A third party is a participant, other than the appellant(s) and respondent, that is involved with a hearing appeal. For example, an employer can be recorded as a third party on a hearing appeal. The organization may decide that the primary client is ineligible based on a discrepancy between the evidence given by the primary client and the evidence provided by his or her employer. If the primary client appeals the decision, the primary client is recorded as the appellant, the organization is recorded as the respondent, and the employer is recorded as the third party. A third party can be any participant type, for example, employer, information provider or service supplier.
Third parties are not required to attend hearings scheduled for a hearing appeal. If a third party chooses not to attend the hearing, they will be notified of the outcome of the hearing. Third parties can be added to, and removed from hearing appeals. If a third party is removed from a hearing appeal that has a scheduled hearing, the third party is notified that they are no longer required to attend the hearing.