1. General
The Anne Arundel County Public Library (AACPL) has adopted this Whistleblower Policy to encourage employees to report to responsible persons possible: violations of law; accounting and/or financial irregularities; and violations of AACPL policies. The goals of this policy are to:
A. Discourage illegal activity and/or conduct that is detrimental to AACPL;
B. Facilitate disclosure of such activity or conduct before it can disrupt the operations of AACPL or lead to serious loss;
C. Help promote a climate of accountability and high standards of professional and personal ethics within AACPL; and
D. Ensure that all employees can raise internally, at a high level and without fear of retribution, serious concerns and disclose information that they believe in good faith could be detrimental to AACPL.
1. Scope
A. Employees are encouraged to share their concerns with their supervisor, Branch Manager, Area Supervisor or Department Head. If an employee is not comfortable speaking to any of these people, however, and knows of an actual or potential Harmful Violation, as defined below, AACPL does encourage the employee to contact a representative of AACPL via the procedure described in this policy.
A “Harmful Violation” includes, but is not necessarily limited to:
i. Violation of federal, state or Anne Arundel County law;
ii. Violation of AACPL policies;
iii. Improper accounting entries, violations of internal accounting controls or improper auditing matters;
iv. Any other matter which, in the good faith belief of any employee, could cause harm to the operations or public position of AACPL; or
v. Any attempt to conceal a potential Harmful Violation or evidence of a potential Harmful Violation.
B. This Whistleblower Policy does not apply to other grievances, such as those related to terms of employment, or those concerns that are addressed by other AACPL policies. Individual employee grievances and complaints regarding terms and conditions of employment will continue to be reviewed under the applicable employee policies and communication channels.
3. No Retaliation
An employee who reports in good faith an actual or potential Harmful Violation (a “Whistleblower”) shall not suffer harassment, retaliation or adverse employment consequence. An employee who retaliates against a Whistleblower is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.
4. Procedures
A. A Whistleblower submitting any report, complaint, allegation or other disclosure (a “Disclosure”) made pursuant to this policy shall do so in writing to one of the following:
i. Library Chief Executive Officer; or
ii. President of the Board of Trustees.
B. Upon receiving a Disclosure, the person receiving such Disclosure shall send a copy immediately to the President of the Board of Trustees.
i. Disclosures relating to the alleged conduct of the Library CEO shall be referred to the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees for investigation and the appointment of an Investigator.
ii. All other Disclosures shall be referred to the Library CEO for investigation and the appointment of an Investigator.
C. The Investigator (as described in Section 4.B) shall proceed promptly. The investigation may include, but not be limited to, discussions with the Whistleblower, other staff members and/or Trustees, a review of records or other documentation and, where warranted, the involvement of other senior AACPL staff or managers, outside experts and/or law enforcement agencies.
D. The Investigator shall respond to the Whistleblower within 10 business days with a status report on the investigation of the Disclosure.
E. Upon completion of the investigation, the Investigator shall present the findings and recommendations to the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees at their next regularly scheduled meeting. Under extraordinary circumstances, the Investigator may request that the President call a special meeting of the Executive Committee to discuss the Disclosure.
F. After reviewing the Investigator’s findings and recommendations, the Executive Committee shall render a decision on the Disclosure.
i. If it is decided that the allegation(s), concern(s) or issue(s) raised or alleged in the Disclosure is wholly without substance or merit, the matter shall be dismissed.
ii. If it is decided that the allegation(s), concern(s) or issue(s) raised or alleged in the Disclosure have merit, the matter shall be dealt with in accordance with AACPL’s normal disciplinary procedures or as otherwise deemed appropriate according to the nature of the case.
iii. The Executive Committee shall inform the Whistleblower of the decision and, if the Disclosure is dismissed, the reasons for such dismissal.
5. Acting in Good Faith
A Whistleblower shall be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed would uncover a Harmful Violation. Any allegations which prove to be unsubstantiated and to have been made maliciously or under false pretenses will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense and subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.
6. Confidentiality
AACPL will treat all Disclosures as confidential and privileged to the fullest extent permitted by law. AACPL will exercise particular care to keep confidential the identity of any Whistleblower until a formal investigation is launched. Thereafter, if requested, their identity may be kept confidential unless there is an overriding reason for identifying or otherwise disclosing the identity of the Whistleblower or unless such disclosure is required by law. In this instance, the Whistleblower will be so informed in advance of his or her being identified with the Disclosure. Where disciplinary proceedings are invoked against any individual, AACPL normally will require that the name of the Whistleblower be disclosed to the person subject to such proceedings.
AACPL encourages employees to put their name on all Disclosures they make, but employees also may submit anonymous Disclosures. In responding to an anonymous Disclosure, AACPL will pay due regard to fairness to any individual named in the Disclosure, the seriousness of the issue raised, the credibility of the information or allegations in the Disclosure and the prospects of an effective investigation and discovery of evidence.
This Whistleblower Policy was approved by the Anne Arundel County Public Library’s Board of Trustees on October 15, 2009.