To Expunge or Not To Expunge

CLEAR News recently surveyed constituents about dismissed complaints against a licensee.  166 responses were received in answer to the following questions:

In your jurisdiction, if a complaint against a licensee is dismissed, is the complaint then expunged from the licensee's record?  Or does it remain in the record?

Also, if a complaint against a licensee is dismissed, is this information ever made public?

Respondents answered the survey questions on a voluntary basis representing their individual board, agency, or organization.  Responses have not been verified for accuracy.

Sixty-six percent of respondents indicated that dismissed complaints remained on the licensee's record.  Of those that maintain the record, 38% make information of the complaint available to the public, and 62% do not allow public access to the information.

Thirty-four percent of respondents indicated that the record of the complaint is expunged from the licensee's record, generally at the end of a retention period of up to five years.  Of those that do expunge the complaint, 23% make available to the public the fact that a complaint was filed and dismissed.  The other 77% do not make available to the public any record of a complaint being filed; it is completely "erased" from the record.

Within states and provinces for which several different boards and agencies responded, policies regarding dismissed complaints varied greatly.  While some agencies keep the complaint linked to the licensee record, others maintain a record of the complaint separately from the licensee record, only tracking complaints for internal use.  Several responses made reference to a state-wide "Open Records Act" or "Freedom of Information Act," but individual entities maintain different interpretations of these laws as related to public disclosure of complaint information.

Click here for a summary chart of the results of the survey.

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