Code of Maine Rules › 94 - INDEPENDENT AGENCIES › 348 - MAINE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION › Chapter 2 - PROCEDURAL RULE › Section 348-2-09 - POST-DETERMINATION CONCILIATION

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Conference, conciliation and persuasion
In conciliating a matter in which a determination of
				  reasonable grounds has been made pursuant to the non-emergency procedure of
				  section 2.07(B) of these
				  regulations, the Commission shall attempt to achieve a just resolution and to
				  obtain assurances that the respondent will eliminate the unlawful
				  discrimination and take any appropriate corrective action. Disposition of a
				  matter pursuant to this section shall be in the form of a written agreement and
				  approved by a majority of the Commission, and notice thereof shall be sent to
				  the parties. Upon ascertainment by the Commission's Executive Director or their
				  designee that the terms of the signed agreement have been met, the proceeding
				  shall be dismissed. In order to facilitate the ascertainment that the terms of
				  settlement have been met, the parties shall provide the terms of any agreement
				  between them to the Executive Director or their designee upon request. Any
				  information provided to the Executive Director for this purpose shall remain
				  confidential, except that settlement information may be reported to the
				  Commission, the EEOC, or HUD.
The Commission specifically delegates to its Executive
				  Director and its Commission Counsel the authority to execute conciliation
				  agreements in the name of the Commission once a majority of the Commission has
				  approved the agreement.
B.
Refusal of respondent to cooperate
If a respondent fails or refuses to confer with the
				  Commission or its representatives, or fails or refuses to make a good faith
				  effort to resolve any dispute, the Commission may terminate its efforts to
				  conciliate the dispute. In such event, the parties shall be notified promptly,
				  in writing, that such efforts have been unsuccessful.
C.
Refusal of complainant to
				agree
If a complainant fails or refuses to agree to the terms of a
				  conciliation agreement or settlement that the Commission believes represents a
				  just resolution of the complaint of discrimination, the Commission may execute
				  a conciliation agreement with the respondent limited to assurances that the
				  respondent will eliminate such unlawful discrimination and take any appropriate
				  corrective action. The proceeding shall be dismissed upon ascertainment by the
				  Commission's Executive Director or their designee that the terms of the signed
				  agreement have been met. Where the complainant is not a party to such a
				  conciliation agreement, the execution of the agreement by the Commission and
				  the respondent shall not extinguish or in any way prejudice the complainant's
				  right to pursue any and all appropriate individual remedies. This subsection
				  shall not apply to complaints investigated pursuant to an agreement between the
				  Commission and the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
				  that requires the Commission to file a civil action for the use of the
				  complainant.
D.
Confidentiality of conciliation efforts
Everything said or done during and as part of the
				  Commission's informal endeavors to eliminate unlawful discrimination by
				  conference, conciliation and persuasion is confidential and may not be
				  disclosed without the written consent of the parties concerned or used as
				  evidence in any subsequent proceeding, civil or criminal, except in a civil
				  action alleging a breach of the agreement filed by the Commission or a party.
				  Notwithstanding this provision, the Commission and its employees have
				  discretion to disclose such information to a party as is reasonably necessary
				  to facilitate conciliation. Post-finding conciliation agreements to which the
				  Commission is a signatory are public records.