The Ethics Reporting Procedure
How To Report an Ethics Violation
The following is how a report of an alleged violation of the PPAB Guiding Principles is handled.
Reports of alleged violations will be handled according to this policy. Alleged violations must be limited to the vision, mission, pledge, key values and professional ethics, collectively referred to as The Guiding Principles.
- Complaints must be made in a timely fashion; allegations of violations occurring more than thirty (30) days prior will be considered only under special circumstance
- Any person that feels they have been treated in a fashion that controverts PPAB's Guiding Principles may file a complaint; the Ethics Committee will not consider complaints filed on behalf of a third party.
1. Filing a report of an alleged violation
a) The individual filing the alleged violation must present the allegation to the Committee in writing.
b) The report will remain confidential.
c) The following information must be included in the alleged violation report:
- The names of the alleged violator and the actual complainant in reference to the violation of the Guiding Principles. This must be specific. The complaint must reference the area of the Guiding principles that you feel have been violated by including and quoting the actual text in your report;
- A specific description including when and where the violation was alleged to have occurred, who was involved and what happened.
2. Report receipt
a) The Ethics committee will acknowledge receipt of the alleged violation without comment within 24 hour of receipt.
b) The individual filing the report will be notified to keep the complaint confidential; this means no information about the complaint will be discussed with any other person. If confidentiality is breached it may be considered a violation of the Guiding Principles.
c) The details of the complaint will be kept confidential in order to preserve the committee’s ability to fairly and objectively interact with the individual.
3. Investigation
a) The Ethics Committee will review the complaint. If necessary, they will gather more information and schedule an interview with the complainant.
b) If the initial review indicates that the alleged infraction is not a violation of the Guiding Principles, then the complainant will be notified in writing and no investigation will be pursued unless further facts or evidence is proffered.
c) If it appears that a violation of the guiding principles has occurred based on preponderance of evidence, (is more likely to be true than not) then the Chair will notify the individual or group that are the subjects of the complaint and provide seven
d) calendar days for a reply. If there is no reply to the compliant notification then the Committee will make a decision based on all available information.
e) Once all the information has been gathered, the committee will make a determination.
- This may include a revoke of the allocated credential
4. Appeal
- If an individual wishes to appeal the Ethics Committee’s decision, they will be given ten (10) calendar days to do so.
- All materials considered by the Ethics Committee will be given to the PPG President and/or a Board Member and one other Steering Committee member.
- A final decision will be made within ten (10) calendar days and the individual will be notified in writing.
5. Confidentiality
- Complete confidentiality shall be maintained by all involved parties throughout the process.
- Once a determination has been made, the parties involved will be notified that a determination has been made.
- Details of the determination will remain private.
- A violation of confidentiality by any party involved in the matter will be considered a violation of the Guiding Principles.