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Whistleblower Protection

COASTAL ALABAMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Policies and Procedures Manual

02.25 Whistleblower Protection

Original Approval: 04/01/2022
Last Updated: 06/01/2023
Last Reviewed: 06/03/2024

Policy/Purpose:

It is the policy of Coastal Alabama Community College to ensure compliance with all federal and state whistleblower protection laws.

Scope:

This policy applies to all Coastal Alabama Community College students and employees during any activity involving the College, including the workday. In addition, visitors, vendors, contractors, and all other non-employees are expected to recognize and comply with College policies.

Definitions:

Whistleblower: A whistleblower is an individual who reports an activity that they consider illegal or dishonest to their supervisor.

Wrongful Conduct, Unethical or Illegal Activity: Conduct that may relate to workplace harassment; health or safety violations; fraud; dishonesty or deception regarding accounting, financial controls, financial reporting, or auditing; discrimination or harassment; unauthorized alteration of personnel records; or any violations of federal, state or local laws.

Details:

  1. Whistleblower Protection: Coastal Alabama Community College’s Whistleblower Protection is intended to encourage, enable, and protect employees, students, and volunteers who report good faith concerns about suspected wrongful conduct, unethical, or illegal activity to a College official or public body. As a whistleblower, the employee is not responsible for investigating the activity or for determining fault or corrective measures. Whistleblower protection also extends to participants in the investigation.

  2. Protection Against Retaliation: Employees, students, and volunteers are also protected against retaliation for the act of whistleblowing.

  3. False Allegations: Employees, students, and volunteers who make unsubstantiated, malicious, or false allegations of wrongful conduct will not receive whistleblower protection and may face disciplinary action as referenced in the Employee Discipline Policy or Student Conduct Policy.

Procedure(s):

  1. An individual who has reasonable grounds to suspect a violation of law or college policy should act in good faith and disclose that information to their supervisor or the Human Resources Office. Individuals reporting concerns are encouraged to provide as much detail as possible to enable a full and complete investigation. Protected disclosures and investigatory records will be kept confidential to the extent possible, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation.

Additional Provisions/Information

Refer to the Employee Discipline Policy.
Refer to the Student Code of Conduct Policy.

 

 

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