(a) Appeal to Regional Director. A Volunteer has 10 days from the Notice of Decision issued by the State Director or designee in which to appeal to the Regional Director. The appeal must be in writing and specify the reasons for the Volunteer's disagreement with the decision. The Regional Director has 10 days in which to render a written decision on the Volunteer's appeal, indicating the reason for the decision. In notifying the Volunteer of the decision, the Regional Director must also inform the Volunteer of his or her opportunity to request the appointment of a Hearing Examiner and the procedure to be followed.
(b) Referral to Hearing Examiner. If the Volunteer is dissatisfied with the decision of the Regional Director, the Volunteer has 5 days in which to request the appointment of a Hearing Examiner. The Regional Director must act on that request within 5 days. The Hearing Examiner must possess the qualifications specified in Appendix A to this part, and may not be an employee of ACTION unless his or her principal duties are those of Hearing Examiner.