1. (A) Every communication, whether oral or written, made by or on behalf of an individual or an establishment, to the director, his designee, or the board, whether by way of complaint or testimony, is privileged, and no action or proceeding, civil or criminal, may be brought against the individual or establishment, by or on whose behalf the communication is made, except upon proof that the communication was made with malice.
2. (B) Investigations conducted under this chapter are confidential, except that information relied upon in an administrative action may be disclosed as may be necessary to support the administrative action.
3. (C) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prohibit the respondent or the respondent's legal counsel from exercising the respondent's constitutional right of due process under the law including, but not limited to, the respondent's right to have normal access to the charges and evidence filed against the respondent.

HISTORY: 1996 Act No. 387, Section 1; 2013 Act No. 41, Section 7, eff June 7, 2013; 2022 Act No. 151 (S.227), Section 2, eff May 13, 2023.

Effect of Amendment

The 2013 amendment, in subsection (A), deleted "disciplinary" before "panel"; in subsection (B), substituted " including, but not limited to, the respondent's right to have normal access to the charges and evidence filed against him or her" for "nor as prohibiting the respondent from normal access to the charges and evidence filed against him as part of due process under the law"; and made other nonsubstantive changes.

2022 Act No. 151, Section 2, in (A), substituted "or an establishment, to the director, his designee, or the board," for "to the director or the panel," and inserted "or establishment" following "the individual"; inserted (B) and redesignated former (B) as (C); and in (C), substituted "the respondent's" for "his or her" and "the respondent" for "him or her", and made a nonsubstantive change.