Compliance With Rules – Authority To Impose Discipline
By becoming and remaining a Participant or subscriber/user in this MLS, each Participant and subscriber/user agrees to be subject to the Rules & Regulations and any other MLS governance provision. Each Participant is subject to these rules with regard to licensees affiliated with the participant who are subject to fee waiver under Section 6.1. The MLS may, through the administrative and hearing procedures established in these rules, impose discipline for violations of the rules and other MLS governance provisions. Discipline that may be imposed may only consist of one or more of the following:
- letter of warning
- letter of reprimand
- attendance at MLS orientation or other appropriate courses or seminars which the participant or subscriber can reasonably attend taking into consideration cost, location, and duration,
- appropriate, reasonable fine not to exceed $15,000
- suspension of MLS rights, privileges, and services for not less than thirty (30) days nor more than one (1) year
- termination of MLS rights, privileges, and services with no right to reapply for a specified period not to exceed three (3) years.
Note 1: A Participant (or user/subscriber, where appropriate) can be placed on probation. Probation is not a form of discipline. When a Participant (or user/subscriber, where appropriate) is placed on probation the discipline is held in abeyance for a stipulated period of time not longer than one (1) year. Any subsequent finding of a violation of the MLS rules during the probationary period may, at the discretion of the Board of Directors, result in the imposition of the suspended discipline. Absent any subsequent findings of a violation during the probationary period, both the probationary status and the suspended discipline are considered fulfilled, and the individual’s record will reflect the fulfillment. The fact that one or more forms of discipline are held in abeyance during the probationary period does not bar imposition of other forms of discipline which will not be held in abeyance.
Note 2: MLS participants and subscribers can receive no more than three (3) administrative sanctions in a calendar year before they are required to attend a hearing for their actions and potential violations of MLS rules, except that the MLS may allow more administrative sanctions for violations of listing information provided by participants and subscribers before requiring a hearing. The MLS must send a copy of all administrative sanctions against a subscriber to the subscriber’s participant and the participant is required to attend the hearing of a subscriber who has received more than three (3) administrative sanctions within a calendar year. See the Triad MLS Compliance Fee Schedule for more detail.