Montana Administrative Code

24.7.316 INTERESTED PARTY (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 2-4-201, MCA Implementing statute(s): 2-4-201, 39-51-1109, 39-51-2404, MCA History: NEW, 2007 MAR p. 1325, Eff. 9/7/07; AMD, 2011 MAR p. 573, Eff. 4/15/11; REP, 2022 MAR p. 52, Eff. 1/15/22.

24.7.320 SUBSTITUTE BOARD MEMBER (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 2-4-201, MCA Implementing statute(s): 2-15-124, 2-15-1704, 39-51-301, 39-51-2405, MCA History: NEW, 2011 MAR p. 573, Eff. 4/15/11; REP, 2022 MAR p. 52, Eff. 1/15/22.

24.8.101 PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF RULES -- EFFECT OF PARTIAL INVALIDITY The purpose of the rules in this chapter is to describe the procedures followed by the Department of Labor and Industry's Human Rights Bureau and the Office of Administrative Hearings in administering complaints …

24.8.103 DEFINITIONS The following definitions apply throughout this chapter: "Act" means the Human Rights Act, Title 49, chapter 2, MCA. "Aggrieved party" means a person who can demonstrate a specific personal and legal interest, as distinguished from a general interest, and who…

24.8.105 APPLICABILITY OF COMMISSION RULES In discharging their responsibilities, the Human Rights Bureau and the Office of Administrative Hearings will apply the interpretive rules of the commission contained in ARM Title 24, chapter 9. Authorizing statute(s): 49-2-204, MCA Impl…

24.8.107 RECORD KEEPING REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS All employers, labor organizations, employment agencies, and government agencies shall maintain records pursuant to 49-2-102, MCA, and 42 USCA 2000e-8(c) and (d). All personnel records made or kept by an employer, including but n…

24.8.201 FILING OF COMPLAINTS A complaint may be filed with the Human Rights Bureau by or on behalf of any aggrieved party. Complaints must be filed with the Human Rights Bureau by mail addressed to the Human Rights Bureau, P.O. Box 1728, Helena, MT 59624-1728; personal delivery …

24.8.203 FORM OF COMPLAINTS A complaint is a written document filed with the Human Rights Bureau. An aggrieved party or a person filing on behalf of an aggrieved party may draft and file a complaint. Except as provided in (2), a complaint must contain, at a minimum, the following…

24.8.205 INTAKE PROCEDURE A person seeking to file an unlawful discrimination complaint may contact the Human Rights Bureau by mail or telephone. The Human Rights Bureau may provide consultation and assistance in filing a complaint through intake. If a person sets forth sufficien…

24.8.207 NOTICE OF FILING OF COMPLAINTS Within ten business days of the filing of a complaint, the Human Rights Bureau shall serve notice of filing upon the parties by mail. The notice shall: acknowledge the filing of the complaint and state the date that the complaint was filed;…

24.8.210 CONFIDENTIALITY AND RELEASE OF INFORMATION There is a compelling state interest in the elimination of illegal discrimination in Montana pursuant to Art. II, sec. 4 of the Montana Constitution (1972). In some cases, the interest of a person in viewing material related to …

24.8.212 INFORMAL INVESTIGATION BY THE DEPARTMENT The Human Rights Bureau has the authority to gather sufficient information to allow a thorough scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding complaints of discrimination through an informal investigation. The investigation shall be co…

24.8.214 INVESTIGATIVE SUBPOENAS Pursuant to 49-2-203, MCA, the Human Rights Bureau may request that the commissioner issue subpoenas relating to a matter under investigation in order to further the department's informal investigation. Authorizing statute(s): 49-2-204, MCA Implem…

24.8.216 EFFECT OF FAILURE TO COOPERATE WITH INVESTIGATION When a party refuses to comply with a request by the Human Rights Bureau for information or evidence reasonably necessary for the investigation, the Human Rights Bureau may take either or both of the following actions to …

24.8.220 FINDING OF REASONABLE CAUSE OR NO REASONABLE CAUSE AND FINAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORT Within 120 days (for cases filed pursuant to 49-2-305, MCA) or 180 days (for all other cases, pursuant to 49-2-504, MCA), the Human Rights Bureau will conclude its informal investigation by…

