(a) Any interested person who may be adversely affected by an exemption which the Department proposes to grant from the restrictions of section 406(b) of ERISA, section 4975(c)(1)(E) or (F) of the Code, or section 8477(c)(2) of FERSA may request a hearing before the Department within the period of time specified in the Federal Register notice of the proposed exemption. Any such request must state:
(1) The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the person making the request;
(2) The nature of the person's interest in the exemption and the manner in which the person would be adversely affected by the exemption; and
(3) A statement of the issues to be addressed and a general description of the evidence to be presented at the hearing.
(b) The Department will grant a request for a hearing made in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section where a hearing is necessary to fully explore material factual issues identified by the person requesting the hearing. A notice of such hearing shall be published by the Department in the Federal Register. The Department may decline to hold a hearing where:
(1) The request for the hearing does not meet the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section;
(2) The only issues identified for exploration at the hearing are matters of law; or
(3) The factual issues identified can be fully explored through the submission of evidence in written (including electronic) form.
(c) An applicant for an exemption must notify interested persons in the event that the Department schedules a hearing on the exemption. Such notification must be given in the form, time, and manner prescribed by the Department. Ordinarily, however, adequate notification can be given by providing to interested persons a copy of the notice of hearing published by the Department in the Federal Register within 10 days of its publication, using any of the methods approved in § 2570.43(b).
(d) After furnishing the notice required by paragraph (c) of this section, an applicant must submit a statement confirming that notice was given in the form, manner, and time prescribed. This statement must be accompanied by a declaration under penalty of perjury attesting to the truth of the information provided in the statement, which is signed by a person qualified under § 2570.34(b)(5) to sign such a declaration.