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Good governance principles demand that the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Commission ensure overall high ethical behavior in the organization. Vigilant handling of fraud and ethics violations within an organization sends clear signals to the public, governor and legislators, and other stakeholders about the Commission’s and management’s attitude toward fraud and ethics risks and about the organization’s fraud risk tolerance.
SCDOT, through the Secretary of Transportation, has issued Department Directive 6, "Fraudulent and Unethical Conduct Policy", which establishes and requires standards of conduct for all SCDOT employees and provides a means for reporting violations of the standards. The Office of the Chief Internal Auditor, which reports directly to the Commission, is responsible for receiving reports of fraudulent or unethical conduct from SCDOT employees or outsiders and investigating the matters reported.
This Commission expects every employee and Commission members of SCDOT to maintain the highest level of professional and ethical standards in carrying out the mission of the agency.
Fraudulent conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Any dishonest or fraudulent act.
- Misappropriation of funds, supplies, or other assets.
- Impropriety in the handling or reporting of money or financial transactions.
- Profiteering as a result of insider knowledge of SCDOT activities.
- Disclosing confidential and proprietary information to outside parties.
- Accepting or seeking anything of material value from contractors, vendors, or persons providing services/materials to the Department, except for items excepted by state ethics laws.
- Destruction, removal, or inappropriate use of records, furniture, fixtures, and equipment.
- Any similar or related conduct.
Unethical conduct is defined as conduct that violates the state ethics laws or Section 57-1-40 of the SC Code of Laws, as amended.
The Commission hereby instructs its Chief Internal Auditor to administer his or her responsibilities in a professional manner and to periodically review the effectiveness of the SCDOT’s fraud detection and prevention systems.
The Commission expects any employee who observes what they believe is fraudulent or unethical conduct to report it to the Office of the Chief Internal Auditor. To the extent allowed by law, the Commission will support protecting the reporting employee from retribution for disclosing any violations reported in good faith.
The Commission joins all employees in building the trust vested in it by the public and the Legislature.
Resolution adopted at Commission Meeting of March 19, 2009.
The letter below is a Fraud and Ethics Statement from the Secretary of Transportation, H.B. Limehouse, Jr.
Fraud and Ethics Statement
fraud_ethics_statement.pdf (20kb)
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