(a) An application may be filed after entry of the final order establishing that the applicant has prevailed in an adversary adjudication proceeding or in a significant and discrete substantive portion of that proceeding, but in no case later than 30 days after the entry of the Board's final order in that proceeding. The application for an award shall be filed in triplicate with the Board in Washington, DC, together with a certificate of service. The application shall be served on the regional director and all parties to the adversary adjudication in the same manner as other pleadings in that proceeding, except as provided in § 102.147(g)(1) for financial information alleged to be confidential.
(b) Upon filing, the application shall be referred by the Board to the administrative law judge who heard the adversary adjudication upon which the application is based, or, in the event that proceeding had not previously been heard by an administrative law judge, it shall be referred to the chief administrative law judge for designation of an administrative law judge, in accordance with § 102.34, to consider the application. When the administrative law judge to whom the application has been referred is or becomes unavailable the provisions of §§ 102.34 and 102.36 shall be applicable.
(c) Proceedings for the award of fees, but not the time limit of this section for filing an application for an award, shall be stayed pending final disposition of the adversary adjudication in the event any person seeks reconsideration or review of the decision in that proceeding.
(d) For purposes of this section the withdrawal of a complaint by a regional director under § 102.18 of these rules shall be treated as a final order, and an appeal under § 102.19 of these rules shall be treated as a request for reconsideration of that final order.