Whistleblower Policy
Code of Conduct

Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency

	It is the policy of this Agency to afford certain protections to individuals who, in good faith, report violations or other instances of potential wrongdoing.  The Whistleblower/Code of Conduct Policy set forth below is intended to encourage and enable employees to raise concerns in good faith and without fear of retaliation or adverse employment action.

Reporting:

All Agency Employees who discover or have knowledge of potential wrongdoing concerning board members, officers, employees or a person having business dealings or concerning the Agency itself, shall report such activity in accordance with the following procedures:

a)	The employee shall disclose any information concerning wrongdoing either orally or in a written report to his or her supervisor, the Chief Executive Officer, or to the Agency’s General Counsel.
b)	All employees who discover or have knowledge of wrongdoing shall report such wrongdoing in a prompt and timely manner.
c)	The identity of the whistleblower and the substance of his or her allegations will be kept confidential to the best extent possible.
d)	The individual to whom the potential wrongdoing is reported shall investigate and handle the claim in a timely and reasonable manner, which may include referring such information to an appropriate law enforcement agency where applicable.
e)	Should an Agency employee believe in good faith that disclosing information pursuant to Section 1 (a) above would likely subject him or her to adverse personnel action or to be ineffective, the employee may instead disclose the information to the General Counsel, the appropriate law enforcement agency or the Authority Budget Office (1-800-560-1770).

No Retaliation or Interference:

No employee shall retaliate against any whistleblower for the disclosure of potential wrongdoing, whether through threat, coercion, or abuse of authority; and no employee shall interfere with the right of any other employee by any improper means aimed at deterring disclosure of potential wrongdoing.  Any attempts at retaliation or interference are strictly prohibited and:

a)	No employee who in good faith discloses potential violations or other instances of potential wrongdoing shall suffer harassment, retaliation or adverse personnel action.
b)	All allegations of retaliation against a Whistleblower or interference with an individual seeking to disclose potential wrongdoing will be thoroughly investigated.
c)	Any employee who retaliates against or attempts to interfere with any individual for having in good faith disclosed potential violations or other instances of potential wrongdoing is subject to discipline, which may include termination of employment.
d)	Any allegation of retaliation or interference will be taken and treated seriously and irrespective of the outcome of the initial complaint, will be treated as a separate matter.

Other Legal Rights Not Impaired:

The Whistleblower/Code of Conduct Policy set forth herein is not intended to limit, diminish or impair any other rights or remedies that any individual may have under the law with respect to disclosing potential wrongdoing free from retaliation or adverse personnel action.

a)	Specifically, these Whistleblower/Code of Conduct procedures are not intended to limit any right or remedies that an individual may have under the laws of the State of New York.
b)	With respect to any rights or remedies that an individual may have pursuant to the New York State Labor Law, any employee who wishes to preserve such rights shall, prior to disclosing information to a government body, have made a good faith effort to provide the appointing authority or his or her designee the information to be disclosed and shall provide the appointing authority or designee reasonable time to take appropriate action unless there is imminent and serious danger to public health or safety.

Adopted: 05/28/2020
(ayes) 6
(nays) 0
Resolution # 029-2020

Chairman:____________________________