Ethics Violations Reporting Policy

The University is committed to exercising responsible stewardship of its resources and to conducting its affairs ethically and in compliance with the law. This commitment has historical and modern roots in our Jesuit core values of Academic Excellence, Focus on the Whole Person, Integrity and Honesty, Diversity, Community, Justice, Service, Leadership, Discernment, and Constant Challenge to Improve.

The purpose of this policy is to define the rights, responsibilities, and protections afforded to those who report ethical, legal, regulatory, or policy violations. An ethics violation reporter as defined by this policy is any employee of Loyola University in Maryland who reports an activity that he/she considers to be illegal, dishonest, or a violation of University ethics or policies to one or more of the parties specified in this policy. (Students who are not employed by the University are covered by the student policies.) The ethics violation reporter is not responsible for investigating the activity or for determining fault or corrective measures; appropriate management officials are charged with these responsibilities.

Examples of reportable activities include violations of federal, state or local laws, and violations of University ethics or policies that involve dishonest or fraudulent conduct or that pose a substantial threat to the health and safety of students, employees or the general public. If an individual has knowledge of or a concern about such an activity, the individual should report it immediately to:

• His or her immediate supervisor, or the immediate supervisor's manager,
• Campus Police (410 617-5311),
• The Director of Generalist Services (410 617-1367), or
• EthicsPoint (888 263-8680). EthicsPoint is a confidential reporting service retained by the University for this purpose.
• All reports of illegal and dishonest activities will be promptly submitted to the Assistant Vice President of Human Resources, who will assign responsibility for coordinating the investigation and determining the appropriate corrective action.

Each investigation will be assigned on a case by case basis, but generally will be assigned to the Division Vice President responsible for the management of the person, property or process involved in the report. Reports of a Vice President’s misconduct will be submitted to the President. Findings and corrective actions arising from each report will be documented and placed in a limited access file in the Human Resources Office with the initial report.

The reporting individual must exercise sound judgment to avoid making baseless or frivolous allegations. An individual who intentionally files a false report of wrongdoing is subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. Insofar as possible, the identity of the ethics violation reporter will not be disclosed. However, identity may have to be disclosed to conduct a thorough investigation, to comply with the law, or to provide fair procedural review for accused individuals. In all cases, confidentiality will be maintained to the greatest extent possible.

An ethics violation reporter acting in good faith is protected from any retaliation. This includes, but is not limited to, protection from retaliation in the form of an adverse employment action such as termination, compensation decreases, poor work assignments, intimidation or harassment, or threats of harm. In addition, no individual may be adversely affected for refusing to carry out a directive which constitutes fraud or is in violation of Federal, state or local law or University policy. The rights of an ethics violation reporter for protection against retaliation do not include immunity for intentionally filing a false report of wrongdoing or any personal wrongdoing on the part of the ethics violation reporter.

Any ethics violation reporter who believes he/she is being retaliated against should contact the Director of Generalist Services immediately (410 617-1367). Anyone who retaliates against an individual who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to discipline up to and including termination.

Employees with any questions regarding this policy should contact the Director of Generalist Services (410 617-1367).