What is the difference between the Grievance Committee and the Professional Standards Committee?
A. The function of the Grievance Committee is clearly distinguishable from the function of the Professional Standards Committee. Professional Standards is similar to a court. The court adjudicates matters that come before it, and Professional Standards makes decisions on matters involving ethics or arbitration (commission disputes). In a similar manner, the Grievance Committee receives ethics complaints and arbitration requests to determine, if taken as true on their face, a hearing is to be warranted. The Grievance Committee makes only such preliminary evaluation as is necessary to make these decisions. While the Grievance Committee has meetings, it does not hold hearings like Professional Standards does. Grievance does not decide whether members have violated the Code of Ethics, nor do they mediate or arbitrate business dispute. These are solely the purposes of the Professional Standards Committee.
