The Assistant Secretary may request the recommendations of an advisory committee appointed under section 7 of the Act or other statutory authority. In such event, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to the committee any proposal of his own or of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, together with all pertinent factual information available to him, including the results of research, demonstrations, and experiments. The committee shall submit to the Assistant Secretary its recommendations regarding the rule to be promulgated within the period prescribed by the Assistant Secretary, which in no event shall be longer than 270 days.

The Assistant Secretary shall publish in the FEDERAL REGISTER a notice of proposed rulemaking. Where an advisory committee has been consulted and the Assistant Secretary determines that a rule should be issued, the notice shall be published within 60 days after the submission of the committee's recommendations or the expiration of the period prescribed for such submissions, whichever date is earlier. The notice shall include:

The terms of the proposed rule;

A reference to section 6(b) of the Act and to the appropriate section of any particular statute applicable to the employments affected by the rule;

An invitation to interested persons to submit within 30 days after publication of the notice written data, views, and arguments, which shall be available for public inspection and copying, except as to matters the disclosure of which is prohibited by law;

Either the time and place of an informal hearing on the proposed rule to be held not earlier than 10 days from the last day of the period for written comments, or information to interested persons that they may file on or before the 30th day after publication of the notice written objections to the proposed rule meeting the requirements of paragraph (c) of this section and request an informal hearing on the objections; and

Any other appropriate provisions with regard to the proceeding.

Objections to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section shall comply with the following conditions:

The objections must include the name and address of the objector;

The objections must be postmarked on or before the 30th day after the date of publication of the notice of proposed rulemaking;

The objections must specify with particularity the provision of the proposed rule to which objection is taken, and must state the grounds therefor;

Each objection must be separately stated and numbered; and

The objections must be accompanied by a summary of the evidence proposed to be adduced at the requested hearing.

Within 30 days after the last day for filing objections, if objections are filed in substantial compliance with paragraph (c) of this section, the Assistant Secretary shall, and in any other case may, publish in the FEDERAL REGISTER a notice of informal hearing. The notice shall contain:

A statement of the time, place, and nature of the hearing;

A reference to the authority under which the hearing is to be held;

A specification of the provisions of the proposed rule which have been objected to, and on which an informal hearing has been requested;

A specification of the issues on which the hearing is to be had, which shall include at least all the issues raised by any objections properly filed, on which a hearing has been requested;

The requirement for the filing of an intention to appear at the hearing together with a statement of the position to be taken with regard to the issues specified and of the evidence to be adduced in support of the position;

The designation of a presiding officer to conduct the hearing; and

Any other appropriate provisions with regard to the proceeding.

Any objector requesting a hearing on proposed rule, and any interested person who files a proper intention to appear shall be entitled to participate at a hearing.