(a) The Branch will issue a decision granting or denying the
employer's application to be an authorized self-insurer. If the Branch
grants the application, the decision will fix the amount of security the
employer must deposit. The Branch will transmit its decision to the
employer in a way it considers appropriate.
(b) The employer is authorized to self-insure beginning with the
date of the Branch's decision. Each grant of authority to self-insure is
conditioned, however, upon the employer's execution and filing of an
Agreement and Undertaking and deposit of the security fixed in the
decision in the form and within the time limits required by Sec.
703.304. In the event the employer fails to comply with the requirements
set forth in Sec. 703.304, its authorization to self-insure will be
considered never to have been effective, and the employer will be
subject to appropriate penalties for failure to secure its LHWCA
obligations.
(c) The Branch will require security in the amount it considers
necessary to fully secure the employer's LHWCA obligations. When fixing
the amount of
[[Page 925]]
security, the Branch may consider a number of factors including, but not
limited to, the--
(1) Employer's overall financial standing;
(2) Nature of the employer's work;
(3) Hazard of the work in which the employees are employed;
(4) Employer's payroll amount for employees engaged in employment
within the purview of the Act; and
(5) Employer's accident record as shown in the application and the
Office's records.
(d) If an employer believes that the Branch incorrectly denied its
application to self-insure, or that a lesser security deposit would
fully secure its LHWCA obligations, the employer may request a hearing
before the Director of the Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers'
Compensation (Longshore Director) or the Longshore Director's
representative. Requests for hearing must be in writing and sent to the
Branch within ten days of the date of the Branch's decision. The
employer may submit new evidence and/or argument in support of its
challenge to the Branch's decision and must provide any additional
documentation OWCP requests. The Longshore Director or his
representative will notify the employer of the hearing date within 10
days of receiving the request. The Longshore Director or his
representative will issue the final agency decision on the application
within 60 days of the hearing date, or, where evidence is submitted
after the hearing, within 60 days of the receipt of such evidence, but
no later than 180 days after receiving the employer's request for a
hearing.
