South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 65 - SOUTH CAROLINA HUMAN AFFAIRS COMMISSION › Subchapter 1 - HUMAN AFFAIRS LAW › Section 65-3 - Investigation and Production of Evidence

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
A. Investigation
(1) Investigator. The investigation of
			 complaint shall be conducted by one or more investigators from the Commission's
			 staff who shall be appointed by the Commissioner. If more than one investigator
			 is appointed, one of the investigators shall be designated the "investigator in
			 charge" and shall direct the investigation.
(2) Duties of the Investigator. Investigators
			 shall do those things necessary and proper to thoroughly investigate a
			 complaint, but shall limit their investigations to their proper scope as
			 described in Subsection 65-3A(5) herein. Investigators assigned to investigate
			 complaints filed pursuant to Section l-13-90(c) of the Act (State agencies or
			 departments and their local subdivisions) shall upon completion of their
			 investigations submit to the supervisory commission member a statement of the
			 facts disclosed by their investigations and recommend to the supervisory
			 commission member that the complaint be dismissed or that a panel of commission
			 members be designated to hear the complaint. In complaints arising under
			 Section l-13-90(d) of the Act (employers, employment agencies or labor
			 organizations, including municipalities, counties, special purpose districts,
			 school districts and local governments), investigators shall upon completion of
			 their investigation submit to the Commissioner a statement of the facts
			 disclosed by the investigation and recommend either that the complaint be
			 dismissed or that the Commission endeavor to formally conciliate the
			 matter.
(3) Supervisory Commission
			 Members. If the complaint under investigation is brought pursuant to Section
			 l-13-90(c) of the Act, the Chairman of the Commission, or upon the request of
			 the Chairman, the Commissioner shall designate a member of the Commission to
			 supervise the processing of the complaint who shall be known as the supervisory
			 commission member. The supervisory commission member shall review the results
			 of the investigation conducted by the investigator and review the
			 investigator's recommendations for dismissal or other action.
(4) Commencement of the Investigation. The
			 investigation shall commence immediately upon service by the Commission of a
			 copy of the complaint or notice of complaint upon the respondent.
(5) Scope of Investigation. Insofar as
			 practicable, the investigation shall be limited to a determination of the facts
			 relating to the unlawful employment practice or practices under investigation
			 or in question before the commission.
(6) Conduct of the Investigation.
(a) The investigator shall make a prompt and
			 complete investigation of the allegations in the complaint which meet the
			 standards of R.
			 65-2.
(b) As part of each investigation the
			 investigator:
(i) Will accept as evidence any
			 statement of position and/or evidence concerning the allegations of the
			 complaint which the complainant or respondent wishes to voluntarily
			 submit.
(ii) Shall require the
			 complainant or respondent to provide any evidence, including statements and
			 documents which are relevant to the complaint, as well as, any information
			 which is necessary to establish actual damages or to establish the date on
			 which the alleged damages occurred.
(c) The investigator may require the
			 complainant to provide a detailed statement which includes, but is not limited
			 to:
(i) a statement of each specific harm that
			 the complainant has allegedly suffered, and the date on which each alleged harm
			 occurred;
(ii) for each alleged
			 harm, a statement specifying the act, policy or practice of the respondent
			 which is alleged to be unlawful; and
(iii) for each act, policy or practice
			 alleged to have harmed the complainant a statement of the facts which lead the
			 complainant to believe that the act, policy or practice is unlawfully
			 discriminatory.
(d)
			 During the investigation of a complaint, the investigator may conduct a
			 fact-finding conference with the parties. The purpose of the conference shall
			 be to clearly define the issues to determine which elements of the matter under
			 investigation are undisputed, to resolve those issues that can be resolved and
			 to determine whether there is any likelihood for a negotiated no-fault
			 settlement of the complaint as described in Section
			 65-5A.
			 Discussions during a fact-finding conference are confidential. Any conciliation
			 efforts during the conference are also confidential and are considered
			 conciliation attempts within the meaning of the Act.