Code of Conduct: Integrity Standard - Conflict of Interest

Policy:

We must avoid situations where our personal interests could conflict, or reasonably appear to conflict, with the interest of the Company.  We must be free of actual, apparent or potential conflicts of interest when dealing with persons or business entities on behalf of the Company. We must award business solely on merit, getting the best value for the Company, and wherever practical, on a competitive basis.   A conflict of interest occurs whenever an employee permits the prospect of direct or indirect personal gain to influence his or her judgment or actions in making decisions regarding Company business.   

Nepotism and other Forms of Favoritism
We may not conduct Company business with any entity in which we or our family have 5 percent or greater ownership or controlling interest.  A family member, as defined by Company policy, generally includes an employee’s: 

  • Current spouse,
    domestic partner
  • Parent/Stepparent
  • Children (includes natural,
    adopted, foster, or other
    legally placed children)
  • Siblings (includes natural,
    step or half)
  • Grandparent
  • Grandchild
  • In-laws
  • Corresponding immediate
    family members of any
    employee’s spouse or 
    domestic partner members


We may not use information that comes to us in the course of employment for personal investment or gain, nor can we provide this type of information to family members or others.  

We must avoid direct or indirect responsibility for the hiring or supervision of a family member.  Even the appearance of favoritism can have a degrading effect on employee morale and perception of the Company’s fairness to all employees.  Employment of family members is permitted so long as employees are not reporting directly or indirectly to each other.  

We must also avoid romantic and other close personal relationships with another employee where one individual supervises, directly or indirectly, the other’s performance, salary, schedule, or other working conditions.

Someone Close to You Working in the Industry
We may find ourselves in a situation where someone close to us, whether a family member or a close friend, works for a competitor, vendor, provider, customer or producer.   In such cases, we must be especially sensitive to security, confidentiality and conflicts of interest.  We should review our specific situation with our Supervisor to assess the nature and the extent of any potential conflict of interest and how it can be resolved.  

Competing Against the Company
We may not, either directly or indirectly, compete against the Company in any of the products or lines of business that the Company currently sells or anticipates selling or developing.  This includes, but is not limited to, taking for ourselves any opportunity that we discover because of our position or employment with the Company.  

Outside Employment and other Activities
A conflict of interest may also exist if the demands of any outside activity hinder or distract us from the performance of our job or even appear to influence our judgment or performance for the Company.  We may not engage in any outside activity that negatively impacts our job performance.  

Generally, any outside employment with a competitor, provider or entity which does or seeks to do business with the Company is not permitted. 

It is not possible for the Code of Business Ethics and Conduct to list every type of potential conflict of interest.  When in doubt, we should share the facts of the situation with our Supervisor or another Corporate Resource.

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