(a) Within 30 calendar days of the receipt of the hearing transcript by the Administrative Judge or the closing of the record, whichever is later, the Administrative Judge should forward his or her decision to the Associate Under Secretary for Environment, Health, Safety, and Security. The Administrative Judge's decision must be accompanied by a copy of the record.

(b) Within 10 calendar days of receipt of the decision and the administrative record, the Associate Under Secretary for Environment, Health, Safety, and Security should:

(1) Notify the individual and Manager in writing of the Administrative Judge's decision;

(2) Advise the individual in writing of the appeal procedures available to the individual in paragraph (c) of this section if the decision is unfavorable to the individual;

(3) Advise the Manager in writing of the appeal procedures available to the Manager in paragraph (c) of this section if the decision is favorable to the individual; and

(4) Provide the individual and/or counsel or representative, and the Manager a copy of the Administrative Judge's decision and the administrative record.

(c) The individual or the Manager may file with the Associate Under Secretary for Environment, Health, Safety, and Security a written request for further review of the decision by the cognizant Under Secretary along with a statement required by paragraph (e) of this section within 20 working days of the individual's or Manager's receipt of the Administrative Judge's decision;

(d) The copy of any request for further review of the individual's case by the cognizant Under Secretary filed by the Manager shall be provided to the individual by the Manager.

(e) The party filing a request for review of the individual's case by the cognizant Under Secretary shall include with the request a statement identifying the issues on which it wishes the cognizant Under Secretary to focus.

(f) The Administrative Judge's decision shall be considered final if a written request for review is not filed in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section.