TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Topics | Sections |
|---|---|
| OVERVIEW | 1.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? 1.2 What is the scope of this chapter? 1.3 What are the goal and objectives of this chapter? 1.4 What are the authorities for this chapter? 1.5 What terms do you need to know to understand this chapter? |
| RESPONSIBILITIES | 1.6 Who is responsible for reporting allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement at the Service? |
| PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING | 1.7 What are the procedures for reporting allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement? 1.8 How is the Service notified of an OIG investigation if it wasn’t reported internally? |
OVERVIEW
1.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? This chapter explains the process that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) employees should follow for reporting allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement within the Service. Employees should see 410 FW 1 and 2 for information about what happens if a report is made directly to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
1.2 What is the scope of this chapter?
A. This chapter applies to all employees who may encounter waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement within the Service (see section 1.5 for definitions).
B. There are many other situations that are not covered by this chapter. This chapter does not cover such reporting as:
(1) Misconduct of law enforcement (LE) personnel (see 441 FW 5, Professional Responsibility Unit (PRU) and Allegations of Service LE Misconduct);
(2) Harassing conduct in the workplace (see Department of the Interior (Department) Personnel Bulletin 18-01, Prevention and Elimination of Harassing Conduct);
(3) Health and safety concerns (see 240 FW 7, Accident Investigation and Reporting);
(4) Serious incident notifications (e.g., serious injuries, deaths, and criminal incidents) (see 054 FW 1, Serious Incident Notification Procedures); and
(5) Violations of law or regulations by contractors, subcontractors, grantees, subgrantees, lessees, licensees, or other people having official business with the Department (see 301 FW 3, Contracting – Conflicts of Interest and Other Legal and Ethical Prohibitions, and 515 FW 1, Responsibilities for Grants and Cooperative Agreements).
1.3 What are the goal and objectives of this chapter?
A. Our goal is to ensure that employees know how to report information, allegations, or complaints of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement in Service programs or operations.
B. Our objectives are to provide a clear process for:
(1) Employees to report waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement in Service programs or operations; and
(2) Managers or supervisors to follow when their employees report such circumstances or when they need to report it themselves.
1.4 What are the authorities for this chapter?
A. Employee Responsibilities and Conduct (43 CFR 20.103).
B. Executive Order 12674, Principles of Ethical Conduct for Government Officers and Employees.
C. Inspector General Memorandum, “Office of Inspector General (OIG) Policy for Referrals from Departmental Offices and Bureaus;” January 24, 2002.
D. Standards of Ethical Conduct of Employees of the Executive Branch (5 CFR 2635).
E. Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 (Public Law 101-12, as amended).
F. 355 Departmental Manual (DM) 1 - 3, Departmental Investigations.
1.5 What terms do you need to know to understand this chapter?
A. Abuse includes misuse of authority or position for personal financial interests or those of an immediate or close family member or business associate. Abuse does not necessarily involve fraud, violation of laws, regulations, or provisions of a contract or grant agreement (U.S. Government Accountability Office, Government Auditing Standards, July 2007).
B. Fraud means to intentionally deceive or cheat, ordinarily to cause a detriment to another or bring about some benefit to oneself or others. Fraudulent activities may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Theft, misappropriation, misapplication, destruction, removal, or concealment of any institutional assets or resources, including, but not limited to, funds, securities, supplies, equipment, real property, intellectual property, or data.
(2) Improper use or assignment of institutional assets or resources, including, but not limited to, personnel, services, or property.
(3) Improper handling or reporting of financial transactions, including use, acquisitions, and divestiture of Service property, both real and personal.
(4) Authorization or receipt of compensation for hours not worked.
(5) Inappropriate or unauthorized use, alteration, or manipulation of data, computer files, equipment, software, networks, or systems, including personal or private business use, hacking, and software piracy.
(6) Forgery or unauthorized alteration of documents.
(7) Falsification of reports to management or external agencies.
(8) Pursuit of a personal benefit or advantage in violation of the Service’s conflict of interest policy.
(9) Concealment or misrepresentation of events or data.
(10) Acceptance of bribes, kickbacks, or any gift, rebate, money, or anything of value; any promise, obligation, or contract for future reward; or property, including intellectual property, as compensation for work-related activity.
C. Mismanagement is management that, deliberately or not, is handled in a "wrong, bad, careless, inefficient, or incompetent" way and may reflect negatively on the Department, the Service, or an individual.
D. Waste is a thoughtless or careless act, resulting in the expenditure, consumption, mismanagement, use, or squandering of institutional assets or resources to the detriment or potential detriment of the Service. Waste may also result from incurring unnecessary expenses due to inefficient or ineffective practices, systems, or controls. Waste does not necessarily involve fraud, violation of laws, regulations, or provisions of a contract or grant agreement.
