1. (a) The provisions of this Article shall apply to all grievances, reasonable accommodation requests, and appeals received by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (department) from persons under its legal custody or supervision on or after January 22, 2026.

2. (b) For purposes of this Article and Article 1.5 of this Subchapter, the following definitions shall apply:

   1. (1) “Administrative remedies” refers to the non-judicial process provided by the department to address grievances, reasonable accommodation requests, and appeals.
   2. (2) “Appeal” refers to a written disagreement with a decision letter issued by the Office of Grievances submitted to the Office of Appeals for review.
   3. (3) “Claim” means a single issue or event or a course of conduct arising from a unique set of facts or circumstances.
   4. (4) “Claimant” refers to a person who files a claim with the department.
   5. (5) “Coordinator” means the official responsible for the administrative functions of the Office of Grievances or Office of Appeals, depending on their assignment.
   6. (6) “Department” and “departmental staff” refers exclusively to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and to all employees, contractors, and volunteers associated with the department, except those employed by the Board of Parole Hearings, the California Correctional Training and Rehabilitation Authority, and the Commission on Correctional Peace Officer Standards and Training.
   7. (7) “Disability-related” means a request or claim with a nexus to a person's disability or functional limitation.
   8. (8) “Grievance” refers to a written complaint containing one or more claims that challenges a policy, decision, action, condition, or omission by the department or departmental staff submitted to an Office of Grievances for review.
   9. (9) “Personal interaction” means direct contact with a claimant, either face-to-face or by writing the claimant directly. Participating in a committee meeting that concerns a claimant or that the claimant attended does not, by itself, constitute personal interaction; nor does signing a memo that applies to a group of individuals or signing a decision letter pursuant to this Article.
   10. (10) “Reasonable Accommodation” refers to the modification of a program, service, or activity, or to the issuance of an assistive device, which makes it possible for a person with a disability to achieve equal access to that program, service or activity without imposing an undue hardship on the department or posing a direct threat to the health or safety of any person or the security of the institution.
   11. (11) “Reasonable Accommodation Panel” refers to a group of subject matter experts empaneled at each institution and overseen by the Associate Warden responsible for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act who are tasked with reviewing reasonable accommodation requests.
   12. (12) “Reasonable accommodation request” refers to a written request for one or more disability-related accommodations submitted to the Associate Warden responsible for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act for review.
   13. (13) “Reasonable accommodation review” refers to the process used by the department to respond to a written request for one or more disability-related accommodations.
   14. (14) “Reviewing Authority” refers to the officials identified in subsection 3481(b) who review and approve all “grant” decisions and “denial” decisions as described in subsections 3483(g) and 3485(g) and who are thus responsible for the overall quality and timeliness of those decisions.
   15. (15) “Routine review” refers to the process used by the department to respond to grievances that do not allege staff misconduct as well as grievances that do allege staff misconduct but are not referred for an investigation.

Note: Authority cited: Section 5058, Penal Code. Reference: Section 5054, Penal Code.

History

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. Renumbering of former section 3480 to new section 3480.1 and new section 3480 filed 9-13-2005; operative 9-13-2005 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4 (Register 2005, No. 37).

5. Removal of article 9 heading, new subchapter 5.1 (articles 1-2, sections 3480-3488), article 1 (sections 3480-3487), renumbering of section 3480 to section 3470 and new section 3480 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.

6. 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.

7. Removal of article 9 heading, new subchapter 5.1 (articles 1-2, sections 3480-3488), article 1 (sections 3480-3487), renumbering of section 3480 to section 3470 and new section 3480 refiled 2-25-2021 as an emergency, with amendments to subsections (b)(4) and (b)(11); 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.

8. Removal of article 9 heading, new subchapter 5.1 (articles 1-2, sections 3480-3488), article 1 (sections 3480-3487), renumbering of section 3480 to section 3470 and new section 3480 refiled 10-4-2021 as an emergency, with amendments to subsections (b)(4) and (b)(11); 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.

9. 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).

10. Change without regulatory effect amending subchapter heading, article heading and subsections (a), (b)(1), (b)(6) and (b)(12) filed 7-1-2024 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2024, No. 27).

11. Amendment filed 12-26-2024 as an emergency; operative 1-1-2025 (Register 2024, No. 52). Pursuant to Penal Code section 5058.3, a Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 6-10-2025 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

12. Editorial correction of article heading (Register 2025, No. 23).

13. Amendment refiled 6-10-2025 as an emergency; operative 6-11-2025 (Register 2025, No. 24). Pursuant to Penal Code section 5058.3, a Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 9-9-2025 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

14. Amendment refiled 9-2-2025 as an emergency; operative 9-10-2025 (Register 2025, No. 36). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 12-9-2025 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

15. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (b)(6) filed 1-12-2026 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2026, No. 3).

16. Certificate of Compliance as to 9-2-2025 order, including further amendment of section, transmitted to OAL 12-8-2025 and filed 1-22-2026; amendments operative 1-22-2026 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2026, No. 4).