Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 14 - INDEPENDENT AGENCIES › Subtitle 03 - COMMISSION ON HUMAN RELATIONS › Chapter 14.03.05 - Commercial Nondiscrimination Policy › Section 14.03.05.03 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this chapter,
				the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Administrative law judge" means the
				individual assigned by the Office of Administrative Hearings to conduct a
				hearing under this chapter.
(2)
				"Aggrieved person" means any business entity that claims to have been injured
				by a discriminatory commercial practice.
(3) "Business entity" means any person, as
				defined in State Finance and Procurement Article, §
										1-101(d),
				Annotated Code of Maryland, firm, sole proprietorship, partnership,
				corporation, limited liability company, or other business entity, or a
				combination of any of these entities, including any financial institution,
				developer, consultant, prime contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or vendor,
				that has submitted a bid or proposal for, has been selected to engage in, or is
				engaged in providing goods or services to the State.
(4) "Charge" means a written statement
				prepared by the Commission's general counsel and issued under this chapter that
				contains a factual allegation of an unlawful discriminatory commercial
				practice.
(5) "Commercial customer"
				means a business entity that procures or attempts to procure goods or services
				from a business entity for business use as opposed to personal, family, or
				household use.
(6) "Commercial
				nondiscrimination policy" means the provisions under State Finance and
				Procurement Article, §§
										19-101
				-19-120, Annotated Code of Maryland, and any regulation, or documentation
				requirement, adopted by the Maryland Commission on Human Relations.
(7) "Commercial treatment" means the
				treatment of a vendor, supplier, subcontractor, or commercial customer by a
				business entity that affects the conduct of business and the terms and
				conditions under which business is transacted between two or more business
				entities.
(8) "Commission" means
				the Maryland Commission on Human Relations.
(9) "Commission staff" means employees of the
				Maryland Commission on Human Relations designated by the Commission to process,
				investigate, and pursue complaints filed under these regulations.
(10) "Complainant" means the person or
				business entity who files a complaint of discriminatory commercial practice or
				practices under these regulations.
(11) "Complaint" means a written statement by
				a person or business entity alleging an act or acts of commercial
				discrimination as prohibited by State Finance and Procurement Article,
				§§
										19-101
				-19-120, Annotated Code of Maryland.
(12) "Conciliation" means the attempted
				resolution of issues raised by a complaint or by investigation of a complaint
				through informal negotiations involving the complainant, the respondent, and
				the Commission.
(13) "Conciliation
				agreement" means a written agreement setting forth the resolution of the issues
				in conciliation.
(14) "Contract"
				means an agreement with a business entity that is awarded by or on behalf of
				the State for that business entity to sell or lease supplies or goods, or to
				provide construction, real estate development, financial, insurance,
				professional, or other services to the State in return for a fee, or any other
				form of compensation to be paid or provided by the State.
(15) Discrimination.
(a) "Discrimination" means any disadvantage,
				difference, distinction, or preference in the solicitation, selection, hiring,
				or commercial treatment of a vendor, supplier, subcontractor, or commercial
				customer on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex,
				age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or any other unlawful use
				of characteristics regarding the vendor's, supplier's, or commercial customer's
				employees or owners.
(b)
				"Discrimination" does not include lawful efforts to remedy the effects of
				discrimination that have occurred or are occurring in the
				marketplace.
(16)
				"Economic development project" means a real estate development, construction,
				or renovation project for which the State provides:
(a) Funding or other financial assistance,
				other than payments in exchange for goods or services;
(b) Land;
(c) Road improvements;
(d) Tax credits; or
(e) A below market purchase price.
(17) "Executive Director" has the
				meaning stated in COMAR
				14.03.01.02F.
(18) Financial Institution.
(a) "Financial institution" means a person:
(i) Engaged in the business of lending money,
				guaranteeing loans, extending credit, securing bonds, or providing venture or
				equity capital; or
(ii) That offers
				financial services in connection with State projects or the administration of
				State government.
(b)
				"Financial institution" includes banks, savings and loans, venture capital
				companies, insurance companies, bonding companies, mortgage companies, credit
				unions, and brokers.
(19) "Investigator" has the meaning stated in
				COMAR 14.03.01.02F.
(20) "Notice" has the meaning
				stated in COMAR
				14.03.01.02F.
(21) "Party" means:
(a) A person who has filed a complaint under
				this chapter;
(b) A respondent
				business entity that has been alleged to have violated State Finance and
				Procurement Article, §§
											19-101
				-19-120, Annotated Code of Maryland; or
(c) The Commission, which is responsible for
				investigating the complaint and rendering the initial findings.
(22) "Proceeding" means a
				conference, meeting, hearing, investigation, inquiry, or other fact-finding or
				decision-making procedure, including the dismissal of a complaint.
(23) "Respondent" means a person or business
				entity:
(a) Accused in a complaint of a
				discriminatory commercial practice; or
(b) Identified during an investigation of a
				complaint and joined as an additional or substitute respondent under this
				chapter.
(24) "Services"
				includes construction, real estate development, financial, insurance,
				professional, and other services.
(25) "State subcontract" means an agreement
				for the provision of goods or the performance of a particular portion of work
				to be performed under a contract with the State, where:
(a) The party providing the goods or services
				is on reasonable notice that the work is to be performed under a State
				contract; and
(b) The amount to be
				paid for the goods and services is material with respect to the overall amount
				of the contract.
(26)
				"State subcontractor" means the party providing goods or services under a State
				subcontract.
(27) "Time" has the
				meaning stated in COMAR
				14.03.01.02F.