ABC Credit Union
Code of Conduct Standards and Procedures

The purpose of this procedure is to provide clarification of employee expectations when ethics are involved. This business is dependent on the trust of the members which is derived from the trust and confidence we build in the employees. Employees of a credit union are expected to maintain a higher level of honesty and integrity. The following procedures will help maintain the level of trust and integrity this is expected of employees.
Standards and Procedures * Confidentiality 1. Our members have the right to expect that their financial information is kept private. Employees should not disclose any member information to any person who does not have the authorization to have the information; this includes other CU employees whose jobs do not require the information of members (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). 2. All CU employees should refrain from discussing confidential member information, including but not limited to, names, account numbers, balances, and transactions; in a public place. All conversations must take place where the privacy of the member will not be compromised (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). 3. Any information requested by a member either inside or outside of the CU will require proper identification. The employee must verify the identification of the member by using one of the following documents; driver’s license, passport, state ID; US military ID or permanent resident card. All forms of identification must be current and valid in order to be used (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). 4. Any information that is to be electronically transmitted to a member must be encrypted before sending (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). * Conflict of Interest 5. All employees must refrain from conducting any personal or family member transactions through their own cash drawer, these transactions must be handled through another employee who is not personally involved in the situation. A transaction consists of any balance change in checking, savings or loan accounts, creation of any new accounts or loans, changing personal information or creating Visa debit or credit cards. It is best to refer all party related transactions to another employee. Employees must provide the audit department with a list of family members who are known have accounts with the credit union (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). 6. An employee may not transact any business for anyone where the employee may personally benefit from the transaction, i.e. selling a personal asset and participating in the financing of the purchase (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). 7. An employee may not accept gifts from a member, dealer or supplier. No employee should profit from services provided from suppliers or services offered to members (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014).

* Use and Protection of Electronic Services and Computers 1. Employees must keep their passwords confidential; sharing of passwords with other employees will not be tolerated. When an employee uses any computer they must log on with their own profile prior to use (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). 2. Employees may not bring any outside software or hardware for use on Credit Union computers (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). 3. Email is used as a professional tool to communicate with other employees as well as members. No vulgar, profane or offensive message is to be transmitted through email. Employees must not transmit any obscene or harassing messages to any individuals. Email records may be monitored and read by authorized IT employees (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). 4. Internet usage may be monitored; there is no expectation of privacy. Employees may not access sexually explicit content, download files via the internet or use the internet to spread harmful material to others (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). * Substance Abuse 5. The Credit Union is committed to providing a safe, healthy, and productive working environment. Any possession or consumption of alcohol on CU property is prohibited (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). 6. If an employee is involved in a work related accident, the employee will be referred for a drug and alcohol test (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). 7. Employees that take any medication that may affect their job performance must disclose this information to their immediate supervisor and the HR manager. If the safety of any employee or member is compromised or the performance of the job is affected while the employee is treated with a legal drug, the Credit Union may temporarily place the employee in a different position if it is deemed safe (Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, 2014). 8. The Credit Union does offer an Employee Assistance Program that is available for drug and alcohol counselling, this option may be offered to help an employee who may seem to be having trouble.
Training
The Credit Union’s goal is to see its employees succeed, thus training for the Code of Ethics Policy is provided to all employees upon hiring. Refresher courses will be provided bi-annually in April and October. Training will be provided at a general all staff meeting by Human Resources. Individual department training that is more specific to each work area will be provided, i.e. the Teller/Member Services departments will receive the overall Code of ethics training but will also receive a more detailed training in areas such as Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest.
Members of management and department leaders will attend an annual two day training provided by the Utah Association of Credit Unions on ethics and how to educate staff. It is then the responsibility of the department managers to provide the department staff ethics training. Department staff education will be provided quarterly. Upon completion of quarterly training employees will be required to sign an acknowledgement form that will be file in their personnel file. Monitoring
The Credit Union has systems in place within the core processor to help mitigate fraudulent transactions. Employees are blocked from conducting transactions for known family members. Transaction reports created each day will be monitored by the in-house Audit department; any discrepancies found will be reported to the Supervisory Committee as well as the CEO. The Audit department and Supervisory Committee will conduct surprise cash counts every month at various branches with various employees, this procedure is intended to help discourage an employee’s thought of “borrowing” from a cash drawer. Loan files will be reviewed and verified by the credit committee. New accounts will be reviewed by the appointed membership officer; the accounts will also be presented to the board of directors each month. The Credit Union realizes that all misconduct cannot be monitored from the core processor therefore we rely on managers and peers to watch for policy infractions. Employees who believe they have witnessed a policy infraction are responsible to report this to their immediate supervisor, if the infraction is committed by the immediate supervisor the complaint can then be taken to human resources or a member of upper management. Supervisors and executive management has the responsibility to act promptly in investigating any allegations. If the allegations are found to be true, actions will be taken to discipline the employee. The discipline will be decided depending on the severity of the infraction, which may include verbal or written warning, probation or termination. The credit union wants to create a safe environment for employees to voice their concerns or file complaints; therefore the credit union will strive to preserve the confidentiality of the employee to the fullest extent possible.
Review and Evaluation
In order to measure the effectiveness of the Code of Conduct policy Human Resources will conduct an employee survey after receiving the initial training of the policy, then again after one year of employment. The survey will include questions that pertain to the knowledge and understanding of the policy as well as scenarios employees may deal with that involve ethical situations. Annually the supervisory committee will hire an outside CPA firm to audit the credit union. While the sole purpose of the audit is not to find fraud; policies and procedures will be reviewed and tested. The credit union will take into consideration any discrepancies found and will consider updating policies to help mitigate loss. Executive management will review the survey results as well as the suggestions of the CPA audit to discuss improvement that will be made to the policy. All changes will be brought before the Board of Directors for approval. Employees will be informed of policy changes through department meetings; all employees will receive a copy of policy updates along with an acknowledgment form that must be signed and filed in their personnel file.

References
Wasatch Peaks Credit Union. (2014). Human Resource Policy. Wasatch Peaks Policies and Procedures.