California Code of Regulations › Title 2 - Administration › Division 4.1 - Civil Rights Department › Chapter 1 - Procedures of the Civil Rights Department › Subchapter 1 - Employment, Unruh Civil Rights Act (CIV. Code, Section 51 et seq.), Ralph Civil Rights Act (CIV. Code, Section 57), and Disabled Persons Act (CIV. Code, Section 54 et seq.) Complaints › Section 10025 - DFEH Dispute Resolution Division Services

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) The department may offer the parties to a
				  complaint filed for investigation the opportunity to mediate the complaint
				  before investigation commences ("pre-investigation mediation"). One or both
				  parties to a complaint filed for investigation also may request
				  pre-investigation mediation. Pre-investigation mediation conferences are not
				  attended by any representative of the department's enforcement or legal
				  divisions.
(b) Pre-investigation
				  mediation is voluntary. Therefore, the department shall not assign a
				  pre-investigation complaint to a mediator to mediate unless both the
				  complainant and respondent (or their respective attorneys or advocacy
				  organizations, if any) have agreed to mediate.
(c) While a pre-investigation complaint is
				  with the dispute resolution division, the requirement to submit a response to
				  the complaint is temporarily suspended. However, if mediation is declined or is
				  unsuccessful, a response shall be provided to the department no later than
				  twenty-one (21) days after the date the department notifies the respondent that
				  a response is due because mediation was declined or was unsuccessful. After the
				  complaint is returned for investigation, the enforcement division shall in
				  writing notify the respondent or, if the respondent is represented, the
				  respondent's attorney, of the exact date the response is due.
(d) After an investigation finds merit under
				  the relevant legal standard and prior to filing a civil action, the department
				  shall require the parties to participate in mandatory dispute resolution in an
				  effort to resolve the dispute without litigation.
(e) Post-investigation mediation conferences
				  conducted after a civil action is filed ("post-civil action") shall be attended
				  by the member of the department's legal division who filed the civil action or
				  who has subsequently been assigned the case. If settlement is reached, the
				  legal division representative shall sign the settlement agreement.
(f) Regardless of whether the department
				  refers a complaint to the dispute resolution division before or after
				  investigation has commenced, the department shall suspend investigation while
				  the complaint is with the dispute resolution division. After mediation is
				  declined or is unsuccessful, the department shall commence, resume, or complete
				  the investigation as necessary.
(g)
				  When both sides agree to mediate a complaint pre-investigation, the department
				  may assign the complaint to a trained mediator employed by the department's
				  dispute resolution division or a trained volunteer mediator, based on mediator
				  availability and the department's discretion. Whenever a complainant or
				  respondent is represented by an attorney or advocacy organization, the assigned
				  mediator shall communicate with the party's attorney or advocate regarding
				  scheduling and settlement. Matters the legal division refers for mandatory
				  dispute resolution shall be assigned to a DFEH attorney mediator.
(h) Except as otherwise required by law,
				  nothing that is said or done in the course of the mediation process may be made
				  public. However, settlement agreements reached in mandatory dispute resolution
				  shall be public records available in accordance with the department's Public
				  Records Act policy, including the provisions regarding redaction, unless the
				  parties request nondisclosure and the director, or a designated representative,
				  determines that disclosure is not required to further the purposes of the laws
				  enforced by the department.
(i) Any
				  written settlement agreement reached through a DFEH dispute resolution division
				  conference may be used as evidence to enforce the terms of the settlement
				  agreement if the conditions of Evidence Code section
				  1123 are
				  satisfied and the agreement contains language showing the intent of the parties
				  to be bound by the agreement's terms.
(j) All DFEH-mediated settlement agreements
				  shall include "affirmative relief" as defined in Government Code section
				  12926(a),
				  including the development of policies or practices to prevent future workplace
				  discrimination or harassment. DFEH mediators assist parties to select the
				  affirmative relief that is best suited to the complaint at issue.
(k) A copy of any settlement agreement
				  executed in connection with a DFEH dispute resolution division conference shall
				  be provided to the department's dispute resolution division.
(l) DFEH complaints resolved through
				  mediation shall be closed by the department.
1. New
					 section filed 9-7-2011; operative 10-7-2011 (Register 2011, No.
					 36).
2. Amendment of subsections (c)-(e), (h)-(i) and (i)(2)-(3)
					 filed 10-27-2014 as an emergency; operative 10-27-2014 (Register 2014, No. 44).
					 A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 4-27-2015 or
					 emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following
					 day.
3. Certificate of Compliance as to 10-27-2014 order, including
					 amendment of subsections (c) and (h), transmitted to OAL 4-20-2015 and filed
					 6-2-2015; amendments effective 6-2-2015 pursuant to Government Code section
					 11343.4(b)(3)
					 (Register 2015, No. 23).
4. Amendment of section heading and section
					 filed 8-31-2017; operative 10-1-2017 (Register 2017, No.
					 35).
Note: Authority cited: Section
						12930(e),
						Government Code. Reference: Sections
						1119,
						1120 and
						1123,
						Evidence Code; and Sections
						12930(f)
						and
						12963.7,
						Government Code.