‒Unreported Opinion‒
time, at its sole discretion. Every effort will be made to inform employees of
the changes to the Manual in a timely manner.
The Employee Manual further provides under, “Employment Contracts”: “For all
employees who have been offered and have signed an employment agreement (i.e.,
contract), the terms of employment are governed by the employment agreement. In the
event of any conflict between the terms of the employment contract and the policies of this
Manual, the terms of the employment contract will prevail.”
The provision at issue is under the heading “Other Legal or Ethical Violations,”
located in the employee manual. It states:
In the case of a Reportable Event other than with respect to improper,
irregular or questionable accounting and reporting, auditing, or internal
control practices, if the Head or the President (or their respective designees)
determines that the alleged facts in the report are credible and would, if true,
constitute a material violation of the Standards of Behavior, s/he shall report
the matter to the Executive Committee for its further consideration of the
matter, provided, however, that if the Reportable Event alleges the failure of
any member (or members) of the Executive Committee to adhere to the
Standards of Behavior, that member (or members) shall recuse herself or
himself (or themselves) from participating in the consideration of the matter.
The Executive Committee shall record minutes of any deliberations
concerning a Reportable Event and shall preserve any documentary materials
received or created and any correspondence (including copies of emails) sent
or received by the Executive Committee or any member thereof in
connection with its consideration of the Reportable Event. Upon completion
of its consideration of the Reportable Event, the Executive Committee shall
submit to the Head (or the President, as the case may be), its recommendation
as to what steps, if any, the School should take in response to the Reportable
Event. The recommendation of the Executive Committee shall be strictly
confidential. However, in the event that the School determines on the basis
of the Executive Committee’s report that some form of personnel discipline
is warranted, the Head (or the President) shall obtain advice of counsel with