To Praise or Not to Praise!

6.5 To Praise or Not to Praise!

Controversies: Key Words: policy, personal leave, whistle-blowing Case Complexity → Low CD: 4.35 Ethics Management for Public Administrators

Ethics in the Workplace ◾ 195

It is brought to your attention as manager that someone in your department took a sick day to attend the funeral of an uncle. The bereavement policy in your county agency does not provide paid leave covering this relationship. A coworker discovers that the person is being paid for an unauthorized personal leave day and comes to you as the supervisor.

Discussion Questions

1. What action should you take?

2. Should you use discourage this kind of “reporting”?

3. Is this a case of “whistle-blowing”?

4. Should you praise the behavior?

5. Is this a genuine ethical dilemma? Or is it a management issue? Both?

Case Assessment

Paul Sharon, ICMA Range Rider, Jacksonville, Florida, and (former) City Manager in Clarendon Hills, Illinois, South Haven, Michigan, Lombard, Illinois, North Andover and Ashland, Massachusetts, and Hudson, New Hampshire:

Is this the hated playground “tattle-tale” of your childhood grown up?

While we might want, instinctively, to “out” this individual to his or her colleagues, to let them know there’s a snitch in their midst, that’s inappropriate.

A good supervisor should, objectively, assume no ill intent on the part of either the reporter or the employee who put in for bereavement leave. Further assuming that this behavior is not chronic on the part of either party, I do not see this necessarily as an ethical dilemma.

My approach with the “snitch” would be to thank her for bringing it to my attention, and suggest, perhaps, that she had been in a similar situation and had been unable to use bereavement leave—this will or should give the impression that there must have been some personal reason for bringing this specific incident up, and I did not expect that this was, or was going to be, regular behavior on her part.

As for the employee who put in for the bereavement leave, a pri- vate, personal conversation is in order, in which the limitations of the bereavement policy are explained. I would suggest to this employee that

he may have considered this uncle to be a “favorite uncle,” even per- haps the last “next-of-kin,” sincerely extend my sympathies, but make it clear to him that such use of bereavement leave was inappropriate, and needed to be accounted for.

196 ◾ Ethics Moments in Government: Cases and Controversies

Kathy Livernois, Director of Human Resources, St. Charles, Illinois: Th e manager of the department must investigate this issue further. The

following questions must be answered: ◾ Did anyone approve the use of an unauthorized personal leave

day, for example, a direct supervisor? If not, is the employee allowed to submit this to payroll directly? ◾ If someone, such as a direct supervisor, approved the use of the day, then the manager should meet with the direct supervisor to determine the facts. If the facts are as indicated whereby the supervisor allowed the personal leave day for a relative not covered under the bereavement policy, the question remains as to why.

− If the supervisor’s reason was because he or she did not want to see the employee suffer further (either because it would have been without pay or use of the employee’s vacation time) the answer would be the same; however, the tone in which it is delivered would be different. The tone would be one of appreciating the supervisor’s reason, explaining, however, that policies must be followed so as not to allow inconsisten- cies which could lead to further problems in the future. − If the supervisor’s intent was because he or she disagreed with the policy and believed uncles should be covered, then this would be a flagrant violation of the policy and the tone would

be stern. The supervisor would receive appropriate discipline based on the flagrant disregard of policy. − Regardless of the tone in which the message is delivered, the direction would be that a correction needs to be made. Uncles are not covered and, therefore, the employee will need to either take the day without pay or use an approved form of paid leave. It would be the supervisor’s responsibility to deliver this message to explain his or her error in allowing the personal leave day.

◾ If the employee was allowed to submit it to payroll directly, then the following questions must be answered:

− Was the employee aware of which family members are cov- ered under the bereavement policy? If the employee did not know, then the manager would inform the employee of the policy. The manager would inform the employee that a cor- rection in type of time away will be made. − If the employee was aware that an uncle is not covered in the bereavement policy, then the manager needs to ask why the employee still used a personal leave day. If the employee blatantly chose to take the unauthorized personal leave day

Ethics in the Workplace ◾ 197

regardless of the policy, then not only will the correction in the type of day taken be made, but the employee should receive appropriate discipline for the flagrant disregard of policy.

Th e reporting of this information would not be discouraged. It is important in an organization that policies are followed consistently by all supervisors and employees. The manager may state to the coworker that he or she appreciates the information and will follow up accord- ingly; however, the coworker should not be praised for the behavior.

Th is is not a case of whistle-blowing. Whistle-blower complaints focus on conduct prohibited by a specific law that could cause damage to public safety, waste taxpayer dollars, or violate public trust. This reporting was none of the above. Instead, this is a management issue combined with an ethical dilemma. Does the supervisor attempt to help the employee or be forthright in following policy? Or did the supervisor just not agree with the policy and then follow his or her own policy? The supervisor must follow the policy, as written, but needs to provide the employee with an empathetic explanation as to the reason for the policy.