AGU Policy on Protection of Employees Who Report Financial Improprieties or Other Misconduct (Employee “Whistle Blower” Policy)

Questionable Conduct

It is possible you may suspect that a fellow employee or any other person affiliated with AGU has engaged in questionable conduct involving financial improprieties, misuse of the organization’s assets, or other fraudulent, dishonest, or illegal conduct detrimental to the interests of AGU. This misconduct may include outright theft (of equipment or cash), fraudulent expense reports, misstatements of any accounts to any manager or to AGU’s auditors, or even a conflict of interest that may result in financial harm or public discredit to AGU. AGU encourages you to report such questionable conduct.

Making a Report

If you suspect that an employee or other person affiliated with AGU has engaged in conduct described above, you may report it either confidentially or anonymously. In either case it is the policy of AGU to protect you against any form of harassment, intimidation, discrimination, or retaliation for making such a report in good faith.

You can make a confidential report to any of the following AGU executives at any time:

  1. the Executive Director,
  2. the General Secretary, or
  3. the President.

Their names and contact information are available on AGU’s web site. AGU will promptly conduct an investigation into the matter you report and keep your identity confidential at all times to the extent permitted by law and consistent with AGU’s obligations to take corrective action.

If you prefer to make your report anonymously, you may do so by U.S. Mail addressed to any of the individuals designated above. Use two envelopes. The outer one should be addressed to the individual; the inner envelope should be sealed and carry the addressee’s name and the statement “To be opened only by the addressee.” Our internal mail handling procedures will require any such envelope to be delivered promptly to the addressee unopened. If you choose to make a report anonymously, your decision may hinder AGU’s ability to fully investigate the matter you report and it will not be possible to provide you with the results of any investigation, but your report will be carefully investigated nonetheless.

Subject to the confidentiality qualifications noted above, credible reports of improprieties in accounting, auditing, or other internal control systems and credible reports involving a material financial liability for the organization will be reported to the Audit and Legal Affairs Committee of AGU, together with the results of any investigation and corrective actions taken by management.

No Retaliation

If, having made a report of suspicious conduct, you subsequently believe you have been subjected to retaliation of any kind by any AGU employee, you should immediately report it to the Human Resources Manager. If you believe that the subject of your report involves the Human Resources Manager, you should report the alleged retaliation to the Executive Director or the General Secretary. Reports of retaliation will be investigated promptly in a manner intended to protect confidentiality, consistent with a full and fair investigation. The party conducting the investigation will notify you of the results of the investigation.

Retaliation against employees who report concerns in good faith regarding AGU’s operations is against the policy of AGU. Any employee who engages in such retaliation will be subject to discipline up to and including termination.

–Adopted December 2005