Pub. 2 2011 Issue 3

fall 2011 25 I t could have been a really ugly lawsuit – a downright brawl that could have severely impacted the Company’s stakeholders. Add to that the years required untangling the issues, investi- gating accusations, dealing with legal nightmare stuff, and lots of other issues that sap time, energy, and money. Un- fortunately this company I was working for didn’t realize they needed a whistle- blower policy before it was too late. It’s a smart thing to do even if Dodd-Frank didn’t require it. Because of the mess they were in, the company realized they needed a proper investigation and I was hired to do that because of some HR implications. The result was that there had been a huge misunderstanding on everyone’s part – the employee(s), human resources, and management too. In the case I’m describ- ing, the employees got a little paranoid because they thought they had uncovered something illegal that they were duty bound to report, human resources began working out of fear of a lawsuit and started documenting and monitoring everyone’s actions, and management kept trying to explain it was all being misconstrued. To their credit, once management looked into what occurred they realized several things they should have done differently. Before my involvement they talked with employees and explained what the com- pany had found in its own investigation. But after so much distrust, the employees just did not believe them. Employees thought since it was the company’s inves- tigation, the result was pre-ordained to be in favor of the company. And because of the way things were go- ing, the involved employees were terrified they were going to be subject to adverse treatment or get fired even though they had done the right thing by reporting it. It wasn’t until the company hired an objec- tive, third party to talk with the involved persons that the core issue was resolved. Why Every Bank Needs a Whistleblower Policy By Bernie Deem, DeemHR As often happens, no one had all the facts but acted using incomplete information. That is where a good policy comes in. Most companies have complaint investi- gation procedures that work well and are accepted by employees. Whistleblower policies are different. They provide extra reassurance that the company wants to know about illegal activities and wants to deal with them in the right way. It’s a great way of saying “You don’t have to sue us or go to a government agency if you think something wrong has hap- pened” without saying it. A whistleblower policy adds an extra degree of insurance that employees will be protected from being fired, subjected to harassing treatment, reprisals, or be adversely affected by any form of retali- ation. The policy is intended for serious concerns such as actions that may lead to incorrect financial reporting, unlaw- ful actions, serious improper conduct, or actions violating harassment and discrimination laws. Bankers are concerned about complying with regulations regarding whistleblow- ing contained in the Dodd-Frank. But the fact is there are other regulations that make similar demands, for in- stance, the Sarbanes – Oxley Act, the False Claims Act, and other regulations that call for certain protections. Here are some steps your bank might want to take. 1. Familiarize yourself with the relevant laws that require specific whistleblower protection. (Hint: Most OSHA complaints must be reported directly to OSHA). 2. Add a Whistleblower Policy to your company policies that details how whistleblower situations will be handled. Make certain that it ensures no one will be retaliated against for making a legitimate complaint and that employees know you are firmly behind it. 3. Provide a non-threatening method Q Whistleblower — continued on page 26