Duty to Report and Non-retaliation Policy   

INTRODUCTION

SCOPE

DEFINITIONS

Retaliation:  An adverse action(s) taken against an individual who makes a Good Faith report of Wrongful Conduct or who participates in an investigation. Examples of such include, but are not limited to:

• Unjustified termination of employment, demotion, suspension, refusal to hire, denial of training and/or promotion, or threats of the same;
• Unjustified actions affecting employment such as unjustified negative evaluations, unjustified negative references, adjusting compensation or benefits, increased surveillance, or threats of the same;
• Discrimination, harassment, or bullying by intimidation, humiliation, or social isolation, which can occur directly or indirectly (e.g., via e-mail, social or professional networking sites, etc.);
• Creating a hostile, intimidating, or offensive working environment;
• Treatment disparate to others similarly situated, including  addressing performance issues that had been allowed or accepted prior to his/her Good Faith report;
• Unjustified actions affecting academic career or degree progress (such as unjustified grading, negative references, thesis or dissertation committee decisions, etc.); or
• Any other action, threat, or comment, either direct or implied, that is likely to deter an individual from reporting or raising concerns or cooperating with investigations.

Retaliation does not include the following:

• Appropriate consequences resulting from a violation of a law, rule, policy, or procedure; or
• A negative comment in an otherwise positive or neutral evaluation or
• That is justified by poor performance or history.

Wrongful Conduct:  Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Illegal or fraudulent activity;
• False claims, financial misstatements, or accounting or auditing irregularities;
• Undisclosed or unmanaged conflicts of interests;
• Violations of the UAB Enterprise Code of Conduct;
• Physical, sexual, verbal, and mental abuse;
• Gross mismanagement of a contract or grant;
• Gross waste of funds and other resources;
• Abuse of authority, including that relating to a contract or grant;
• Giving false information, knowingly making false statements, or failing to cooperate in an investigation;
• A substantial and specific danger to public health or safety;
• A violation of law, regulation, UAB policy, contractual obligation, or grant;
• A supervisor or UAB official compelling a UAB Member to violate a law, regulation, UAB policy, contractual obligation, or grant;
• Falsification, fabrication, or plagiarism of research or scholarly activities or the pressure or demand to do the same or,
• Retaliation, as that term is defined above.

All UAB Members have a duty to properly report or cause to be properly reported any Wrongful Conduct.   Additionally, as appropriate, UAB Members must cooperate with any investigation.

Retaliation against any individual who reports, in Good Faith, Wrongful Conduct or who participates in the investigation of Wrongful Conduct is prohibited. 

Individuals should feel free to direct their concerns relating to Wrongful Conduct to any UAB Member who can properly address those concerns.  In most cases, a direct supervisor, HR Consultant, or academic instructor/advisor may be the person best suited to address concerns.  However, if such person is not available or does not satisfactorily respond or if the individual wishes to speak with someone outside of his/her department, he/she may also speak to any UAB Member in management he/she feels comfortable approaching. Reports may also be submitted to the UAB Ethics Hotline.  The UAB Ethics Matter website (www.uab.edu/ethics) and the UAB Compliance Risk Directory include additional resources for reporting, as well as contact information.   The UAB Ethics Matter website also includes information for reporting outside of UAB.

UAB is committed to prompt and thorough review of concerns of Wrongful Conduct.  Review processes may vary based on the subject matter and the unit or body conducting the review.  Where warranted based on the conclusions of a review, UAB will take appropriate actions to correct errors, eliminate deficient practices, and/or make improvements. 

NON-COMPLIANCE

IMPLEMENTATION