Overview of Whistleblower Policies
What is the scope of the Whistleblower Policy?
The Whistleblower process is:
- Designed to ensure an unbiased review of whistleblower reports of suspected improper governmental activities, which we will define next.
- This process is an important means for the campus to detect and remedy illegal or unethical acts, and to mitigate risk to the campus.
The Whistleblower process is not:
- A disciplinary process. If misconduct is detected through the whistleblower process, it is referred to the appropriate office to be addressed.
- A way to address common workplace disputes or disagreements. Employees are encouraged to raise workplace concerns and complaints with their supervisors. If your concern is related to a workplace dispute involving a staff member or your supervisor, you can consult with Human Resources for assistance. And if the dispute involves an academic employee, the Academic Personnel Office can assist.
- A right to an investigation. Investigations are just one method by which suspected Improper Governmental Activities may be addressed. Other options to address reports include referral to management, internal control improvements, and policy or procedure updates or awareness. It is up to the campus Locally Designated Official to determine the best way to address reports of suspected Improper Governmental Activities.
When/How to Report
How Can I Report Suspected Improper Governmental Activity?
Make a report to the University Whistleblower Hotline at universityofcalifornia.edu/hotline or (800) 403-4744. The Whistleblower Hotline is Independently Operated to Ensure Confidentiality.
If you are an employee, you may also report the matter to your supervisor or to Viola Kinsman, UC Merced’s Locally Designated Official, via email at vkinsman@ucmerced.edu.
However you choose to make your report, be prepared to provide sufficient factual information, including the names of individuals you suspect are engaged in wrongdoing, as well as when, where, how, and how long the wrongdoing occurred.
How Can I Report Immediate Threats to Health/Safety?
Any imminent threat to the health or safety of employees, students, or the public should be reported to the UC Merced Police Department by dialing 911 from a cellular phone and 9-911 from any campus phone. Concerns you have about actual or potential environmental hazards can be reported to Environmental Health and Safety. If you or an employee experiences a serious injury that requires a trip to the hospital, please contact EH&S immediately at (209) 228-2347.
What Is a Whistleblower?
The term "Whistleblower" is used generally to refer to anyone who reports suspected Improper Governmental Activity, including those who make such reports as part of their job responsibilities, employees, students, or members of the general public. For the purposes of the California Whistleblower Protection Act and the UC Whistleblower Protection Policy, only those reporting suspected Improper Governmental Activity are entitled to the special protections afforded to whistleblowers. A whistleblower is not someone who wishes to file a complaint to seek redress for adverse employment or academic actions or conditions who happens to assert suspected impropriety by the person responsible for the adverse action/condition.
How Do I Contest an Improper Employment Action or Academic Decision?
If you have been adversely affected by an employment action or academic decision that you believe is improper, you should contact the appropriate personnel office. These offices include the Academic Personnel Office for academic employees and Human Resources for staff employees. Students should contact the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Such complaints cannot be filed anonymously and are not investigated as reports of Improper Governmental Activity under the Whistleblower Policy. If you believe you are being retaliated against for reporting Improper Governmental Activity, please see the Retaliation Against Whistleblowers FAQ section.
How Do I Report Other Types of Suspected Wrongdoing?
Policy violations and other types of wrongdoing that do not qualify as Improper Governmental Activity (violations of the State or federal law) should also be reported. If you are an employee, you can report such suspected wrongdoing to a supervisor or manager, provided you do not suspect the supervisor or manager is involved in the wrongdoing. You can also report these policy violations directly to the appropriate office. Policy violations that do not constitute Improper Governmental Activity that are reported to the LDO Office, are generally referred to the management of the responsible department for action and resolution.
Can I Report Suspected Impropriety Anonymously?
Yes. Reports of Improper Governmental Activity can be made anonymously by calling the University Whistleblower Hotline.
Anonymous reports are often difficult to investigate if the caller has not provided enough information. Also, anonymous callers cannot purport to represent a larger group (e.g., all the employees in a department) when such representation cannot be verified.
Note that a confidential report is not the same thing as an anonymous one, and it is up to you to decide whether or not to make your report anonymously. Be aware that certain types of reports (e.g., those involving workplace conflicts) often cannot be thoroughly investigated unless the University has a way to contact or interview the involved parties.