24.8.301 VOLUNTARY RESOLUTION AGREEMENTS The Human Rights Bureau may undertake efforts to achieve a voluntary resolution of the case with the parties. Any voluntary resolution of the complaint agreed to by the parties before the Human Rights Bureau begins its informal investigati…

24.8.401 WITHDRAWAL OF COMPLAINT DURING THE INFORMAL INVESTIGATION Any person who has filed a complaint with the Human Rights Bureau or any person on whose behalf a complaint has been filed may make a request in writing that the complaint be withdrawn. This request may be made at…

24.8.403 DISMISSAL BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS BUREAU The Human Rights Bureau shall conclude the department's administrative proceedings and issue a notice of dismissal and right to sue if: the Human Rights Bureau determines that it lacks jurisdiction or the statutory authority to invest…

24.8.405 DISMISSAL BY REQUEST OF A PARTY (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 49-2-204, MCA Implementing statute(s): 49-2-305, 49-2-509, MCA History: NEW, 2002 MAR p. 2908, Eff. 10/18/02; REP, 2008 MAR p. 2636, Eff. 12/25/08.

24.8.410 NOTICE OF DISMISSAL AND RIGHT TO SUE The issuance of a notice of dismissal and right to sue completes the administrative process with regard to any complaint of discrimination in which a notice of dismissal and right to sue is issued. Each notice of dismissal and right t…

24.8.701 JURISDICTION TO CONSIDER JURISDICTION The Office of Administrative Hearings shall, at all times, have jurisdiction to determine the jurisdiction of the department over any particular contested case. In such situations the rules of procedure of the Office of Administrativ…

24.8.704 INCORPORATION OF OTHER PROCEDURAL RULES BY REFERENCE To the extent these rules do not provide for or specify procedures, the Office of Administrative Hearings adopts and applies the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure and Montana Rules of Evidence. This adoption excludes re…

24.8.707 REPRESENTATION IN A CONTESTED CASE PROCEEDING All parties before the Office of Administrative Hearings have the right to be represented by an attorney of their choice. The Office of Administrative Hearings will not provide counsel for parties or provide funds for the pay…

24.8.710 APPOINTMENT AND AUTHORITY OF HEARING OFFICER Contested cases will be presided over and heard by a hearing officer appointed by name in the initial notice of hearing issued by the Office of Administrative Hearings. The hearing officer has general authority to regulate the…

24.8.713 DISQUALIFICATION OF A HEARING OFFICER A party may disqualify a hearing officer from presiding over any matter governed by these rules only upon an affirmative showing, made in good faith, of personal bias, a lack of independence, disqualification by law, or other ground …

24.8.716 EX PARTE CONSULTATIONS A presiding hearing officer may not participate in or initiate any ex parte consultation, as defined in (2), on the merits of a matter with any party or the department. "Ex parte communication" means the communication with the presiding hearing off…

24.8.719 CONTESTED CASE RECORD The record in a contested case shall include all documents listed in the Office of Administrative Hearings docket, including without limitation: all pleadings, motions, intermediate rulings; all evidence received or considered, including a stenograp…

24.8.722 PLACE OF HEARING The hearing officer shall hold contested case hearings in the county where the unlawful conduct is alleged to have occurred, unless a party requests a change of venue for good cause shown. The hearing officer may change venue for the hearing of a contest…

24.8.725 FORMAL PROCEEDINGS All contested case proceedings shall be formal unless informal proceedings or disposition under 2-4-604, MCA, are permitted by stipulation of the parties, agreed settlement, consent order, or default. Authorizing statute(s): 49-2-204, 49-3-106, MCA Imp…

24.8.728 INFORMAL PROCEEDINGS Informal proceedings may be conducted where the parties to a contested case jointly waive a formal proceeding, where the default of a party is entered, or where informal proceedings are appropriate following the imposition of sanctions upon a party. …

24.8.731 DOCUMENT FORMAT, FILING, AND SERVICE All documents, pleadings, and papers to be filed shall be eight and one-half inches by eleven inches (8½" x 11") in size, standard quality, opaque, unglazed paper, with a minimum 50% recycled content, of which at least 10% shall be po…

