The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) renders justice through fair, timely, and impartial administrative hearings and high-quality dispute resolution services.
OAH is the largest of three Minnesota Executive Branch courts, with over 60 employees located in St. Paul and Duluth serving the entire state of Minnesota.
Workers’ Compensation Judges preside over settlement and trial-level proceedings regarding disputed claims for workers’ compensation benefits.
Each year, 10,000 new workers' compensation cases are filed at OAH, involving 7,500 workers and their employers, insurers, and medical providers.
Administrative Law Judges preside over cases involving challenges to state and local government action, including:
Administrative Law Judges also review the need for and reasonableness of all rules proposed by state agencies, and provide mediation services across Minnesota, including for disputes not pending before OAH.
Since 1976, Administrative Law Judges have served over 250 state agencies and local units of government and heard cases involving over 200 unique areas of administrative law.
OAH's funding comes from three sources:
General fund appropriations of $400,000 per biennium represent no more than 7% of total OAH funding and support limited work: municipal boundary adjustments; fair campaign practices complaints; and certain data practices matters.
The Special Compensation Fund supports the Workers' Compensation Division through a biennial appropriation of approximately $14.5 million. The General Fund does not provide any funding for the Workers' Compensation Division.
The Administrative Law Division operates as an Enterprise Fund. Administrative Law Judge services are billed on an hourly basis to the requesting state or local government agency. The hourly rate is approved annually by Minnesota Management and Budget.