RESPONSIBILITIES
1.6 Who is responsible for reporting allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement at the Service? See Table 1-1.
Table 1-1: Responsibilities for Reporting Waste, Fraud, Abuse, and Mismanagement
| These employees… | Are responsible for… |
|---|---|
| A. The Director | Servicewide administration and direction of investigations of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. |
| B. The Assistant Director – Budget, Planning and Human Capital | Overseeing the coordination of OIG investigations of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the Service. |
| C. The Service OIG Investigation Liaison, within the Division of Policy, Performance, and Management Programs (PPM) | (1) Ensuring policy and procedures are in place for employees to report waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, as appropriate; and (2) Coordinating the Service’s (or OIG’s) adjudication and response to employee reports of alleged waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. |
| D. Servicing Ethics Counselors | (1) Reviewing for ethics violations any allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement that employees, managers, or others refer to them; (2) Reporting allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, as appropriate, using the procedures in section 1.7; and (3) Serving as consultants to managers, Directorate members, the PRU, and the OIG Investigation Liaison regarding ethics issues. |
| E. Professional Liability Unit (PRU) | When directed to do so by the Deputy Director or the Chief, Office of Law Enforcement, investigating allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement not involving Service LE personnel. (See 441 FW 5 for PRU’s responsibilities related to investigating LE officer misconduct.) |
| F. Directorate members | (1) Reviewing any allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement that employees report to them; and (2) Reporting these allegations, as appropriate, following the procedures in section 1.7. |
| G. Human Resources Officers | (1) Evaluating any allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement reported to them; (2) Reporting these allegations following the procedures in section 1.7; and (3) Serving as consultants to managers, Directorate members, the PRU, and the OIG Investigation Liaison for personnel issues and issues related to potential disciplinary actions. |
| H. Managers and Supervisors | (1) Responding to employees’ allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement; and (2) Reporting these allegations following the procedures in section 1.7. |
| I. Employees | Reporting waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement to appropriate officials following the procedures in section 1.7. |
PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING
1.7 What are the procedures for reporting allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement?
A. Employees: If you become aware of or suspect waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement, you should immediately report it to an appropriate Service official. Report incidents to one of the following officials or offices:
(1) Your immediate supervisor;
(2) If the complaint is about your immediate supervisor, report it to his/her/their manager;
(3) An employee in the Service’s Human Resources Office;
(4) The Professional Responsibility Unit (PRU); or
(5) The OIG Hotline(see OIG’s website) if the allegations are so serious that they could embarrass the Service or have the potential to threaten the integrity of the Service’s programs.
(a) Although you have the right to contact the OIG first, we strongly encourage employees to work within the Service to report allegations because the OIG sends many types of complaints back to the Service PRU to investigate.
(b) If you refer a complaint to the OIG Hotline, you also mustnotify the Service’s OIG Liaison in PPM with details about the complaint. To inform the Service OIG Liaison in PPM, email him/her/them using oig_investigations_liaison@fws.gov. If you want to remain anonymous, you may notify him/her/them via regular mail at the following address:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service OIG Investigation Liaison
Division of Policy, Performance, and Management Programs
MS: BPHC (Room #1N105)
Falls Church, VA 22041-3803
B. Directorate member, Manager, Supervisor, Servicing Ethics Counselor, or Human Resources employee: If you receivea report of suspected waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement:
(1) You must report the allegations to one of the following:
(a) The PRU, or
(b) The OIG Hotline if the allegations include:
(i) Misconduct of a supervisor, regardless of grade;
(ii) Misconduct of an employee at the GS-15 level or above.
(2) If you refer a complaint to the OIG Hotline, you must notify the Service’s OIG Liaison in PPM with details. To inform the Service OIG Liaison in PPM, email him/her/them using the OIG email address. If you want to remain anonymous, you may notify him/her/them via regular mail at the following address:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service OIG Investigation Liaison
Division of Policy, Performance, and Management Programs
MS: BPHC (Room #1N105)
Falls Church, VA 22041-3803
1.8 How is the Service notified of an OIG investigation if it wasn’t reported internally? If you, your supervisor, or another manager do not notify PPM when you contact OIG, ordinarily the OIG will notify the Service (through the OIG Investigation Liaison in PPM) when an investigation begins. Occasionally, to protect the sensitivity of an investigation, the OIG does not notify us until the investigation is complete. See 410 FW 1 and 2 and 355 DM 1 - 3 for more information about OIG investigations.