Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 12, December 22, 2023
A. Negotiated (No-Fault) Settlement. Before a
reasonable cause determination is made, the Commission may encourage the
parties to settle the complaint on terms that are mutually agreeable to them.
If the respondent makes any offer of settlement, the Commission will present
the complainant with the offer. The complainant may accept the offer or decline
it. In either case, the Commission will inform the respondent of the
complainant's decision. If the respondent and charging party agree on a
settlement, the Commission shall agree to accept the settlement and shall take
no action on the complaint. During no-fault settlement negotiations, the
Commission shall suspend investigative efforts and give the parties a
reasonable time to reach a settlement. Negotiated settlements shall note that
the Commission has made no judgment on the merits of the complaint. In the
alternative, the Commission may facilitate a settlement between the complainant
and the respondent by permitting withdrawal of the complaint pursuant to
65-2I
above.
B. Conciliation Prior to
Issuance of a Determination.
(1) Prior to the
issuance of a determination as to reasonable cause, the Commission shall
encourage the parties to settle the complaint on terms that are mutually
agreeable to the parties involved. The Commission shall limit its undertaking
in such settlements and note that the Commission has made no judgment on the
merits of the complaint. Such an agreement shall not affect the processing of
any other complaint, including, but not limited to, the allegations of a
complaint filed by another complainant which are like or related to the
individual allegations settled.
(2)
In the alternative, the Commission may facilitate a settlement between the
person claiming to be aggrieved and the respondent by permitting withdrawal of
the complaint pursuant to Section
65-2I
above.
C. Conciliation
After Issuance of a Determination.
(1) Where
the Commission determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that an
unlawful employment practice has occurred or is occurring, it shall endeavor to
eliminate such practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation, and
persuasion. In conciliating a case in which a determination of reasonable cause
has been made, the Commission shall attempt to achieve a just resolution of all
violations found and to obtain agreement that the respondent will eliminate the
unlawful employment practice and provide mutually acceptable relief. Where such
conciliation attempts are successful, the terms of the conciliation agreement
shall be reduced to writing and shall be signed by the Commission's designated
representative and the parties. Such conciliation agreement may include a
non-admissions clause wherein respondent denies that it has violated the Act. A
copy of the signed agreement shall be sent to the respondent and the person
claiming to be aggrieved who are signatories thereto.
(2) Proof of compliance with the terms of the
conciliation agreement shall be obtained by the Commission before the case is
closed.
(3) As provided in the Act,
no conciliation agreement in which a state agency or department or local
subdivision of a state agency or department is the respondent shall be an
effective resolution of the complaint unless the supervisory commission member
shall have reviewed and approved the terms thereof.
(4) Where the Commission is unable to obtain
voluntary compliance as provided by the Act and it determines that further
efforts to do so would be futile or non-productive, it shall so notify the
parties in writing.
(5) Nothing
that is said or done during and as part of the informal endeavors of the
Commission to eliminate unlawful employment practices by informal methods of
conference, conciliation, and persuasion may be made a matter of public
information by the Commission, its officers or employees, or used as evidence
in subsequent proceedings without the written consent of the persons concerned.
This provision does not apply to such disclosures to the representatives of
federal, state or local agencies as may be appropriate or necessary to the
carrying out of the Commission's functions under the Act: provided, however,
that the Commission may refuse to make disclosures to any such agency which
does not maintain the confidentiality of such endeavors in accord with this
Section or in any circumstances where the disclosures will not serve the
purposes of the effective enforcement of the Act.
