A claimant may request a subpoena, but the decision to grant or deny such a request is within the discretion of the hearing representative. The hearing representative may issue subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of witnesses, and for the production of books, records, correspondence, papers or other relevant documents. Subpoenas are issued for documents only if they are relevant and cannot be obtained by other means, and for witnesses only where oral testimony is the best way to ascertain the facts.
(a) A claimant may request a subpoena only as part of the hearings process, and no subpoena will be issued under any other part of the claims process. To request a subpoena, the requestor must:
(1) Submit the request in writing and send it to the hearing representative as early as possible but no later than 60 days (as evidenced by postmark, electronic marker or other objective date mark) after the date of the original hearing request.
(2) Explain in the original request for a subpoena why the testimony or evidence is directly relevant to the issues at hand, and a subpoena is the best method or opportunity to obtain such evidence because there are no other means by which the documents or testimony could have been obtained.
(b) No subpoena will be issued for attendance of employees of OWCP acting in their official capacities as decision-makers or policy administrators. For hearings taking the form of a review of the written record, no subpoena for the appearance of witnesses will be considered.
(c) The hearing representative issues the subpoena under his or her own name. It may be served in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested (or equivalent service from a commercial carrier), addressed to the person to be served at his or her last known principal place of business or residence. A decision to deny a subpoena can only be appealed as part of an appeal of any adverse decision which results from the hearing.