If you decide to file a report anonymously via the University Whistleblower Hotline, please follow up periodically in case there are follow up questions that may assist with the review or investigation of the report. Reporters are given a report identification number by the hotline. With that number he/she can contact the hotline at a later date to read any response the University may have posted. A response may notify the reporter of the outcome of the inquiry or may ask the reporter to provide additional information/clarification as needed.
What if I am a member of the public?
The University recommends that persons who are not University employees report allegations to the Locally Designated Official. Alternately, such reports may be made to another University official whom the reporting person may reasonably expect to have 1) responsibility over the affected area or 2) the authority to review the alleged improper governmental activity on behalf of the University.
What Other Options Do I Have for Reporting Improper Governmental Activity?
In addition to the Hotline, individuals may report suspected Improper Governmental Activity to the Bureau of the State Auditor (800-952-5665) or to the California Attorney General (800-952-5225).
Reports
What information should the report include?
Reports are encouraged to be made in writing to assure a clear understanding of the issues raised, however they may be made orally. Such reports should be factual rather than speculative or conclusory, and contain as much specific information as possible to allow for proper assessment of the nature, extent and urgency of preliminary investigative procedures.
Providing the following information regarding each allegation is most useful; however, answers to all these questions are not required to file a whistleblower report.
- WHAT? What is the alleged improper activity? Do any documents exist that would provide evidence of the improper activities? Where are the documents located? Who controls them?
- WHO? Who are the subjects of the allegation? Who else do you believe is involved -- complete names and work location? If you believe an organization is involved, who are the contact people? Do the subjects of the complaint know about this report? Can anyone else corroborate the improper activities being reported and how can they be contacted?
- WHERE? Where is the alleged improper activity occurring?
- WHEN? When did the alleged improper activity occur? Is it ongoing? How frequently has it occurred?
- HOW? How did you become aware of the alleged improper activity? How did the subject carry out the activity?
In providing information, the whistleblower is not to conduct any investigative procedures or obtain evidence for which he or she does not have a right of access. Doing so may constitute a violation of law or University policy.
What Happens After a Report of Suspected Improper Governmental Activity Is Made?
A report made to the Locally Designated Official (LDO) may result in an investigation managed from the LDO’s Office or it may be referred to another office deemed appropriate to look into the matter. The LDO’s Office will determine whether the facts asserted amount to Improper Governmental Activity and whether they are sufficiently detailed and credible to warrant an inquiry. If the allegations of wrongdoing are confirmed, appropriate corrective action will be taken. If the report was made anonymously via the Whistleblower Hotline, UC Merced responds to the reporter with a brief summary of the outcome of the inquiry, unless there are compelling reasons not to do so. For personnel privacy reasons, UC Merced does not disclose what specific disciplinary actions may have been taken against an employee.
Will My Report of Improper Governmental Activity Be Kept Confidential?
The University's Whistleblower Policy states that "To the extent possible within the limitations of law and policy and the need to conduct a competent investigation, confidentiality of whistleblowers will be maintained. Whistleblowers should be cautioned that their identity may become known for reasons outside of the control of the investigators or University administrators."
Retaliation Against Whistleblowers
How Am I Protected from Retaliation If I Report Suspected Improper Governmental Activity?
State law and the University's Whistleblower Protection Policy explicitly prohibits retaliation against employees who report suspected Improper Governmental Activity. In order to reduce the likelihood that retaliation will occur, UC Merced shares reports of wrongdoing only with those who need to see it as part of the inquiry into the matter. Ordinarily, the names of those reporting suspected Improper Governmental Activity are kept confidential.
What Can I Do If I Have Been Retaliated Against for Reporting Suspected Improper Governmental Activity?
An employee who believes he/she has been retaliated against may be eligible to file a grievance with the appropriate human resources office (Campus Human Resources or the Academic Personnel Office). Individuals interested in filing such a grievance should find out what the applicable filing deadline is (in many cases 30 days from when the employee learned of the retaliatory employment action). An employee or applicant for employment may also be eligible to file a Whistleblower Retaliation Complaint within 12 months of when the employee learned of the retaliation. An employee may file both a retaliation complaint and a grievance - in that event the complaint and the grievance are both considered in a single fact-finding process.
Supervisor Responsibilities
What Should a Supervisor Do upon Receiving a Report of Suspected Wrongdoing?
