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What is Seton Hall’s Compliance Program?
The Compliance Program is part of the Administration of the University. Institutions of higher education in the US have to fulfill the requirements of various federal, state and local laws, regulations and policies. They also have a diverse and complex array of exposures for which risk management, risk control and risk financing – partly through the purchase of insurance – impose additional challenges. They also face a considerable array of obligations that they accept (and some of which they impose on their contract partners) by virtue of entering into contractual relationships with other organizations. The Compliance Program provides technical assistance and fulfills a coordinating role in safeguarding the University’s interests, relative to these requirements, obligations and exposures.
What are the areas in which the Compliance Program’s activities are focused?
- Meeting the intent of statutes and regulations
- Risk and insurance management
- Environmental health and safety
- Fire safety
- Workplace justice issues – investigation of complaints involving:
- Sexual harassment
- Discrimination, including racial and/or ethnic discrimination
Workplace justice and environmental/fire safety issues seem unrelated. Why are they handled through the same program?
These areas of concern share the following in common: (1) there are substantial external regulatory demands associated with these issues; and (2) it has been observed in many U.S. colleges and universities that complaints, claims and lawsuits tend to concentrate around these topics.
Why is it useful for all employees to know about the Compliance Program, and to contact Program staff when necessary?
Open and ongoing communication between the Compliance Program and the University community as a whole contributes to an environment in which policies and practices put into place to manage risk and to address concerns in the workplace are widely understood, and information about specific concerns that may arise is communicated to the Compliance Program for timely investigation and resolution, when appropriate.
What are the key activities of the Compliance Program?
Key activities include:
- Coordinating investigations involving workplace justice issues, and maintaining current policies and guidelines related to these investigations;
- Overseeing comprehensive programs for environmental health and safety and fire safety;
- Working with various components of the organization on insurance and regulatory issues;
- Providing focused technical assistance in specific areas where unique risks, and/or specific regulatory requirements, demand special attention, such as revision/implementation of the University’s Chemical Hygiene Plan, and the Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan; development and implementation of the University’s vehicle safety program;
- Coordinating activities of a University-wide Risk Management Committee;
- Participation in committee activities with specific risk management focus, including the Athletics Risk Management Subcommittee, the Laboratory Safety Subcommittee, the Radiation Safety Committee and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee;
- Overseeing the University’s insurance management program;
- Overseeing focused compliance audits/reviews in certain specific areas, including the University’s Affirmative Action Program; compliance with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA); compliance with the University’s policies and practices on records retention; Student Financial Assistance Programs;
- Communicating with the University community concerning the program, through orientation programs, periodic training, community notification through broadcasts and maintaining a website.