§ 17-1502 Food service establishment inspection code of conduct.
AC § 17-1502
a. The commissioner shall develop a code of conduct pertaining to sanitary inspections. The inspection code of conduct shall inform owners and operators of food service establishments of their rights as they relate to sanitary inspections. b. The inspection code of conduct shall be in the form of a written document, drafted in plain language. The department shall distribute the inspection code of conduct to all food service establishment inspectors and food service establishments. Food service establishment inspectors shall also distribute the inspection code of conduct to food service establishment owners or operators prior to the beginning of each inspection. The department shall make the inspection code of conduct available on the department's website in the designated citywide languages, as defined in section 23-1101. c. The code of conduct shall include, but not be limited to, the following requirements: (1) the food service establishment inspector shall behave in a professional and courteous manner; (2) upon arriving at the food service establishment to perform a sanitary inspection, the food service establishment inspector shall immediately identify himself or herself to the staff of the food service establishment, and note the type of inspection, in a manner that does not unreasonably interfere with the dining experience of patrons; (3) the food service establishment inspector shall be as unobtrusive as possible during the inspection while conducting the inspection; (4) the food service establishment inspector shall return any equipment he or she moved back to its original location, and reassemble any equipment he or she disassembled, during the course of the inspection; (5) the food service establishment inspector shall have a sound knowledge of all relevant health code provisions and any other applicable laws and regulations.
(6)the food service establishment inspector shall meaningfully communicate with the food service establishment owner or operator, and if necessary, utilize language assistance services to facilitate meaningful communication; (7) the food service establishment inspector shall answer reasonable questions relating to the inspection; (8) the food service establishment inspector shall enforce agency rules in a fair and impartial manner; (9) the food service establishment inspector shall, upon finding a violation, explain to the food service establishment owner or operator how to remedy such violation.
(10)the food service establishment inspector must provide information informing the food service establishment owner or operator how such owner or operator may contest a notice of violation before the relevant local tribunal, including information about the availability of language interpretation services at the relevant tribunal; and (11) the food service establishment inspector shall provide information on how the food service establishment owner or operator may file a comment, compliment, or complaint about an inspector, including information about filing such comment, compliment, or complaint in a language other than English. d. The commissioner shall regularly, but no less frequently than every two years, review and update the inspection code of conduct, as necessary. e. Nothing in this section or in the inspection code of conduct shall be construed to create a cause of action or constitute a defense in any legal, administrative, or other proceeding. (Am. L.L. 2023/014, 1/21/2023, eff. 7/20/2023)
