Personal and Professional Conduct

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Policy

In order for PIC to realize its vision and reach its goals, all employees must engage in appropriate, ethical and professional conduct while conducting PIC work.  Employee conduct should inspire the confidence of consumers, families, other professionals and fellow staff.  Conduct which interferes with operations, discredits the agency or is disrespectful or offensive to consumers or co-workers will not be tolerated.

Practice

Responsibility.

  1. All employees are responsible for maintaining their personal competency and maintaining a working environment that is productive, respectful and free from all forms of harassment and violence. Employees are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriately mature and responsible manner as judged by a reasonable person at all times they are on PIC property or engaged in PIC work.

Consumer and Staff Relationships

  1. All employees are expected to interact with and relate to consumers and their families in a respectful and professional manner in all circumstances at all times.  To do so, staff must seek to understand consumers’ choices, culture, beliefs and values. Employees must avoid personal relationships with consumers, which may impair professional judgment, increase the risk of harm to consumers or lead to exploitation of consumers. 

Prohibited Behavior

  1. Obviously, no list of prohibited or acceptable behavior can be complete.  Therefore, employees are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the above standards at all times when they are on PIC property or performing PIC work.  Employees are expected to use good judgment in choosing their behavior.  Specific examples of prohibited behavior are provided below.  However, this list is by no means comprehensive. 
    1. Physically or verbally abusing or harming others, including making threats of harm or intimidating others;
    2. Committing fraud, waste or abuse relative to the delivery of state and/or federally funded services as set forth in the Deficit Reduction Act, the False Claims Act and other federal and state laws and regulations;
    3. Violating any PIC rule, policy or practice;
    4. Insubordination;
    5. Engaging in activity that endangers the life or safety of themselves or others;
    6. Willfully or negligently damaging or stealing the property of PIC, another employee or a consumer;
    7. Dishonesty;
    8. Inappropriately disclosing confidential or proprietary information about PIC, another employee or a consumer;
    9. Physically, financially, emotionally or sexually abusing a consumer;
    10. Sexual relationships with consumers are prohibited;
    11. Engaging in conduct which creates discord or interferes with another employee’s ability to perform their job;
    12. Obscene or abusive language;
    13. Careless or negligent job performance;
    14. Creating unsanitary conditions.

Enforcement

  1. PIC reserves the right to search any item on agency property or being used for agency work at any time without consent.  Employees have no expectation of privacy while on agency property or conducting agency work.
  2. PIC reserves the right to search unlocked and/or publicly used agency property at any time without consent.  PIC may request a search of personal property at the worksite or locked agency property assigned to an individual if there is reasonable suspicion that evidence of illegal or prohibited activities resides therein.  Refusal of such a request may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
  3. PIC may take disciplinary action against employees whose conduct violates this or other PIC policies and practices. See Disciplinary Policy #294. 
  4. For discussion of weapons in the workplace, please see the Weapons Policy # 760. For discussion of harassment, please see the Harassment Free Work Environment Policy #610.