Code of Maryland Regulations
Title 14 - INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
Subtitle 03 - COMMISSION ON HUMAN RELATIONS
Chapter 14.03.05 - Commercial Nondiscrimination Policy
Section 14.03.05.03 - Definitions
Universal Citation: MD Code Reg 14.03.05.03
Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Administrative law judge" means the
individual assigned by the Office of Administrative Hearings to conduct a
hearing under this chapter.
(2)
"Aggrieved person" means any business entity that claims to have been injured
by a discriminatory commercial practice.
(3) "Business entity" means any person, as
defined in State Finance and Procurement Article, §
1-101(d),
Annotated Code of Maryland, firm, sole proprietorship, partnership,
corporation, limited liability company, or other business entity, or a
combination of any of these entities, including any financial institution,
developer, consultant, prime contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or vendor,
that has submitted a bid or proposal for, has been selected to engage in, or is
engaged in providing goods or services to the State.
(4) "Charge" means a written statement
prepared by the Commission's general counsel and issued under this chapter that
contains a factual allegation of an unlawful discriminatory commercial
practice.
(5) "Commercial customer"
means a business entity that procures or attempts to procure goods or services
from a business entity for business use as opposed to personal, family, or
household use.
(6) "Commercial
nondiscrimination policy" means the provisions under State Finance and
Procurement Article, §§
19-101
-19-120, Annotated Code of Maryland, and any regulation, or documentation
requirement, adopted by the Maryland Commission on Human Relations.
(7) "Commercial treatment" means the
treatment of a vendor, supplier, subcontractor, or commercial customer by a
business entity that affects the conduct of business and the terms and
conditions under which business is transacted between two or more business
entities.
(8) "Commission" means
the Maryland Commission on Human Relations.
(9) "Commission staff" means employees of the
Maryland Commission on Human Relations designated by the Commission to process,
investigate, and pursue complaints filed under these regulations.
(10) "Complainant" means the person or
business entity who files a complaint of discriminatory commercial practice or
practices under these regulations.
(11) "Complaint" means a written statement by
a person or business entity alleging an act or acts of commercial
discrimination as prohibited by State Finance and Procurement Article,
§§
19-101
-19-120, Annotated Code of Maryland.
(12) "Conciliation" means the attempted
resolution of issues raised by a complaint or by investigation of a complaint
through informal negotiations involving the complainant, the respondent, and
the Commission.
(13) "Conciliation
agreement" means a written agreement setting forth the resolution of the issues
in conciliation.
(14) "Contract"
means an agreement with a business entity that is awarded by or on behalf of
the State for that business entity to sell or lease supplies or goods, or to
provide construction, real estate development, financial, insurance,
professional, or other services to the State in return for a fee, or any other
form of compensation to be paid or provided by the State.
(15) Discrimination.
(a) "Discrimination" means any disadvantage,
difference, distinction, or preference in the solicitation, selection, hiring,
or commercial treatment of a vendor, supplier, subcontractor, or commercial
customer on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex,
age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or any other unlawful use
of characteristics regarding the vendor's, supplier's, or commercial customer's
employees or owners.
(b)
"Discrimination" does not include lawful efforts to remedy the effects of
discrimination that have occurred or are occurring in the
marketplace.
(16)
"Economic development project" means a real estate development, construction,
or renovation project for which the State provides:
(a) Funding or other financial assistance,
other than payments in exchange for goods or services;
(b) Land;
(c) Road improvements;
(d) Tax credits; or
(e) A below market purchase price.
(17) "Executive Director" has the
meaning stated in COMAR
14.03.01.02F.
(18) Financial Institution.
(a) "Financial institution" means a person:
(i) Engaged in the business of lending money,
guaranteeing loans, extending credit, securing bonds, or providing venture or
equity capital; or
(ii) That offers
financial services in connection with State projects or the administration of
State government.
(b)
"Financial institution" includes banks, savings and loans, venture capital
companies, insurance companies, bonding companies, mortgage companies, credit
unions, and brokers.
(19) "Investigator" has the meaning stated in
COMAR 14.03.01.02F.
(20) "Notice" has the meaning
stated in COMAR
14.03.01.02F.
(21) "Party" means:
(a) A person who has filed a complaint under
this chapter;
(b) A respondent
business entity that has been alleged to have violated State Finance and
Procurement Article, §§
19-101
-19-120, Annotated Code of Maryland; or
(c) The Commission, which is responsible for
investigating the complaint and rendering the initial findings.
(22) "Proceeding" means a
conference, meeting, hearing, investigation, inquiry, or other fact-finding or
decision-making procedure, including the dismissal of a complaint.
(23) "Respondent" means a person or business
entity:
(a) Accused in a complaint of a
discriminatory commercial practice; or
(b) Identified during an investigation of a
complaint and joined as an additional or substitute respondent under this
chapter.
(24) "Services"
includes construction, real estate development, financial, insurance,
professional, and other services.
(25) "State subcontract" means an agreement
for the provision of goods or the performance of a particular portion of work
to be performed under a contract with the State, where:
(a) The party providing the goods or services
is on reasonable notice that the work is to be performed under a State
contract; and
(b) The amount to be
paid for the goods and services is material with respect to the overall amount
of the contract.
(26)
"State subcontractor" means the party providing goods or services under a State
subcontract.
(27) "Time" has the
meaning stated in COMAR
14.03.01.02F.
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