|
Ethical Standards and Code of Conduct
Questions and Answers |
|
Legal Compliance and Ethical Conduct
|
- A staff person who is in the disciplinary process retaliates against a manager who has issued a written warning by calling and raising a concern about fraud in the billing process. What are the manager's rights and can they still fire the individual?
- In respect of the monetary gift value of $50-what about the legality and ethics of vendors routinely providing lunch?
- What is the status of Christmas parties funded by vendors-is this ethical and allowable?
- You mentioned in your presentation that "it is not ok to accept a cruise from vendors based on volume of sales." Is this not ok? This is how travel programs with donors are run.
- Is it ok to have $25 dollar gift certificates, for sales volume, as incentives or marketing?
- In respect of GRAMA, can an entity (person, newspaper) request information on an employee other than themselves?
- In respect of GRAMA, is it ok to allow someone to either view or use donor lists or databases? This would not be personal details just lists of names.
- In the event that a contract has been awarded to an out of state company, is it acceptable for the company to offer to fly in and host UU employees at their location so that they can [see] how the organization works?
- Could more guidance be given about the destruction of documents and e mails?
|
| Q1: |
A staff person who is in the disciplinary process retaliates against a manager who has issued a written warning by calling and raising a concern about fraud in the billing process. What are the manager's rights and can they still fire the individual?
|
A1:
|
Any allegation of fraud in the billing process must be investigated,
regardless of the underlying motivation or circumstances. The manager must cooperate fully in the investigation. Meanwhile, unless the manager's supervisory authority has been suspended, the manager should proceed with any appropriate disciplinary action up to and including termination, without regard to the billing concern having been raised. In other words, the billing concern should neither encourage nor discourage the appropriate disciplinary decisions.
|
| Q2: |
In respect of the monetary gift value of $50-what about the legality and ethics of vendors routinely providing lunch?
|
A2:
|
The Utah Public Officers' and Employees' Ethics Act (the "Act") generally prohibits accepting a gift that 1) might cause the employee to depart from the faithful and impartial discharge of their duties; 2) is given primarily to reward the employee for official action taken; or 3) is given to an employee who recently has been or will be involved in a transaction with the person giving the gift, unless there is appropriate disclosure. The statute does not apply to "an occasional non pecuniary gift, having a value of not in excess of $50." The statute also permits acceptance of gifts exceeding the $50 limit so long as the person accepting the gift makes disclosure to their supervisor, the University's Board of Trustees, the University's President, and the Attorney General's Office.
The lunches are "gifts" under the Act. In the example given, it is not a stretch to believe that vendors provide lunches to individuals involved with purchasing for the purpose of encouraging those individuals to do business/continue doing business with the vendor. Thus, if the lunches are too frequent or exceed the $50.00 limit, they will violate the Act. An occasional lunch with a value of less than $50.00 would not violate the Act.
|
| Q3: |
What is the status of Christmas parties funded by vendors-is this ethical and allowable?
|
A3:
|
To our knowledge, no laws prohibit vendors from throwing Christmas parties and inviting University employees. However, any items received by a person at a vendor Christmas party (food, beverages, gifts, favors, free parking) would be considered gifts under the Act. It is likely that Christmas parties given for University purchasing officers are given to encourage those individuals to do business/continue doing business with the vendor. If an employee accepts food, gifts, etc. at a Christmas party with an aggregate value exceeding $50 and without proper disclosure under the Act, the employee will have violated the Act.
|
| Q4: |
You mentioned in your presentation that "it is not ok to accept a cruise from vendors based on volume of sales." Is this not ok? This is how travel programs with donors are run.
|
A4:
|
If we understand the question correctly, travel vendors hired to provide trip packages for our donors (e.g. to attend out-of-state athletics events) supply the University with free cruises/trips depending upon the vendors' sales volumes. It is likely that these vendors provide free cruises/trips as incentives for the University to continue selecting that vendor for University events. If the free cruises/trips are given to employees involved in selecting the vendor, those cruises/trips will violate the statute absent disclosure under the statute. On the other hand, if the cruises/trips are given to the University, rather than to specific individuals, the Act will not be violated. The University's decision to award or not award the cruises/trips to its employees is not governed by the Act.
|
| Q5: |
Is it ok to have $25 dollar gift certificates, for sales volume, as incentives or marketing?
|
A5:
|
We assume that this question is asking whether University departments may award $25 dollar gift certificates to University employees as incentives for meeting marketing goals. These activities are not governed by the Act and, therefore, would not violate the Act. Other internal University policies may, however, govern this type of reward/bonus.
|
| Q6: |
In respect of GRAMA, can an entity (person, newspaper) request information on an employee other than themselves?
|
A6:
|
Under GRAMA, the University's records of the following information about current and former University employees are deemed public and therefore available to anyone:
"names, gender, gross compensation, job titles, job descriptions, business addresses, business telephone numbers, number of hours worked per pay period, dates of employment, and relevant education, previous employment, and similar job qualifications"
"formal charges or disciplinary actions against a past or present [University] employee if the disciplinary action has been completed and all time periods for administrative appeal have expired and the charges on which the disciplinary action was based were sustained"
In contrast, the University's records of the following information about applicants for employment and current and former University employees are deemed private and therefore only available to the University for legitimate business purposes and to the employee who is the subject of the record:
"medical history, diagnosis, condition, treatment, evaluation or similar medical data"
"home address, home telephone number, Social Security number, insurance coverage, marital status, or payroll deductions"
"performance evaluations and personal status information such as race, religion, or disabilities
>With the exception of the records of the final decisions, the University's records containing information regarding the following decisions about faculty members are deemed protected and therefore not available to the employee who is the subject of the record:
"tenure evaluations, appointments . . . retention decisions and promotions"
|
| Q7: |
In respect of GRAMA, is it ok to allow someone to either view or use donor lists or databases? This would not be personal details just lists of names.
|
A7:
|
Under GRAMA, only the names of donors or prospective donors to the University who request anonymity in writing are deemed protected.
|
| Q8: |
In the event that a contract has been awarded to an out of state company, is it acceptable for the company to offer to fly in and host UU employees at their location so that they can [see] how the organization works?
|
A8:
|
The Act prohibits gifts given for official action taken. If there is no legitimate business purpose for University employees to visit the site of the vendor, the trips would likely be construed as "gifts," would certainly exceed the $50 limit and would likely violate the Act absent disclosure. If, however, there is a good business reason for employees to visit the vendor's site, then the airfare and expenses would simply be part of the negotiated business transaction and not be "gifts" under the Act.
|
| Q9: |
Could more guidance be given about the destruction of documents and e mails?
|
A9:
|
Documents should only be destroyed in accordance with document retention schedules. The University is developing a policy on retention of email. In the interim, there is no requirement that emails be retained unless there is imminent or pending litigation or a subpoena related to the subject matter of the email.
|
|
|
