Grand Rapids — Ch. 176 Human Rights § 9.967

(1) A complaint may be filed with the ODI by any individual (the complainant) who has experienced or been witness to discrimination within the City as described in this Chapter. The complaint must be filed in person, by mail, or via the ODI's online complaint reporting site within one hundred eighty (180) calendar days of the date upon which the complainant knew or should have known of the alleged discriminatory act. If an individual fails to file a complaint within the specified time frame, the complaint will not be considered.
(2) A complaint shall indicate, at a minimum, all parties involved, the contact information of the complainant, a description of the discriminatory conduct, the date(s) and location(s) of its occurrence, and the protected class or classes, defined in Section 9.955 of this Chapter, which were discriminated against. The complaint will not be processed without this information.
(3) The ODI, with the assistance of the City Attorney's Office, shall review the complaint to determine relevance under this Chapter. Upon completion of the review, the ODI shall address the complaint through one or more of the following actions:
(a) Referral of the complainant to an appropriate local, state or federal entity for further investigation and action. Complaints which are covered by local, state or federal law will be referred to the appropriate local, state or federal agency for full investigation.
i. The ODI and the City Attorney's Office will determine the most appropriate federal or state investigative agency to address the issue brought forward and make a referral to that agency.
(4) The complainant will receive written notification of the referral of the complaint to the external agency.
(5) The complaint will then follow the process established by the investigative agency referred to.
(6) The ODI will document all referrals that are made including but not limited to information regarding location of complainant, type of complaint, agency referral.
(a) Conduct a complaint investigation in conjunction with the City Attorney's Office. This investigation may also include or be led by additional trained City personnel when needed.
i. ODI and/or another designated City investigator and the City Attorney's Office will conduct an investigation of the complaint filed utilizing appropriate investigatory methods.
ii. The City investigator (ODI or other designated City personnel) and the City Attorney's Office will make a determination regarding whether the complaint violates the Human Rights Ordinance and communicate that determination to the complainant in writing.
iii. The City investigator and City Attorney's Office will document all complaints investigated including but not limited to complaint disposition, location of complaint, and type of complaint.
(b) Arrangement of mediation between the involved parties, upon their agreement, to seek a resolution without legal action. If an agreement is reached, a record of the agreement shall be prepared by the City Attorney's Office and signed by all parties. A violation of the agreement shall be considered a violation of this Chapter.
(c) Dismissal of the complaint if the allegations do not constitute a violation of this Chapter.
(7) Action on the complaint shall be taken in accordance with this Chapter within ninety (90) days of receipt, and the parties shall be notified if additional time is needed.
(8) The ODI shall provide written notice to the parties of the reasons for any action taken, and upon request, provide the parties with any evidence used in reaching its decision.
(9) The City Attorney's Office and/or City investigator may share non-confidential data with the CRC.
(10) In the course of its investigation, the City Attorney's Office may request a person to produce books, papers, records, or other documents which may be relevant to an alleged violation. If said person does not comply with the request, the City Attorney's Office may apply to the 17th Circuit Court for an order requiring production of the materials.
(11) No individual shall knowingly file a false complaint or provide false information in the investigation of a complaint. All complaints received by, and responses from, the ODI shall be retained by the City of Grand Rapids in accordance with its retention policy.
(12) The ODI shall provide an annual report to the City Manager, City Commission and the CRC providing a statistical and aggregate reporting of the data regarding:
(a) Type of Complaint;
(b) Length of investigation and/or review;
(c) Disposition of Complaint (ie: referred, investigated, mediated, sustained, etc.).
To the extent legally possible, complaint information will be kept confidential. No information regarding complaints will be released prior to the final disposition of the complaint.
(13) The ODI, with the assistance of the City Attorney's Office, shall develop all other rules of procedure deemed necessary for the reporting, hearing, and resolution of complaints.