SUBJECT:

UC San Diego Whistleblower Hotline and Poster

The University of California is committed to maintaining the highest standards of conduct in the fulfillment of its education, research, public service and patient care mission. The University’s Whistleblower Policy provides multiple avenues for employees to bring forward concerns of potential employee misconduct. Faculty and staff are encouraged to bring forward concerns about possible improper governmental activity directly to their supervisor, department head, Locally Designated Official (LDO) or other appropriate university offices or officials.

The university established a systemwide, independently operated whistleblower hotline to receive calls or web-based reporting from faculty, staff, students or members of the public. The hotline allows for anonymous reporting. The hotline relays the reported concerns to appropriate university officials for processing. This hotline is staffed seven days a week, 24 hours per day and is capable of receiving reports in a number of different languages.

The toll-free number is 1-800-403-4744. Web-based reports can be made by accessing http://universityofcalifornia.edu/hotline. More information about the whistleblower process can be found at https://www.ucop.edu/uc-whistleblower/index.html and on posters displayed in various employee areas. These posters may also be viewed and printed from the UC San Diego Hotline Blink page: https://blink.ucsd.edu/HR/supervising/resources/hotline.html

The California Government Code requires every state agency, including the University of California, to annually distribute to its employees a message from the California State Auditor that provides an explanation of the California Whistleblower Protection Act. Please find the 2020 message below.

Pradeep K. Khosla Chancellor

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Below please find a message from the California State Auditor. This message may also be viewed at:
https://www.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/other/whistleblower_brochure.pdf

YOU CAN REPORT IMPROPER ACTS

We are your confidential avenue for reporting improper activities by state agencies or employees. It is your responsibility, as a government employee, to report any type of fraud, waste, or abuse, which ultimately protects scarce state resources. It is also your right to be free from retaliation for doing so.

In 2018 alone, we received 1,973 allegations of wrongdoing, most of which concerned misuse of state property, improper travel expenditures, and time and attendance abuse. Whistleblower complaints through our office have triggered investigations revealing more than $578 million in wasteful spending, such as:

* A state agency wasted funds when it spent more than $500,000 for a custom-built research boat that remained largely unused for nearly three years.
* A manager misused a state vehicle for his personal commute, resulting in nearly 42,000 commute miles and an estimated cost to the state of $22,500. At least five other supervisors or managers within the same division routinely misused state vehicles for commuting purposes, at an estimated cost of $58,000.

WE INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS

We report substantiated allegations to the head of the employing agency, the Legislature, and the Governor. In addition, we report some of the substantiated allegations to the general public, keeping confidential the identities of the state employees involved. You can view these reports on our website at: https://www.auditor.ca.gov/reports/investigative

We refer substantiated violations of law to law enforcement agencies, as appropriate.

WHAT TO REPORT

Pursuant to Government Code section 8547.2, subdivision (c), improper acts by a state agency or employee that should be reported to the State Auditor include:

* Violations of state or federal law, including theft, fraud, or conflict of interest;
* Noncompliance with an executive order, Rule of Court, the State Administrative Manual, or the State Contracting Manual;
* Misuse or waste of state resources, including property or employee time;
* Gross misconduct, incompetence, or inefficiency.

WHAT WE CAN’T INVESTIGATE

We do not have the authority to investigate either violations of internal department policies or procedures or local government agencies and employees.

WE PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY

If you report an impropriety, you are protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act, which:

* Requires us to protect your identity (except from law enforcement);
* Prohibits intimidation, threats, or coercion by state employees that could interfere with your right to disclose improper governmental activities.

If you believe that you have been retaliated against for disclosing an improper governmental activity, you should report this immediately to one of the following agencies:

State and Court Employees
State Personnel Board
801 Capitol Mall, MS53
Sacramento, CA 95814

California State University Employees
Vice Chancellor of Human Resources
401 Golden Shore
Long Beach, CA 90802
Or contact the appointed campus administrator.

University of California (UC) Employees
Contact the locally designated official for the UC facility at which you are employed. Visit https://www.ucop.edu for more information.

HOW TO REPORT

You have three ways to report information to us confidentially:

Call the Whistleblower Hotline at:
800 952 5665
916 322 2603 (Fax)

(Note: The hotline is staffed Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, callers may leave a brief recorded message during other hours.)

Mail information to:
Investigations
California State Auditor
P.O. Box 1019
Sacramento, CA 95812

Submit a complaint online to:
http://www.auditor.ca.gov/hotline

HELPFUL TIPS WHEN FILING A COMPLAINT

Prepare Before Filing
Gather your thoughts before filing a complaint and prepare yourself to answer the following questions:

* What is the improper activity?
* Who acted improperly?
* Where does that person work?
* How often and for how long has the activity been occurring?
* Why has it been allowed to continue?

Support What You Allege
We are unable to investigate allegations without support for your complaint. Therefore, please remember to include the following:

* Description of the evidence that proves what you are saying.
* Names and telephone numbers of knowledgeable witnesses.
* Copies of any documents you have in your possession that support your allegation. (Please do not submit original documents, as they cannot be returned.)

Consider Providing Contact Information
You have a right to file a complaint anonymously. However, we may not be able to investigate your complaint if we cannot talk to you to confirm the information you are providing or obtain additional information. Please remember that if you identify yourself to us, we cannot reveal your identity to anyone else without your permission, except to appropriate law enforcement personnel who are conducting a criminal investigation.

Keep Your Complaint Confidential
We investigate complaints as confidentially as possible to protect both your identity as a whistleblower and our ability to gather information without interference. To protect the confidentiality of your complaint, we encourage you not to tell anyone that you filed a complaint with us.