(1) All administrative hearings conducted by the department shall be conducted in accordance with KRS Chapter 13B and this section. Following the hearing, the department shall decide each matter in controversy. No person shall be discharged or otherwise discriminated against by his or her employer for testifying, or for his failure to testify, at these hearings.
(2) The executor or administrator of a deceased miner's estate, or his or her designee, in the case of a fatality, miners that are injured as a result of an accident, and miners that are significantly affected by the conduct that gave rise to a disciplinary proceeding shall be granted the right of intervention in the penalty phase of that proceeding. The petition for intervention shall be made in accordance with KRS 13B.060(3). All hearings before the Mine Safety Review Commission shall be open proceedings. Any party with pertinent information regarding a mine accident may submit that information directly to the division's chief accident investigator.