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W HAT S HOULD I D O ? Ethics in the Workplace Case Studies. Lamar State College Port Arthur. Meet Joe Brown. As a LSCPA employee, there may be times when you have tough decisions to make. You should always act with honor and integrity.
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WHATSHOULD I DO?Ethics in the WorkplaceCase Studies Lamar State College Port Arthur
Meet Joe Brown As a LSCPA employee, there may be times when you have tough decisions to make. You should always act with honor and integrity. In the following eight situations, you will help Joe Brown, a LSCPA employee, make good and ethical decisions.
Topics Acceptance of gifts State property Drug-free workplace Political involvement Confidentiality Outside employment Firearms/weapons Publicity
#1: Acceptance of Gifts Joe is a hard-working employee at LSCPA. He often talks to Sarah, an adjuster with Texas Insurance Company, to try to resolve disputes on claims she handles. One day when Sarah was at LSCPA dropping off paperwork, she ran into Joe and invited him to dinner. Joe’s dinner cost $55. Sarah hands her personal credit card to the waitress, and tells Joe that dinner is on her. Q. Is it okay for Sarah to pay, since it was not during work hours or on her company credit card?
#1: Acceptance of Gifts No. It is not okay to let her pay. A LSCPA employee may not accept a gift, gratuity, or entertainment from a person having an interest in a matter, or proceeding pending before the College. Insurance carrier employees (such as adjusters) are included as people from whom you may not accept gifts.
#1: Acceptance of Gifts How Sarah would pay for dinner, or that it was after working hours does not matter. It would still be a gift. If Joe wants to avoid the appearance of impropriety (wrong-doing), he would not allow her to pay for his dinner. He should instead pay the waitress directly for his portion of the bill.
#2: Confidentiality Joe’s uncle manages an apartment complex in another city. His uncle knows that one of his tenants, Pam, has been receiving workers’ comp for an on-the-job injury. Recently, Pam skipped out, owing three months of rent. Joe’s uncle needs to know her new address so he can collect the money he is owed. Joe has access to the information his uncle needs, since Pam notified LSCPA of her new address. Q. Can Joe give the new address to his uncle, since she owes him money?
#2: Confidentiality No. Joe may not give his uncle Pam’s new address. Pam is an injured worker, and her address is considered confidential claim file information. You maynever disclose confidential information gained through employment with the College to an unauthorized party.
#2: Confidentiality Giving out confidential information that you have access to because of your job at LSCPA, or using this information to further your personal interests, would be unethical and unlawful. Our LSCPA claim files contain a lot of personal information about our customers. Be very careful that you only give it to a person or entity authorized by law to receive it.
#3: State Property Since Joe’s uncle lives in a city a few hours away, when he calls his uncle, it is long distance. Joe knows that he is supposed to keep his personal calls to a minimum, so he doesn’t call him very often from work. But when he does, Joe thinks that it would be wrong to use the TEX-AN line (agency long distance) for these calls. Q. Is Joe correct that he would be misusing state property if he used the agency’s long distance for personal calls?
#3: State Property Yes. Using the TEX-AN line for personal calls would be a misuse of state property. Employees may make personal long distance calls on the condition that these calls are made at no cost to the Agency, and do not disrupt business operations.
#3: State Property So, what should Joe do if he needs to talk to his uncle? He should use a personal calling card or his personal cell phone (while at lunch or on break) if he needs to make long distance calls from work.
#4: Outside Employment Joe was hoping to make a little extra money for the holidays. He is working a part-time job at the mall for the month of December. (Note: He did have the job approved through Human Resources). Q. Can Joe use his accrued annual leave or compensatory (comp) time to take off on Fridays and work this other job, since it will only last a month and he has plenty of vacation on the books?
#4: Outside Employment Maybe… This is a tricky question! An employee may or may not be able to use annual or compensatory leave time to work a part-time job.
#4: Outside Employment Issues such as using leave time will be answered for each situation at the supervisor’s discretion. The judgment will be based on various things such as the employee’s workload, the employee’s productivity, the employee’s schedule, the staffing in the section or field office, and any conflict of interest that that other job would present to the agency. The employee’s request for leave can, therefore, either be approved or denied depending on the circumstances.
#5: Drug-Free Workplace One afternoon, Joe’s boss asked him for a report his section had been working on. The report was needed immediately for a meeting going on upstairs. He knew his co-worker, Pete, had a copy. Joe went to Pete’s office to get it, but Pete wasn’t there. He saw the report he was looking for on Pete’s desk, but when he went to grab it, he accidentally knocked over a glass on his desk. The drink spilled everywhere, and it was then Joe realized that the glass had been filled with an alcoholic beverage. Q. Should Joe tell someone, even though he was in Pete’s office without his permission?
#5: Drug-Free Workplace Yes, he should tell his supervisor or a Human Resources representative. It is against agency policy to be under the influence of alcohol at work. Since it appears that Pete had been drinking at his desk, it would be appropriate for Joe to notify someone at a higher level to look further into this situation.
#6: Firearms/Weapons There have been several robberies in Joe’s neighborhood, so he decided to get a handgun. He went through the classes and received a concealed handgun license for it. Q. Joe seems to recall that he would not be allowed to bring his handgun to work. Is he correct?
#6: Firearms/Weapons Yes, he is correct. Joe may not bring his handgun to work. In order to ensure a safe workplace for our employees and customers, firearms and other dangerous weapons are not allowed on LSCPA premises. This includes concealed handguns carried by licensed holders.
#7: Political Activities Joe has always been politically active, and several of his co-workers strongly support a certain political candidate. Q. May Joe and his co-workers campaign during the workday to support this candidate?
#7: Political Activities This is a tricky question. LSCPA encourages participation in the political process. However, LSCPA employees may not engage in political activities on state time. This includes: • Collecting contributions • Selling tickets to political fund raisers • Distributing campaign material • Making campaign phone calls
#8: Publicity A local newspaper reporter recently called Joe and asked some general questions about LSCPA and some of its procedures. No specific claims were discussed and Joe answered the reporter’s questions as best as he could. Q. Should Joe have answered the reporters questions, since they were generic in nature?
#8: Publicity No. He should not have answered the reporter’s questions. Joe may have had good intentions, but LSCPA employees should not answer questions from anyone in the media. These calls should be referred immediately to the Vice President for Student Services.
Ethical Decisions -- Reminder! • As a LSCPA employee, you are responsible for acting in an ethical manner at all times. • Ethics is knowing right from wrong, and choosing to do what is right. • The Human Resource manual provides an Employee Ethics and Standards of Conduct policy.
