Section 1500-01-02-.02 - INVESTIGATION AND CONCILIATION(1) Investigation. After the filing of a complaint, the Executive Director or a subordinate supervisor designated by him or her shall designate an investigator from the Commission staff or from a group of approved contract investigators to investigate the complaint. The Chairman may at his or her discretion designate a Commissioner to direct the investigation as chief investigator. The designated investigator(s) shall make a prompt and thorough investigation of the allegations of the complaint.(2) Production of evidence: (a) An investigator may at any reasonable time request production of or access to premises, records, and documents relevant to the complaint.(b) If a respondent fails to produce or fails to permit access to relevant evidence requested by the Commission, the Commission may apply to the chancery court of Davidson County or circuit court for the county in which such person is found, resides, or has such person's principal place of business, for an order requiring the respondent to produce or to permit access to such evidence. The Commission may also, in such situations and when presented with an unrebutted prima facie charge of discrimination, issue a finding of reasonable cause to believe that a discriminatory practice has occurred.(3) Conference, conciliation, and persuasion: (a) If the staff determines after investigation that reasonable cause exists to substantiate the allegations of the complaint, the investigator or Commission attorney shall report his or her recommendations to the Executive Director, who shall make a finding and report to the Commission. Upon a reasonable cause determination, the Commission is deemed a proper party to the action and the Complainant becomes an aggrieved party.(b) After a reasonable cause determination, the Commission staff shall endeavor to eliminate the unlawful discriminatory practice by conference, conciliation, and persuasion.(c) The Commission staff shall notify the respondent(s) that a particular meeting or conversation is for the purpose of attempting to conciliate the complaint. These requirements shall not be construed to limit the power of the Commission to conduct further investigations in preparation for a hearing or for other purposes in connection with its statutory duties, nor shall they be construed to prohibit the use of evidence obtained through such investigations.(d) If a complaint subsequently proceeds to a hearing, no testimony shall be given or received concerning any offers or counteroffers made in an effort to conciliate the case.(4) If, as a result of conference, conciliation, or persuasion, the commission staff is able to secure voluntary compliance that eliminates any unlawful discriminatory practice, a conciliation agreement shall be prepared. The conciliation agreement shall set forth all measures to be taken by the parties, including provisions for compliance reports, and shall be signed by the respondent(s) and the Executive Director of the Commission. The complainant may sign as an aggrieved party. During conference, conciliation or persuasion, the Commission is not bound to, but shall consider, reasonable damages proposed by the Complainant. If a conciliation agreement is entered into, the commission shall issue and serve on the complainant an order stating its terms. A copy of the order shall be delivered to the respondent, and such public officers and persons as the commission deems proper.(5) Administrative Closure. Upon the execution of a conciliation agreement, the Commission shall administratively close the complaint, and the Executive Director shall notify the complainant, respondent and the Commissioners of the terms of such disposition. Disposition of a case by conference, conciliation, or persuasion shall not preclude the Commission, whenever justice so requires, from reconsidering the terms of such conciliation at any time and from taking such further action as it may deem necessary upon notice to the parties.(6) In all cases in which a real estate operator claims as a defense a lack of evidence of financial ability of the complainant or tester under T.C.A. § 4-21-602(b), the Commission will investigate to see whether the requirement of financial ability is applied consistently regardless of the prospective applicant's membership in a protected class.(7) No exemption for familial status shall be allowed under T.C.A. § 4-21-602(d)(1) for dwellings provided under any state or federal program specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons, as defined in the state or federal program, unless the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has already determined that the state or federal program is specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons.(8) With regard to housing complaints, the Commission staff shall complete the investigation and any attempts at conciliation, and make any determination of reasonable cause to believe that discrimination took place, within ninety (90) days of the filing of the complaint, unless such completion is impracticable. If the investigation cannot be completed within ninety (90) days, the Commission staff shall notify the complainant(s) and the respondent(s) in writing of the reasons for not doing so.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1500-01-02-.02
Original rule filed November 15, 2010; effective February 13, 2011.Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-21-202, 4-21-303, 4-21-601, and 4-21-602.