627.601—Complaints and allegations at the Federal level.
(a)
The types of complaints and allegations that may be received at the Federal level for review include:
(1)
Complaints for which the recipient has failed to issue a timely decision as required by § 627.503 of this part ;
(2)
Alleged violations of the Act and/or the regulations promulgated thereunder resulting from Federal, State, and/or SDA and SSG monitoring and oversight reviews;
(b)
Upon receipt of a complaint or allegation alleging any of the violations listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the Secretary may:
(1)
Direct the recipient to handle a complaint through local grievance procedures established under § 627.502 of this part; or
(2)
Investigate and determine whether the recipient or subrecipient(s) are in compliance with the Act and regulations promulgated thereunder ( section 163(b) and (c) ).
(3)
Allegations of violations of sections 141(c) or 143 of the Act and § 627.503 of this part shall be handled under paragraph (b)(2) of this section.