On the Case! For you!
A Compliance Case Study
When sitting down to write this month’s Compliance Case Study, it occurred to me that some of our colleagues might not know what we do in the ICO. With National Ethics and Compliance Week falling in November, it’s a good time to talk about it. Some of the things we do include :
But an important part of what we do involves investigating reports made by employees who contact us through email or phone, or the VCU Helpline. These investigations become the cases we examine in each month’s Compliance Case Study.
Why do we do this? Part of our role is to fairly and objectively determine when ethics violations and misconduct have taken place, so we can recommend consequences, called “sanctions” in our world, and/or preventative measures. Then, we work with our partners across the university to ensure that those measures are taken to prevent the issues from happening again.
While we typically feature one case study per month, in honor of National Ethics and Compliance Week, we wanted to share a brief sampling of cases to illustrate how we work for you to uphold VCU’s ethical values.
(As always, the names, departments and details in the case studies we present have been changed to protect the people involved.)
Case #1: Dr. Jones often said offensive things to his direct reports. On one occasion, he told an employee that she didn’t need to take the day off when her partner was scheduled to give birth, stating that she didn’t need to be there, since she wasn’t the pregnant one.
The Problem: The VCU Code of Conduct states that “each of us is expected to…refrain from all forms of discrimination.” This conduct showed discrimination that could have been based on gender, gender roles, or sexual orientation.
Sanction: Written counseling and retraining.
Case #2: Dr. Miller was on a search committee to fill a position within her department. While reading resumes, she made disparaging comments about countries, religions and traditions based on applicant race and ethnicity.
The Problem: The Code protects employees “from all forms of intimidation, harassment and discrimination,” and states that VCU strives “to recruit and retain diverse and talented students and employees.” The recruitment process should be one handled with these values in mind, and executed with the utmost professionalism.
Sanction: Written counseling on search committee conduct.
Case #3: Dr. Smith, a new research faculty member, requested a reduced workload with fewer classes to help her make the transition to her new role at VCU and allow more time for research. Her request was granted for her first year of teaching. It was later discovered that she was also teaching classes – both in-person and virtually – at William and Mary. VCU asked her to cease teaching at W&M, since it violated the Outside Professional Activities (OPA) Policy. Dr. Smith later disclosed that she was teaching a summer class at W&M. This was a problem, since research faculty are paid additional summer stipends so they can conduct the bulk of their research during the summer months.
The Problem: The Code says that employees need to disclose all conflicts, and this conflict of commitment could have prevented Dr. Smith from fulfilling the teaching and research obligations outlined in her contract with VCU. Employees need to disclose OPAs and must get written permission to engage in them beforehand.
Sanction: In-person and written counseling, with any future repetition of the behavior resulting in formal disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Case #4: Senior Director Evans was the head of an academic unit at the university, and had a reputation for bullying behaviors. She belittled employees and made disparaging remarks in front of their peers. Evans took frequent vacation days and when she was in the office, took a large number of personal phone calls. Employees reported feeling relieved when she was out, saying they could conduct their work without fear of criticism and other intimidating behavior from Evans. However, they also felt the frequent absences contributed to a serious lack of leadership in their unit.
The Problem: The Code of Conduct promises that at VCU “We are committed to an environment of uncompromising integrity and ethical conduct.” It also says, “We are committed to a civil and professional working environment.” Senior Director Evans deprived her employees of these things through her actions and absences.
Sanction: Reassignment (to a non-managerial position)
The ICO, together with our compliance partners, coordinates the investigation of all reports to our office, whether they come through an email, a phone call, or through the VCU Helpline. We’ve handled hundreds of cases over the years, and as the examples above demonstrate, violations and misconduct come in all shapes and sizes. But whatever the shape or size, we view each report as an opportunity to take a fair and objective look at who we are and what we do at VCU. We in the ICO take our jobs seriously and know that when employees reach out to us, they’re trusting us to determine what’s gone wrong and to ensure it doesn’t happen again. In the Integrity and Compliance Office, we are on the case! For you!
If you or a colleague have experienced something that feels like a violation of the VCU Code of Conduct, please contact the ICO at ucompliance@vcu.edu or (804) 828-2336, or access the VCU Helpline at VCUHelpline.com or (888) 242-6022.