Opinion ID: 2365157
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Investigative Mechanisms of the Commission

Text: Prior to determining the propriety of injunctive relief, however, we shall pause to discuss a few procedural arguments raised by the Detention Center concerning the methods by which the Commission is authorized the conduct its preliminary investigations into employment discrimination claims. The Detention Center alleges that the Commission is limited to the formal investigative mechanisms described in the Code of Maryland Regulations. Specifically, the Detention Center argues that because COMAR 14.03.01.04(5)(a) provides that a subpoena may compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses, the fact-finding interviews of witnesses must be recorded and taken under oath. COMAR 14.03.01.04(5)(a). The use of the word testimony, according to the Detention Center, indicates that a subpoenaed witness must be interviewed formally, i.e. under oath or affirmation, and the interview must be recorded and transcribed. We disagree with the Detention Center's suppositions. Most significantly, the statutory authority provided the Commission by Article 49B, Section 10 is not restricted by the subsequently enacted regulations concerning the Commission's subpoena authority; rather, the regulations provide a more thorough description of the investigative tools that may be utilized by the Commission and the proper procedures for employing these tools. That COMAR contemplates the Commission's ability to utilize a subpoena during its investigation does not mean that the investigatory and fact-finding powers of the Commission are limited to eliciting information from subpoenaed witnesses or documents; the provisions in COMAR regarding the Commission's investigatory process are not exclusive. The Commission has the ability, as one of its many investigatory tools, to use a subpoena to compel the attendance or testimony of witnesses or the production of documents. Again, that this is a permissible tool, does not mean that it is the only tool. In fact, subpoena use is qualified by the premise that if completion of an investigation requires the issuance of a subpoena ... Thus, it is implied that the Commission's attempts at acquiring the information without a subpoena have failed, which is, in turn, indicative of the Commission's inherent ability to gather such information absent a subpoena. [6] The Detention Center further argues that Section 10 was enacted to protect employers from unwarranted or frivolous complaints by requiring a preliminary investigation before the employer can be subject to a Commission complaint. The Detention Center claims that because the investigatory process is for its benefit, the Detention Center was entitled to be present during the interviews and to ensure that testimony was taken properly, i.e. recorded and transcribed. Again, we find no merit in this assertion. While the investigative process may, in part, protect an employer from frivolous claims, it was never intended to provide an impenetrable shield through which no investigation could be completed in confidence and without undue influence or intimidation by the employer accused of violating the statute. The Legislature did not mandate that the preliminary investigation must be conducted through formal transcribed interviews where both the witness and the accused are privy to the questioning process; to the contrary, Section 13 of Article 49B indicates that the Legislature intended to keep the investigations confidential, to the extent feasible. As such, we refuse to find that the Detention Center's presence was required at the witness interviews during the preliminary investigation; nor do we conclude that the statute and regulations require recording and/or transcription of the interviews.