WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Ethics in the Workplace

Case Studies

Lamar State College

Port Arthur
 Meet Joe Brown
As a LSCPA employee, there may be times
when you have tough decisions to make. You
should always act with honor and integrity.

In the following eight situations, you will help

Joe Brown, a LSCPA employee, make good
and ethical decisions.
 Topics
Acceptance of gifts
State property
Drug-free workplace
Political involvement
Confidentiality
Outside employment
Firearms/weapons
Publicity
 #1: Acceptance of Gifts
Joe is a hard-working employee at LSCPA. He often
talks to Sarah, an adjuster with Texas Insurance
Company, to try to resolve disputes on claims she
handles. One day when Sarah was at LSCPA dropping
off paperwork, she ran into Joe and invited him to dinner.
Joe’s dinner cost $55. Sarah hands her personal credit
card to the waitress, and tells Joe that dinner is on her.

Q. Is it okay for Sarah to pay, since it was not during

work hours or on her company credit card? 
 #1: Acceptance of Gifts
No. It is not okay to let her pay.

A LSCPA employee may not accept a gift, gratuity,

or entertainment from a person having an interest in
a matter, or proceeding pending before the College.

Insurance carrier employees (such as adjusters) are

included as people from whom you may not accept
gifts.
 #1: Acceptance of Gifts
How Sarah would pay for dinner, or that it was after
working hours does not matter.

It would still be a gift.

If Joe wants to avoid the appearance of impropriety

(wrong-doing), he would not allow her to pay for his
dinner. He should instead pay the waitress directly for
his portion of the bill.
 #2: Confidentiality
Joe’s uncle manages an apartment complex in another city.
His uncle knows that one of his tenants, Pam, has been
receiving workers’ comp for an on-the-job injury. Recently,
Pam skipped out, owing three months of rent. Joe’s uncle
needs to know her new address so he can collect the money he
is owed. Joe has access to the information his uncle needs,
since Pam notified LSCPA of her new address.

Q. Can Joe give the new address to his uncle, since she owes
him money?
 #2: Confidentiality
No. Joe may not give his uncle Pam’s
new address.

Pam is an injured worker, and her address is

considered confidential claim file information.

You may never disclose confidential information

gained through employment with the College to an
unauthorized party.
 #2: Confidentiality
Giving out confidential information that you have
access to because of your job at LSCPA, or
using this information to further your personal
interests, would be unethical and unlawful.

Our LSCPA claim files contain a lot of personal

information about our customers. Be very
careful that you only give it to a person or entity
authorized by law to receive it.
 #3: State Property
Since Joe’s uncle lives in a city a few hours away, when
he calls his uncle, it is long distance. Joe knows that he
is supposed to keep his personal calls to a minimum, so
he doesn’t call him very often from work. But when he
does, Joe thinks that it would be wrong to use the TEX-
AN line (agency long distance) for these calls.

Q. Is Joe correct that he would be misusing state

property if he used the agency’s long distance for
personal calls?
 #3: State Property
Yes. Using the TEX-AN line for personal
calls would be a misuse of state
property.

Employees may make personal long distance calls

on the condition that these calls are made at no cost
to the Agency, and do not disrupt business
operations.
 #3: State Property

So, what should Joe do if he needs to talk to his uncle?

He should use a personal calling card or his personal

cell phone (while at lunch or on break) if he needs to
make long distance calls from work.
 #4: Outside Employment
Joe was hoping to make a little extra money for the
holidays. He is working a part-time job at the mall for
the month of December. (Note: He did have the job
approved through Human Resources).

Q. Can Joe use his accrued annual leave or

compensatory (comp) time to take off on Fridays and
work this other job, since it will only last a month and
he has plenty of vacation on the books?
 #4: Outside Employment
Maybe…

This is a tricky question! An employee may or

may not be able to use annual or compensatory
leave time to work a part-time job.
 #4: Outside Employment

Issues such as using leave time will be answered for

each situation at the supervisor’s discretion.
discretion The
judgment will be based on various things such as the
employee’s workload, the employee’s productivity, the
employee’s schedule, the staffing in the section or field
office, and any conflict of interest that that other job would
present to the agency.

The employee’s request for leave can, therefore, either

be approved or denied depending on the circumstances.
 #5: Drug-Free Workplace
One afternoon, Joe’s boss asked him for a report his section had
been working on. The report was needed immediately for a
meeting going on upstairs. He knew his co-worker, Pete, had a
copy. Joe went to Pete’s office to get it, but Pete wasn’t there.
He saw the report he was looking for on Pete’s desk, but when
he went to grab it, he accidentally knocked over a glass on his
desk. The drink spilled everywhere, and it was then Joe realized
that the glass had been filled with an alcoholic beverage.

Q. Should Joe tell someone, even though he was in Pete’s office

without his permission?
 #5: Drug-Free Workplace

Yes, he should tell his supervisor or a

Human Resources representative.

It is against agency policy to be under the influence of

alcohol at work. Since it appears that Pete had been
drinking at his desk, it would be appropriate for Joe to
notify someone at a higher level to look further into this
situation.
 #6: Firearms/Weapons
There have been several robberies in Joe’s
neighborhood, so he decided to get a handgun. He
went through the classes and received a concealed
handgun license for it.

Q. Joe seems to recall that he would not be allowed

to bring his handgun to work. Is he correct?
 #6: Firearms/Weapons

No, he is incorrect. Joe may bring his

handgun to work because he has his
Concealed Handgun License.
In order to ensure a safe workplace for our
employees and customers, firearms without a
license is prohibited and other dangerous weapons
are not allowed on LSCPA premises. See the
“Campus Carry Policy”.
 #7: Political Activities
Joe has always been politically active, and several of
his co-workers strongly support a certain political
candidate.

Q. May Joe and his co-workers campaign during

the workday to support this candidate?
 #7: Political Activities

This is a tricky question.

LSCPA encourages participation in the political process.
However, LSCPA employees may not engage in political
activities on state time.
time This includes:
 Collecting contributions
 Selling tickets to political fund raisers
 Distributing campaign material
 Making campaign phone calls
 #8: Publicity
A local newspaper reporter recently called Joe and
asked some general questions about LSCPA and
some of its procedures. No specific claims were
discussed and Joe answered the reporter’s questions
as best as he could.

Q. Should Joe have answered the reporters

questions, since they were generic in nature?
 #8: Publicity

No. He should not have answered the

reporter’s questions.

Joe may have had good intentions, but LSCPA

employees should not answer questions from
anyone in the media. These calls should be
referred immediately to the Public Information
Coordinator.
 Ethical Decisions -- Reminder!
 As a LSCPA employee, you are responsible for acting
in an ethical manner at all times.
 Ethics is knowing right from wrong, and choosing to do
what is right.
 The Human Resource manual provides an Employee
Ethics and Standards of Conduct policy.
End of Course