Whistleblower Policy

A whistleblower as defined by this policy is an employee of the Downtown Ithaca Local Development Corporation (LDC) who reports an activity that he/she considers to be illegal or dishonest to one or more of the parties specified in this policy. The whistleblower is not responsible for investigating the activity or for determining fault or corrective measures; appropriate management officials are charged with these responsibilities. Examples of illegal or dishonest activities are violations of federal, state, or local laws; billing for services not performed or for goods not delivered; and other fraudulent financial reporting. If an employee has knowledge of or a concern of illegal or dishonest fraudulent activity, the employee is to contact his/her on-site supervisor or the CEO, or if they are not reachable or it would not be appropriate to report to any of those, then Corporate Counsel should be reached immediately. The employee must exercise sound judgment to avoid baseless allegations. An employee who intentionally files a false report of wrongdoing will be subject to discipline up to and including termination. 25

Whistleblower protections are provided in two important areas -- confidentiality and against retaliation. The employee is still required to maintain confidentiality unless otherwise specified by law. As far as possible, the confidentiality of the whistleblower will be maintained. However, identity may have to be disclosed to conduct a thorough investigation, to comply with the law and to provide accused individuals their legal rights of defense. The LDC will not retaliate against a whistleblower. This includes, but is not limited to, protection from retaliation in the form of an adverse employment action such as termination, compensation decreases, or poor work assignments and threats of physical harm. Any whistleblower who believes he/she is being retaliated against must contact the Supervisor or CEO. The right of a whistleblower for protection against retaliation does not include immunity for any personal wrongdoing that is alleged and investigated.