The latest news in the fraud world is sure to get the attention of potential whistleblowers.  A record $104 million payment was made from the IRS to a former UBS employee, who was enmeshed in the controversy and even served prison time for his actions related to the UBS crimes.  If a felon can be paid for assisting the IRS in such a case, they are giving notice to corporations that they must ensure they have processes in place to collect and vet employee identified malfeasance.  If a felon can be paid such a large bounty, certainly less involved company insiders will be eligible.

Agencies and courts routinely evaluate whether a company has taken actions to eliminate malfeasance.  In a recent case involving FedEx, a driver sued the company for harassment.  The court sided with the company when it was clear that FedEx had taken key actions to eliminate the concern.  The driver knew how to file complaints, the company received the complaint long after the harassment took started, the driver was not specific in his complaint to the company, the company investigated, and FedEx retrained everyone on acceptable behavior.  The steps the company took in this case were critical to the court siding with the company.

Mounting evidence shows significant returns when companies integrate an ethics program that includes an ethics hotline.  Contact us to discuss how to implement or improve an ethics program and hotline in your organization.