256.8—Consequence of employee's failure to meet deadline dates.
(a)
An employee shall be considered to have waived his right to a hearing, and will have his disposable pay offset in accordance with the offset schedule proposed by the Commission, if the employee fails to appear at the time fixed for a hearing, or fails to file the required submissions under § 256.6 within five days after the filing date established under that section.
(b)
The hearing official may excuse the employee's failure to meet any of the foregoing requirements if the employee shows that he exercised due diligence and that there is good cause for his failure to meet the requirements.