If you are in a supervisory role and receive a report of suspected Improper Governmental Activity, if the report was made orally, you should normally document it in writing. You should exercise appropriate judgment in deciding whether the matter can be reviewed under your authority or should be referred the Locally Designated Official or another appropriate campus unit. Consulting with supervisors, the Locally Designated Official, or other appropriate University management is encouraged and the exercise of judgment should err on the side of upward reporting.
What Must a Supervisor Report to the Locally Designated Official?
All employees in supervisory roles who receive a report of suspected Improper Governmental Activity shall report the matter to the Locally Designated Official if it:
- Is the result of a significant internal control or policy deficiency that is likely to exist at other units at UC Merced or across the University system;
- Is likely to receive media or other public attention;
- Involves the misuse of University resources or creates exposure to a liability in potentially significant amounts;
- Involves allegations or events that have a significant possibility of being the result of a criminal act (e.g., disappearance of cash);
- Involves a significant threat to the health and safety of employees and/or the public;
- Or is judged to be significant or sensitive for other reasons.
General Questions
What Are the Responsibilities of the Locally Designated Official (LDO)?
The University's Whistleblower Policy and Whistleblower Protection Policy state that the Chancellor of each campus shall appoint a Locally Designated Official who is responsible for responding to reports of suspected Improper Governmental Activity and for evaluating formal complaints made by individuals asserting that employment actions were taken against them in retaliation for having reported suspected Improper Governmental Activity.
What Is the Investigations Work Group?
The University's Whistleblower Policy designates that each campus have an Investigations Work Group chaired by the Locally Designated Official to coordinate inquiries and investigations into allegations of Improper Governmental Activity. UC Merced’s Investigations Work Group includes stakeholders from key central campus units involved in investigations.
How Are Employees Notified About the Ways to Report Suspected Improper Governmental Activity?
State law requires that every year, on or about July 1st, the University must send an email notice to all employees with a UC Merced email address, informing them of how to report suspected Improper Governmental Activity. The sending of this annual message is coordinated by the Locally Designated Official which also publishes a poster containing the same information entitled "How to Blow the Whistle on Suspected Improper Activities" that is posted throughout campus locations on bulletin boards.
Who Manages the UC Merced Whistleblower Hotline and How Does It Work?
The hotline is a toll-free number (800-403-4744), that anyone can call to report suspected Improper Governmental Activity at UC Merced. It is staffed 24 hours/day, 365 days/year by an independent company which takes down the information provided by callers and forwards that information to the University. Callers have the option of providing their names or remaining anonymous. A caller is given a report identification number by the hotline operator. With that number he/she can call the hotline back at a later date to read any response the University may have posted. A response may notify the caller of the outcome of the inquiry or may ask the caller to provide additional information/clarification as needed.
The Locally Designated Official’s Office coordinates inquiries into suspected wrongdoing reported to the hotline and posts the responses to callers.
What Are the Main Laws, Policies, and Entities Relevant to Improper Governmental Activity?
California Government Code Section 8547- 8547.12 (also known as the "California Whistleblower Protection Act") defines Improper Governmental Activity and prohibits retaliation against employees who report it. California Health & Safety Code Section 1278.5 relates to retaliation against healthcare workers who have reported issues relating to care, services, or conditions of a health facility.
The University's Whistleblower Policy and Whistleblower Protection Policy implement the State laws for the University of California's campuses and laboratories.
The Fair Employment & Housing Act prohibits discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment. It requires employers to provide certain accommodations for employees and job applicants with disabilities, medical conditions, and family medical leave needs. It also requires employers to provide leaves of up to four months to employees disabled because of pregnancy or childbirth. See the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing for additional information.
The Office of Civil Rights enforces provision against retaliation in the context of federally sponsored research.
Will I be informed of the outcome of my report?
Whistleblowers generally have the right to be informed of the disposition of a disclosure and the findings of any investigation, although there might be overriding legal or public interest reasons not to do so. However, any action taken against an employee as a consequence of the findings of the investigation may be personal and confidential, in which case, it cannot be disclosed.
Why might my allegations not be investigated?
Sometimes employees blow the whistle about things that are not improper governmental activities, but are personnel, labor relations or management issues. The preliminary investigation assesses whether or not there appears to be an improper governmental activity. However, just because an investigation is not launched does nor mean that the complaint will not be looked into by management. Your report might be referred to Human Resources or some other office for review and appropriate follow-up.
