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Whistleblowers
Any person
may report allegations of suspected improper governmental
activities. Such reports may be made anonymously and/or orally,
but are encouraged to be made in writing to assure a clear
understanding of the issues raised. The allegations should
be factual rather than speculative. The role of the whistleblower
is as a reporting party; whistleblowers are not investigators
or finders of facts, nor do they determine the appropriate
corrective or remedial action that may be warranted.
Individual
employee grievances and complaints regarding terms and conditions
of employment will continue to be reviewed under the applicable
academic and staff personnel policies or collective bargaining
agreements.
In all
instances, the University retains the prerogative to determine
when circumstances warrant an investigation and, in conformity
with this policy and applicable laws and regulations, the
appropriate investigative process to be employed.
Read more
here:
Whistleblower
Protection
The
Whistleblower Protection Policy applies to complaints of retaliation
or interference filed by employees or applicants for employment
who have made or attempted to make a "protected disclosure"
or refused to obey an illegal order.
A
"protected disclosure" is any good faith communication
that discloses or demonstrates an intention to disclose information
that may evidence either (1) an improper
governmental activity or (2) any condition that may significantly
threaten the health or safety of employees or the public if
the disclosure or intention to disclose was made for the purpose
of remedying that condition.
Read
more here:
Reporting
Improper Governmental Activities
When describing
an improper governmental activity, please provide the following
information, bearing in mind that formal investigations are
not undertaken without adequate cause:
Who? - Who is involved?
Who
knows about the activities? Who can and would confirm?
What?
- What happened? Are there laws or regulations
governing what the suspect did? What kinds of documents
would provide evidence? Where are the documents?
Where?
- Which department, division, location?
When?
- When did the activity occur? Is it ongoing? How often
has it occurred?
Why?
- How does the suspect benefit?
How?
- How was the suspect able to accomplish the improper
activity?
Improper
Government Activities Defined
California
Government Code Section 8547.2 defines improper governmental
activities as:
any
activity by a state agency or by an employee that is undertaken
in the performance of the employee's official duties, whether
or not that action is within the scope of his or her employment,
and that (1) is in violation of any state or federal law or
regulation, including, but not limited to, corruption, malfeasance,bribery,
theft of government property, fraudulent claims, fraud, coercion,
conversion, malicious prosecution, misuse of government property,
or willful omission to perform duty, or (2) is economically
wasteful, or involves gross misconduct, incompetency, or inefficiency.
While
the scope of the University's policy on reporting and investigating
improper governmental activities is intended to be limited
to the statutory definition, serious or substantial violation
of University policy may constitute improper governmental
activities, determined upon review or investigation.
Individual
employee grievances and complaints regarding terms and conditions
of employment will continue to be reviewed under the applicable
academic and staff personnel policies or collective bargaining
agreements.
In all
instances, the University retains the prerogative to determine
when circumstances warrant an investigation and, in conformity
with this policy and applicable laws and regulations, the
appropriate investigative process to be employed.
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