Directors, officers, employees, and volunteers of the Boston Area Youth Soccer League (BAYS) are encouraged to report any improper activity to the BAYS Whistleblower Committee. Improper activities are defined as any activity that may jeopardize the accuracy of financial reporting, is a conflict of interest, indicates a misappropriation of assets, or otherwise is illegal or violates organizational policies or ethical standards. Directors, officers, employees, and volunteers will not be retaliated against for whistleblowing.

Whistleblower Committee

The BAYS Whistleblower Committee shall be responsible for receiving and investigating all whistleblower complaint filings per the BAYS Whistleblower Policy. The committee shall be made up of three non-BAYS Board members nominated at the start of each fiscal year by rotating member organizations. The organizations providing a member of the committee in a specific year shall be determined alphabetically and progress through the BAYS member organization list. In the event that a member of the committee is from the same town as the complainant or complainee (or otherwise has a conflict of interest) that member shall be recused and a new committee member recruited from the town next in line.

Purpose:

In compliance with the highest standards of nonprofit governance and responsibility, the purpose of this policy is to encourage and enable individuals to come forward as soon as possible if they have credible information regarding an illegal practice, a violation of organizational policies, or a violation of ethical standards.

POLICY GUIDELINES:

1. Reporting Improper Activities. Any director, officer, employee, or volunteer who has a good faith concern regarding any improper activity, including the legality or propriety of any action taken or contemplated to be taken by BAYS, or a good faith belief that action needs to be taken for BAYS to be in compliance with laws, organizational policies, or ethical standards, should promptly report such concern to the Whistleblower Committee listed on the BAYS Active BOD Committees page: https://bays.org/content/active-bod-committee or at: [email protected] which is routed solely to members of the Whistleblower Committee. Receipt of a complaint filing will be acknowledged back to the source (if known) within 48 hours.
   
   1. Acting in Good Faith. Anyone filing a complaint alleging a violation or suspected violation must be acting in good faith and share reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed represents improper activity.. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and which prove  not to be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense and addressed under BAYS governing documents as such.
   2. Privacy. The report may be submitted on a confidential basis or may be submitted anonymously. Reports of violations or suspected violations will be kept confidential to the extent possible, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation.
2. Preliminary Investigation. Within 30 days of receipt of any whistleblower information, the Whistleblower Committee will conduct a preliminary investigation to establish the validity of the reported activities. The Whistleblower Committee will ensure that the complaint is documented and maintain secured records of all reported activities and any documentation relating to the investigation of those activities. Law enforcement agencies or other involved parties may be contacted if appropriate.
3. Report to Full BAYS Board. Upon completion of the preliminary investigation, the Whistleblower Committee will forward the issue to the BAYS Board of Directors for their full review and appropriate action. The Whistleblower Committee will supply the Board with a report on the findings of the preliminary investigation and may include a recommendation for disciplinary action. Further action may include requesting additional investigative work by any Board or Committee member, questioning additional Board members, contacting legal counsel, or reporting to law enforcement agencies or other appropriate entities. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective action, as outlined in the BAYS governing documents, will be taken if warranted by the investigation.

Whistleblower Protection from Retaliation

It is BAYS policy and commitment that a director, officer, employee, or volunteer will not be subject to retaliation by a BAYS member and BAYS will make every effort to avoid the appearance of retaliation for whistleblowing done in good faith. If a director, officer, employee, or volunteer believes that he or she has been retaliated against, he or she should contact the Whistleblower Committee, who will investigate the alleged retaliation. If the investigation confirms that the director, officer, employee, or volunteer was retaliated against because of his or her whistleblowing, BAYS will take appropriate corrective actions. Any director, officer, employee, or volunteer who threatens, harasses, or otherwise retaliates against a person making such a good-faith report will be subject to appropriate discipline, up to and including suspension or expulsion from the Board of Directors as noted in the BAYS governing documents.