(1) The board shall conduct its hearing in accordance with the appropriate provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.

(2) If a member of the board or an examiner appointed by the board presides over the hearing, the member, or the examiner, as the case may be, shall issue and cause to be served on the parties to the proceeding findings of fact, conclusions of law and recommended order, which shall be filed with the board, and if no written exceptions specifically stating to which part of the recommended order exception is being taken are filed with this board within 20 days after service of the recommended order upon the parties, or within such further period as the board may authorize, the recommended order shall become the order of the board.

(3) If the board refuses to adopt a board appointed examiner's proposal for decision (findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommended order) as its final decision or order and, instead, remands the proposal or portion thereof to the examiner for further consideration pursuant to board direction, the examiner shall conduct whatever proceedings are necessary and conform the proposal for decision to board direction.

(a) The examiner shall serve the conformed proposal on all parties as well as upon the board's administrative assistant. The board shall then consider the conformed proposal at a regularly scheduled meeting prior to issuing a final decision.

(b) Parties may file exceptions to any new material contained within the conformed proposal for decision. Exceptions must be filed, in writing, with the administrative assistant to the Board of Personnel Appeals at P.O. Box 6518, Helena, MT 59604-6818. To be considered, exceptions must be postmarked by no later than 20 days from the service of the conformed proposal for decision. If no exceptions are filed, the board will rule on the record before it, including the conformed proposal for decision. If exceptions are filed, the parties shall be afforded an opportunity to appear before the board prior to issuance of a final board order.

(4) If the board presides over the hearing, the board shall cause to be served on the parties to the proceeding a final order.