearing instruct the caller to prepare a written request and fax to Assistant Section Manager, Status Section @ 512-463-8185 or mail to Texas Workforce Commission, Attn: Tax Department/Status Section, Room 514, 101 E 15th St., Austin, TX 78778.
   
   
3. Assistant Section Manager will review and determine if the Rule 13 hearing will be handled by the state office or the field office.  If the field office will handle the hearing, the Status Assistant Section Manager will image and e-mail the request to the field office for processing.

1. If a hearing request for an in state Employer is received in Status, the Hearing Coordinator (HC) forwards the request to the local Field Tax office for resolution.
   
   
2. If a hearing request for an out-of-state Employer is received in Status, the HC reviews the Employer tax file and places a stop on the account.
   
   
3. After reviewing the Employer tax file, the HC may request additional information or documents from the Employer or any other concerned party as needed.
   
   
4. The HC then verifies the complaint along with the Commission case and attempts to resolve the problem without a Rule 13 hearing.
   
   
5. If the problem can be resolved, the HC makes any necessary adjustments to the account and notifies the Employer in writing regarding the resolution of the problem.
   
   If the problem cannot be resolved without a Rule 13 hearing a Form C-23 is prepared by the HC.
   
   
6. If a Form C-23 is received from a Field Tax office the HC will verify that the concerned account displays stop code 10 and has a Status Report on file. The HC telephones the sender of the Form C-23 if stop code 10 and/or the Status Report are missing.  Rule 13 hearings are not granted unless a Status Report is on file for an Employer and the account has been placed in a "liable" status.
   
   
7. If the HC decides that a hearing is appropriate a "TD" number is assigned. The "TD" number is determined by the HC and uses the following format TD-95-001-1294.
   
   TD -  Acronym for Tax Department
   
   95  -  Present calendar year
   
   001 - Sequential number of hearing request for the year
   
   1294 -  Month and year of Employer's request for hearing.
   
   
8. After assigning the "TD" number the HC updates the FTC screen with the "TD" number and date Form C-23 and tax file are sent to the Special Hearings Department.
   
   
9. The HC lists the "TD" number on a log maintained by the HC, stamps the Form C-23 and returns a copy of the Form C-23 to the Field Tax office.
   
   
10. Form C-23 and the tax file are sent to the Special Hearings Department. Any subsequent mail received from the Employer or his representatives is forwarded to the Special Hearings Department to be consolidated with the tax file.
    
    Once a tax file has been sent to the Special Hearings Department, Status personnel should not discuss the matter with the Employer.  Employer’s questions regarding a hearing should be referred to the Special Hearings Department.
    
    
11. In the event an Employer decides to withdraw his request for a hearing, that request must be in writing and should be directed to the Special Hearings Department.
    
    Note regarding Witnesses:
    
    Vernon's Texas Rules Annotated, Rule 614. Exclusion of Witnesses reads:
    
    
    "At the request of a party the court shall order witnesses excluded so that they cannot hear the testimony of other witnesses, and it may make the order of its own motion. This rules does not authorize exclusion of (1) a party who is a natural person or the spouse of such natural person, or (2) an officer or employee of a party which is not a natural person designated as its representative by its attorney, or (3) a person whose presence is shown by a party to be essential to the presentation of his cause."
    
    Although T.W.C. Rule 13 hearings are not "court" proceedings, Special Hearings has chosen to invoke Rule 614 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedures to insure untainted testimony.
    
    Hearing coordinators are expected to evaluate the facts of each appeal and determine if any Commission witnesses are essential to the T.W.C. Rule 13 presentation and are needed throughout the hearing.  If a Commission witness is needed to provide essential testimony, the Hearing Coordinator can verbally submit a request and supporting arguments to the Hearing Officer during the opening phase of the T.W.C. Rule 13 proceedings.
    
    For example, the complex issue of tax rate computation may require that a Tax Department representative hear and evaluate all of the facts of the case in order to make a proper and accurate response. Therefore, the Tax Department representative is "a party .... essential to the presentation of the (Tax Department's) .... cause". The Hearing Coordinator should, when offered the opportunity at the opening, give a statement like "The Tax Department requests that (representative named) be allowed to be present and hear the employer testimony because full understanding of all the issues is essential to the presentation of the Commission's cause".

After a Rule 13 hearing the Commission's decision is received in the Tax Department.  All Commission decisions affecting the Tax Department are channeled through the Status section.

1. The Status contact person reviews the Commission decision.
   
   
2. After reviewing the Commission decision the Status contact updates the FTC screen with a summary of the Commission decision.
   
   
3. The responsible hearing coordinator will make any required Status changes to bring the account into compliance with the decision.
   
   
4. The Status contact sends one copy of the Commission decision to be scanned. Decisions are given to SOU to be batched and sent to TDO.
   
   The Status contact makes one copy of the Commission decision a permanent part of the Employer tax file.

In rare circumstances the Commission will grant a motion for rehearing to an Employer who disagrees with a previous Commission decision.

1. If a caller requests a rehearing refer the call to the Special Hearings Department.
   
   
2. If a written request for a rehearing is received in the Status section, the HC places a stop code 10 on the system and forwards the request to the Special Hearings Department.