Section 3481 - Claimant's Ability to Grieve and to Appeal(a) A claimant has the ability to submit a written grievance to the department containing one or more claims, subject to the requirements in section 3482, to dispute a policy, decision, action, condition, or omission by the department or departmental staff. In response, a claimant shall receive a written decision, as described in section 3483, from an Institutional Office of Grievances in the Division of Adult Institutions or a Regional Office of Grievances in the Division of Adult Parole Operations, clearly explaining the reasoning for the decision in each claim. A claimant also has the ability to submit a written appeal concerning one or more claims, subject to the requirements in section 3484, to dispute the decision by the Institutional or Regional Office of Grievances. In response, a claimant shall receive a written decision as described in section 3485 from the Office of Appeals clearly explaining the reasoning for the decision in each claim.(b) Reviewing Authorities. (1) The Institutional Reviewing Authorities authorized to grant or deny routine claims in a grievance received by an incarcerated person shall be of a rank no lower than a Chief Deputy Warden. The Director of the Division of Adult Institutions may also authorize an Associate Warden to serve as an Institutional Reviewing Authority. This authorization shall be in writing and shall indicate the start date and end date of the assignment.(2) The Regional Reviewing Authorities authorized to grant or deny routine claims in a grievance submitted by a supervised person shall be of a rank no lower than a Chief Deputy Parole Administrator. The Director of the Division of Adult Parole Operations may also authorize an Assistant Regional Administrator to serve as a Regional Reviewing Authority. This authorization shall be in writing and shall indicate the start date and end date of the assignment.(3) The Secretary shall appoint the Reviewing Authority authorized to grant or deny each claim in an appeal submitted by an incarcerated or supervised person, but in no case shall that official be of a rank lower than the Associate Director of the Office of Appeals. The Secretary may also authorize the Associate Warden of the Office of Appeals to serve as a Reviewing Authority. This authorization shall be in writing and shall indicate the start date and end date of the assignment(c) A claimant may choose to informally resolve a claim; however, any attempt to informally resolve a claim does not extend the time for submitting a grievance or an appeal.(d) Staff shall not retaliate against a claimant for seeking to informally resolve a claim or for submitting a grievance or appeal.(e) A claimant does not have the right to grieve or appeal a policy, decision, action, condition, or omission that was not made by the department or departmental staff but instead was made by an entity or official outside of the department, including, but not limited to, a county jail, a private hospital, the Department of State Hospitals, or the Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision; nor by an entity or official that is quasi-independent of the department, including, but not limited to, the Board of Parole Hearings, the Prison Industry Authority, or the Commission on Correctional Peace Officer Standards and Training. This article does not preclude a claimant from filing a complaint with the outside entity or official.(f) CDCR Form 602-1 (Rev. 01/22), "Grievance," hereby incorporated by reference, shall be made available to incarcerated persons in all housing units and in all prison law libraries and to supervised persons at all parole offices statewide.(g) When submitting a grievance or appeal, or for purposes of a related interview, if a claimant requests assistance based on a disability, lack of literacy, or need for translation services, or departmental staff detect the need for such assistance, then staff shall provide reasonable accommodations and utilize effective communication techniques as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, as applicable.Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 15, § 3481
Note: Authority cited: Section 5058, Penal Code. Reference: Section 5054, Penal Code.
Note: Authority cited: Section 5058, Penal Code. Reference: Section 5054, Penal Code.
1. New section filed 12-3-90 as an emergency; operative 12-3-90 (Register 91, No. 6). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 4-2-91 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
2. Editorial correction of printing error inadvertently omitting text (Register 91, No. 11).
3. Certificate of Compliance as to 11-28-90 order transmitted to OAL 3-21-91 and filed 4-22-91 (Register 91, No. 20).
4. Editorial correction of printing error in subsection (a) (Register 92, No. 5).
5. Amendment of subsections (a), (a)(5), (b) and (c) and new subsection (d) filed 9-13-2005; operative 9-13-2005 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(Register 2005, No. 37).
6. Renumbering of section 3481 to section 3472 and new section 3481 filed 3-25-2020 as an emergency; operative 6/1/2020 (Register 2020, No. 13). Pursuant to Penal Code section 5058.3, a Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 11-9-2020 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
7. Emergency filed 3-25-2020 and operative 6-1-2020 extended 60 days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 days pursuant to Executive Order N-66-20 (Register 2020, No. 42). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 3-9-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
8. Renumbering of section 3481 to section 3472 and new section 3481 refiled 2-25-2021 as an emergency, with amendments to subsection (f); operative 3/10/2021 (Register 2021, No. 9). Emergency expiration extended 60 days (Executive Order N-40-20) plus an additional 60 days (Executive Order N-71-20). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 10-8-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
9. Renumbering of section 3481 to section 3472 and new section 3481 refiled 10-4-2021 as an emergency, with amendments to subsection (f); operative 10/8/2021 pursuant to Government Code section 11346.1(d) (Register 2021, No. 41). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 1-6-2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11346.1(h) or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
10. Certificate of Compliance as to 10-4-2021 order, including amendment of section, transmitted to OAL 12-7-2021 and filed 1-5-2022; amendments operative 1/5/2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2022, No. 1).
11. Change without regulatory effect amending subsections (b)(1)-(3) and (f) filed 7-1-2024 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2024, No. 27).