24.8.734 APPEARANCE, DISMISSAL, AND DEFAULT Answers to complaints following the service of the notice of hearing are not required. The contentions of the parties and fair notice of them to prepare for hearing shall be developed through discovery and/or prehearing orders. Each par…

24.8.737 INTERVENTION AND LIMITED PARTICIPATION Intervention will be governed by the applicable rules of civil procedure, except that there is no intervention of right once a case has been certified to the Office of Administrative Hearings for a contested case. The hearing office…

24.8.740 CLASS ACTIONS A complaint may be prosecuted as a class action where the outcome of a contested case will affect a class of persons and where a class action would otherwise be allowed under Rule 23 of the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure. Class action applications, motion…

24.8.743 MOTIONS Any party may seek relief in a contested case by means of an appropriate motion. Motions shall clearly state the relief sought by a party, the grounds and authority supporting the entry of an order granting the motion, any prejudice which would result should the …

24.8.746 EVIDENCE The evidence received and considered in contested case proceedings shall conform to the Montana Rules of Evidence and the provisions of 2-4-612, MCA, except as modified for informal proceedings under 2-4-603 and 2-4-604, MCA. Notice may be taken of judicially co…

24.8.749 DISCOVERY The methods, scope, and procedures of discovery are those governed and permitted by the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure, recognizing that the hearing officer is not permitted by law to make an award of attorney fees as a sanction for failure to make discovery.…

24.8.752 AMENDMENT OF COMPLAINT A charging party may amend a complaint to cure defects or omissions, including procedural defects or defects in verification, and to allege new facts and matters arising out of continuing violation of law. A charging party may also amend a complain…

24.8.755 PREHEARING CONFERENCES AND ORDERS The hearing officer may hear contested cases based upon a prehearing order which contains the full contentions of the parties as to fact and law, along with their claims for relief. A prehearing order supersedes all prior pleadings in th…

24.8.758 SUBPOENAS The hearing officer may issue subpoenas without a request or upon that of a party for the attendance of witnesses or production of evidence. The procedure for service of subpoenas and payment of fees shall conform to the manner provided in civil actions. The he…

24.8.761 HEARING A contested case hearing shall be conducted in the manner of civil actions before the district court, sitting without a jury, and the hearing officer may enter appropriate orders during the course of the hearing to assure the conduct of a fair hearing. The method…

24.8.764 HEARING OFFICER DECISIONS Following the close of hearing or other proceeding which allows the parties an opportunity for hearing, the hearing officer shall prepare a written hearing officer decision consisting of findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommended reli…

24.8.767 NOTIFICATION OF ENTRY OF HEARING OFFICER DECISION Upon the entry of the hearing officer decision, the hearing officer shall give the parties written notice of the entry of that order, including the date of entry of the order and a notification of the rights of the partie…

24.9.1001 PURPOSE The purpose of this subchapter is to provide guidelines that will enable educational institutions to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex. These rules are interpretive rules. The fact that a particular situation is not addressed in these rule…

24.9.1002 DEFINITIONS "Admission" means selection for part-time, full-time, special, associate, transfer, exchange, or any other enrollment, membership, or matriculation in or at an education program or activity operated by an educational institution. "Auxiliary services" for stu…

24.9.1003 TREATMENT OF STUDENTS Unless an exception is based on reasonable grounds, no student shall, on the basis of sex, be denied equal access to programs, extracurricular activities or services or benefits or be limited in the exercise of any right, privilege, advantage or op…

24.9.1004 ADMISSIONS Unless an exception is based on reasonable grounds, no person shall, on the basis of sex, be denied admission, or be subjected to discrimination in admission, by an educational institution. In determining whether a person has satisfied any policy or criterion…

24.9.1005 GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING SERVICES Unless an exception is based on reasonable grounds, school personnel assigned to provide guidance and counseling services, and all materials used in the provision of those services, shall, without regard to their sex, encourage students …

24.9.1006 ACCESS TO COURSE OFFERINGS AND ACTIVITIES Unless an exception is based on reasonable grounds, an educational institution shall not provide any course or otherwise carry out any of its educational programs or activities separately on the basis of sex, or require or refus…

24.9.1007 TEXTBOOKS AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS Textbooks and instructional materials are part of an educational program and as such are considered to be part of the terms and conditions or privileges provided by an educational institution under the Montana Human Rights Act and t…