New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 7 - DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION
Chapter VIII - Institutional Programs
Part 701 - Inmate Grievance Program
Section 701.9 - Allegations of unlawful discrimination
Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
Allegations of acts or policies which adversely affect individuals based on race, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disabling condition(s) or political belief, except as provided by law, are of particular concern to the administrators of this department and its facilities. Therefore, the following expedited procedure for the review of grievances alleging unlawful discrimination shall be followed:
(a) An inmate who wishes to file a grievance complaint that alleges discrimination by an employee, program, policy or procedure shall follow the procedures set forth in section 701.5(a) of this Part.
Note: An inmate who feels he/she is being unlawfully discriminated against by an employee, program, policy or procedure shall report such incident to the immediate supervisor of the employee or supervisor/administrator of such program. However, this is not a prerequisite for filing a grievance with the IGP.
(b) A grievance alleging unlawful discriminatory acts, policies or procedures shall be given a grievance calendar number and recorded in sequence with all other grievances on the grievance clerk's log (form #2136).
(c) A grievance alleging unlawful discrimination, and its related documentation, shall be forwarded to the superintendent with a copy to the office of diversity management, within 24 hours.
(d) The superintendent shall initiate an in-house investigation by higher ranking supervisory personnel and/or request the office of diversity management to conduct an investigation.
(e) Within 25 calendar days of receipt of the grievance, the superintendent will render a decision on the grievance and transmit said decision, with reasons stated, to the grievant, the grievance clerk, the office of diversity management, and any direct party of interest.
(f) If the superintendent fails to respond within the required 25 calendar day time limit the grievant may appeal the grievance to CORC. This is done by filing a notice of decision to appeal (form #2133) with the inmate grievance clerk.
(g) If the grievant wishes to appeal the superintendent's response to CORC, he/she must file a notice of decision to appeal (form #2133) with the inmate grievance clerk within seven calendar days of receipt of that response.
(h) The director, office of diversity management, or his/her designee shall be present whenever CORC reviews grievance appeals regarding alleged unlawful discrimination.
(i) Unless otherwise stipulated in this section, all procedures, rights, and duties pertaining to the processing of any other grievance as set forth in section 701.5 of this Part shall be followed.
