Your Rights When Complaining About De Quincy Jail Staff: Confidentiality, Anti‑Retaliation, and False‑Complaint Rules
Thinking about reporting staff misconduct at De Quincy Jail? You should know what the City of DeQuincy's policy actually says about confidentiality, retaliation, and false complaints. Here's how those protections work—and where they have limits.
The City of DeQuincy policy is designed as an internal grievance procedure for employees. But it also acknowledges that internal reporting isn't your only option. State and federal remedies may be available through the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. You can also file a civil action in District Court. The internal process is one path - it doesn't eliminate other remedies that exist outside the City's system.
For sexual-harassment complaints through the City's process, you have two routing options: direct the complaint to the appropriate department head, or submit it in writing to the Mayor. Your choice matters - it determines who receives the complaint and who moves it forward.
The policy makes a strong baseline promise: all sexual harassment complaints - and related information and proceedings - will be kept in strict confidence, except where the policy itself allows otherwise. That said, "confidential" doesn't mean invisible. The policy requires a formal record for each complaint, and that record can be made available to either party (or their designee).
Note: The policy requires a complaint record - including the complaint itself, statements, recommendations, findings, and written determination - and says it must be available to either party. This record-keeping requirement is a built-in limit on total secrecy.
After investigation, the department head must submit a written recommendation to the Mayor within 180 days of the complaint being filed. The Mayor then decides what to do with that recommendation: adopt it or reject it. If the recommendation supports a finding that prohibited conduct occurred, the Mayor may proceed toward formal action. If it finds no cause, the complaint may be dismissed.
Deadline to track: The department head’s written recommendation is due to the Mayor within 180 days after the complaint is brought.
Retaliation is prohibited. No employee should face retaliation in any form for bringing a complaint, testifying, or assisting in a grievance. If retaliation happens anyway, report it to the appropriate department head or submit a written complaint to the Mayor.
When the Mayor determines prohibited conduct occurred, several actions are possible: directing the offender to stop the behavior, requiring counseling or training, issuing an oral or written censure, or taking employment actions like transfer, suspension (with or without pay), or discharge. The policy also allows "any other action" appropriate under the circumstances.
One clear caution: no employee may make an intentionally false complaint. This means knowingly making something up - not being unable to prove what happened or having details disputed.
7
- ✓ Keep a copy of whatever you submit (and anything you send to the department head or the Mayor), so you can show what you reported and when.
- ✓ Write down dates, times, locations, and names of anyone who may have seen or heard what happened, in case the investigation needs details.
- ✓ When you file, ask how “strict confidence” works in practice and what information may still have to be shared as part of the process.
- ✓ If you experience retaliation for reporting, testifying, or assisting, report that retaliation to the appropriate department head or submit it in writing to the Mayor.
If you’re not a City employee: This policy is written as an internal grievance procedure, but state and federal options may still exist (including complaints to the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights or the EEOC, and a civil action in District Court).
Find an Inmate at De Quincy Jail, LA
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
