State of Maine Office of the Attorney General Outside Complaint Policy

This policy is not meant to apply to our work with our state agency clients where the client may express a concern or even a complaint about the performance or behavior of one of our staff, nor is it meant to apply to concerns about a legal position taken by the Office. Such matters are to be dealt with through regular supervision, an internal review as determined by the Chief Deputy or, in the case of allegations that fall within the ambit of other Office policies (such as the Policy Statement Against Harassment, Domestic Violence Workplace Policy, or the EEO/ AA Policy Statement), through the procedures outlined therein. As stated in the law, this policy deals with complaints from the public.

Procedure

  1. Members of the public with complaints against members of the Office of the Attorney General may report such complaints through the mail, e-mail or by telephone.
  2. Any employee, who receives a complaint from a member of the public against another employee, or group of employees, must refer the complaint to the Chief Deputy.
  3. Upon receipt of the complaint, the Chief Deputy, after consultation with the Division Chief, shall determine what action should be taken Cl]. The employee shall be notified of the complaint. In the event of a conflict of interest or in other appropriate circumstances, the Chief Deputy may refer the matter to the Attorney General or a designee.
  4. Review of complaints will be completed within a reasonable time. If there needs to be an investigation of a bargaining unit employee as that term is defined in the relevant contract, the investigation shall comply with the provisions of applicable law, rule and collective bargaining agreement.
  5. All reviews of complaints are to be conducted in a professional and confidential manner.
  6. The findings will be shared with the employee.

Notification to the Complainant

Upon final disposition, and if appropriate, the complainant shall be notified that the matter has been looked into and dealt with by the Office. If appropriate, the complainant will be notified of the outcome of any review, to the extent permitted by civil service rules, applicable law and contractual requirements.

[1] Some complaints may contain facts that warrant referral to the Department of Equal Employment Opportunity/Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator or to another appropriate local, state or federal agency.

Administrative Responsibility

The Chief Deputy shall ensure that:

  1. All citizen complaint records and subsequent review of said complaints remain confidential as required by statute.
  2. Each complaint, any subsequent review and appropriate follow up are documented.
  3. This policy is distributed to all employees of the Office of the Attorney General, is added to the Office of the Attorney General Policy Manual, is posted on the Office of the Attorney General website and is otherwise made available to the public.

Reissued: October 3, 2019

AARON M. FREY
ATTORNEY GENERAL