ACPE Manuals

II. Complaint Basics

A. A Complaint is a grievance, presented in writing and signed, involving an alleged violation of the ethical criteria established by the ACPE Code of Professional Ethics. A complaint must identify the item in the code or process alleged violated. Complaints may be filed by those who consider themselves harmed by an alleged violation or by any person(s) having substantive knowledge of a violation of the ACPE Code of Professional Ethics.

B. The complaint must name an individual(s) over whom ACPE has jurisdiction. In filing the complaint, the complainant consents to these processes and gives permission for the disclosure of all information to the process investigators, adjudicators and the respondent. In most instances, the complainant will be required to submit a Complaint Form (available on the ACPE website or the APC website.)

C. ACPE Standards in effect at the time of the alleged incident giving rise to the complaint will be used to assess conduct; the ACPE Ethics manual and procedures for processing complaints in effect at the time the complaint is addressed by ACPE will be followed.

D. ACPE Code 3d states: “In relation to ACPE, members do not make intentionally false, misleading or incomplete statements about their work or ethical behavior.” This is binding on members. It is expected of nonmembers who engage the complaint process.

E. Duty of Cooperation, Confidentiality, and Professionalism

  1. Parties involved in an ethics complaint must:
    1. Adhere to the ACPE Code of Professional Ethics;
    2. Cooperate with those involved in any aspect of reviewing, mediating, investigating or adjudicating an ethics complaint. Under no circumstances may any party make any misleading, disparaging or threatening comments against those involved with the processing of complaints, including staff and consultants.
    3. Respect confidentiality as outlined in section VIII of this manual;
    4. Respond to requests for information in a timely, thorough and professional manner
  2. Any alleged violations of this section will be reviewed by the IRP who shall make the final determination with regards to whether a violation of this section has occurred. If the IRP determines that this section has been violated it may:
    1. Dismiss the complaint if it determines that the complainant’s non-compliance substantially interferes with the processing of the case;
    2. Restrict the offending party’s submission of information;
    3. Deny the right to appeal a final determination or sanctions.
    4. Warn the offending party of the violation and inform them of further sanction if any further violations occur.
  3. Any such violations found shall be reported to the hearing panel who may consider any such violation in its findings, determinations or sanctions.
  4. Nothing in this section restricts or limits in any way the right of persons or entities wrongfully accused, disparaged or defamed by parties from seeking redress against an offending party through the state or federal court process.