SECURE LEAVE

The Industrial Commission has adopted a policy largely in conformity with Rule 26 of the North Carolina Rules of Practice in District and Superior Court allowing attorneys to request “secure leave” or time periods in which none of their cases are scheduled for hearing by the Industrial Commission. This rule may be viewed at:

http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/aoc/rule26.htm

To designate a secure leave period, an attorney shall file a written designation containing the information required by subsection (D) of Rule 26. Secure leave requests must be in writing and are acceptable in motion or letter format via mail, facsimile, or email transmission.

Please send requests to the Office of the Chair, 4336 Mail Service Center; Raleigh, NC 27699-4336. Fax requests may be sent to (919) 733-4310. Requests may be e-mailed to secured.leave@ic.nc.gov.

To be effective, secure leave requests shall be filed with the Industrial Commission no later than ninety (90) days before the beginning of the secure leave period and before any hearing has been regularly scheduled. In the event the Industrial Commission receives an untimely request (one received at the Commission less than ninety (90) days before the commencement of the leave), that request shall automatically be denied.

Exceptions:

In the event a party has been denied secure leave because it was not timely filed and has an extraordinary situation, that party may file a motion requesting an exception.

If the case has been scheduled for hearing before a Deputy Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner shall address the Motion. If the matter is scheduled for hearing before the Full Commission, the Motion shall be referred to the chair of the panel before whom the hearing will be held. In all other cases, the Motion should be directed to the Office of the Chair.