Whistleblower Protections

The Church prohibits retaliation against employees or other persons who in good faith report legal or ethical concerns. Any employee who suspects that they have experienced retaliation for making a report should immediately inform the Senior Minister. If the retaliation is from the Senior Minister, then the employee should inform the Board of Trustees using the Grievance process. 

Anti-Nepotism Policy 

Any family member within one generation, committed partner or spouse of an employee cannot serve on the Board of Trustees.  The Senior Minister may make exceptions to this policy on a case-by-case basis, except for in the case of their own family member, for which there would be no exception. 

Relatives of other employees can be employed by the Church, so long as employment does not create actual or perceived conflicts of interest.  For purposes of this policy, “relative” is defined as a spouse or partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, first cousin, or corresponding or “step” relation. 

• Related individuals are permitted to work together provided no direct reporting or supervisor/management relationship exists. That is, no employee is permitted to work within the chain of command of a relative such that one relative’s work responsibility, salary, or career progress could be influenced by the other relative.
• No relatives are permitted to work in the same Department or in any other positions where an inherent conflict of interest may exist. The Senior Minister may make exceptions to this policy on a case-by-case basis, except regarding their direct relative, in which case the Board’s approval would be required.     
• This policy applies to all categories of employment at the Church, including permanent, temporary, and part-time classifications.