1.04 No Retaliation

Policy No. 1.04

Policy: Berklee is committed to providing a workplace conducive to open discussions of its policies and practices, and will comply with all federal and state laws. Berklee encourages its employees to make good faith inquiries regarding conduct that they think may be unethical or illegal, and to disclose work-related misconduct. Retaliation as a response to such inquiries or disclosures constitutes a serious violation of policy and will not be tolerated.

Reporting Misconduct

In order to allow Berklee an opportunity to review allegations of wrongful conduct and take corrective action as appropriate, an employee should report any information that they reasonably believe may constitute a violation of any law or Berklee's policies and code of conduct. Reports of misconduct may be made to the employee’s manager, the senior director of employee relations and staffing in Human Resources, the vice president of Human Resources, and/or to the Berklee Ethics Point Hotline at 888-286-5092. Callers to the Ethics Point Hotline may choose to anonymously and confidentially report activities that may involve criminal, unethical, or otherwise inappropriate activity or behavior. All allegations will be investigated to the extent reasonably feasible.

No Retaliation

No employee shall retaliate against another employee(s) in whole or in part because they have disclosed alleged wrongful conduct to a public body or to a manager or other institution officials. Any employee who is found to have violated this policy shall be subject to corrective action up to and including termination.

Retaliation can take many forms. Obvious examples of retaliation include firing or demoting an employee because the individual exercised a right to bring forward a complaint. Retaliation may take more subtle forms, however, including changing work hours, diminishing the employee’s responsibilities, or excluding the employee from normal activities in an attempt to create a sense of isolation.

Report of Retaliation

Any employee who believes they have been retaliated against because of their prior disclosure of wrongful conduct to a public body or designated Berklee official should report the alleged retaliation to the senior director of employee relations and staffing in Human Resources, the vice president of Human Resources, the vice president/provost of Academic Affairs, and/or the vice president of curriculum and program innovation in Academic Affairs (collectively, the “reporting officials”), who will review the report, conduct an inquiry, and recommend corrective action as any of the reporting officials may deem appropriate.

A report of retaliation made in good faith will not cause or contribute to corrective action. However, an employee will not necessarily be insulated from corrective action as a result of filing a retaliation complaint. If, after investigation, Berklee concludes that corrective action is warranted and is based on facts that are independent of the report of the violation, corrective action may be administered.

Berklee recognizes that false accusations can have serious effects on innocent people and the integrity of the institution. If, after investigation, Berklee’s reporting officials conclude that a person has knowingly and intentionally made a false allegation of retaliation, the accuser will be subject to corrective action up to and including termination.

Berklee reserves the right to amend, suspend, or cancel this policy at any time, with or without notice. In the event that a conflict exists between this policy and the terms and conditions of the Berklee faculty union contract agreement, the union contract agreement will supersede this policy.

December 2018