Notice of Your Rights

To investigate your complaint, CRD may need information about your disability. This notice explains your rights to protect information about your disability under both state and federal laws. If you have questions about this notice, please contact the investigator assigned to your case. If you have any questions about your privacy rights more generally, you should contact a private attorney.

Scope of Information CRD Can Request:

• If your complaint is about a disability that is known or obvious, CRD may not ask you to provide more information or documents about your disability. An example of a known disability is if you use a wheelchair and are asking for an accommodation that will allow you to better access your place of employment or housing.
• If your disability or your need for a reasonable accommodation or reasonable modification is not known or obvious, CRD may need additional information or documentation for the investigation.
• CRD will only request information that is relevant to your complaint and necessary to investigate the complaint. CRD will NOT ask you to sign a release giving CRD full access to all your medical records.

Contacting Your Medical Provider:

• CRD may need to contact your medical provider to get more information or documentation. Before CRD contacts your medical provider, CRD will ask you to sign an Authorization for Release of Protected Health Information form. The form will explain the specific information CRD needs from your provider.
• If you feel CRD is requesting more information than it needs for the investigation, you have the right to ask the investigator to limit the number or type of documents requested or limit the type of information CRD is requesting from your medical provider.

Alternative Sources of Information:

• If you do not want CRD to contact your medical provider about your complaint, you have the right to ask CRD to get the information it needs about your disability or need for reasonable accommodation/modification another way. For example, you could ask CRD to speak to your social worker, case manager, caregiver, IHSS worker, or a family member or close friend. You could also submit documentation you already have in your possession that will confirm your disability and/or need for an accommodation, like Social Security records if they are relevant.
• CRD will accept a variety of types of information or documentation as long as the source is reliable and credible, and that the information provided is sufficient for us to investigate your case.

Insufficient Information:

• CRD cannot and will not force you to sign an authorization form if you do not want to. But, if CRD needs information to complete its investigation and you do not want to provide that information, CRD may not be able to complete the investigation and will close the complaint.
• You have the right to ask the investigator if the information requested is necessary for the investigation to proceed and whether CRD will close your case if it does not receive that information. You also have the right to talk to the investigator if you feel the information requested is not necessary to investigate your complaint.

Confidentiality:

• During the investigation, CRD will mark all medical records as “Medical Records” or “Confidential.” During its investigation, CRD will not disclose your medical information or documentation.
• If the party responding to your claim or a third party requests a copy of the case file through a Public Records Act request, CRD will NOT give them a copy of your medical records.
• There are times when your medical information or documents may be disclosed to others. If a lawsuit is filed, CRD may disclose relevant medical records, information that is reasonably necessary to the civil complaint or settlement of the claim, or information ordered by a court.
• If CRD receives a subpoena (or an order from a Court to provide documents), CRD will only release your medical records if a Notice to Consumer/Employee has been served on you and CRD has not received a written objection to the subpoena from you.