Corporate Policy and Procedure
Table of Contents
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D - Employee to Employee Relationship​
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E - Professional Competency​
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F - Professional Responsibility in Public and Professional Relations
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Code of Ethics & Conduct
I. Purpose:
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A. The Company (Bridges of Canada Inc.) Code of Ethics and Conduct ensures
compliance with the law, guarantees a high level of professional behavior,
protects all employees, and protects the company’s clients from abuse and/or
exploitation.
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B. The Company Code of Ethics and Conduct ensures that all employees have an
understanding of how they are required to conduct themselves while working
for the company and what types of behavior will not be tolerated by the
company.
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C. Where there is a conflict between anything in this Company Code of Ethics
and Conduct and a collective agreement that applies to an employee, the terms
of the collective agreement shall prevail.
II. Definitions:
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A. Code of Ethics:
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A set of guidelines created and issued by the company which is intended to
serve as a central reference for all Company employees as it relates to each
employee’s behavior and actions.
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B. Client:
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For the purposes of this policy and procedure, whenever the term client appears,
it refers to and can be used to describe any person in an institution or facility
utilizing Company services.​
III. Policy:
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A. Each Company employee adheres to a professional and personal code of
ethics and conduct.
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B. Each Company employee must act in a responsible and ethical manner,
consistent with the spirit and letter of this code.
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C. Each Company employee represents the Company and shares in the
responsibility to observe high standards of conduct both on the job and in
their personal life.
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D. This code of ethics requires loyalty to the principles of respect, honesty, and
integrity in all activities.
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E. All employees agree to notify the Company in writing immediately of any
criminal charges against them.
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F. This code of ethics requires all employees to adhere to all Company policies
and to always conduct themselves in an ethical, professional manner.
IV. Procedure:
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A. Keeping in mind that ethical decisions are usually not clear-cut, each
Company employee must adhere to the following guidelines regarding their
professional behavior:
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B. General:
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1. Each employee must act according to standards consistent with the
responsible, professional image that the company wishes to
maintain, which are congruent with the mission statement of The
Company.
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2. An employee neither claims, nor implies professional qualifications
exceeding those they possess.
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a. Therefore, an employee must perform within professional
qualifications.
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b. An employee must seek consultation with their supervisor if
a question of competence arises.
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3. Misrepresentation in the procurement of certification or
misrepresentation of professional qualifications, certifications,
accreditation’s, affiliations, or employment experiences constitute
unethical conduct.
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4. Conduct which involves fraud, deceit or misrepresentations, or
criminal activity punishable, as a criminal offence is contrary to the
goals of the company, and therefore is deemed as unethical.
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5. Each Company employee must behave ethically.
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6. When an employee possesses information that raises doubt about the
ethical behavior of a colleague, they must immediately advise their
supervisor of the situation.
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a. Failing an informal solution, employees should bring such
unethical activities to the offending employee’s Supervisor
and/or, if necessary, the company Human Resources
Department, in accordance with the procedure outlined
herein.
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7. An employee must uphold the public’s trust.
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a. Any violation of public trust is also a violation of ethical
standards.
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b. Violations include, but are not limited to, the following
instances:
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01 Any effort to realize personal gain through
employment with the company, other than earned
compensation provided by the company.
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02 Any misuse or misappropriation of the company
property and/or funds.
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03 Any conduct that is criminal, of questionable nature,
and/or that may discredit the company and/or the
agencies the company contracts with.
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8. No employee should display favoritism or preferential treatment of
a client, group of clients or employee over another.
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9. No employees may deal with any client except in a professional
relationship that will support provided goals of the facilities
program. Specifically, staff members must never accept for
themselves or any member of their family any personal (tangible or
intangible) gift, favor or service from a client, client family member
or client friend. All staff are required to report to their supervisor
any violations or attempted violations of these restrictions.
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10. No employee shall enter into any business relationship with a client
or their families (e.g., selling, buying or trading personal property),
or personally employ them in any capacity.
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11. No employee shall have outside contact, other than incidental
contacts, with any client, former client, their family or close
associate, except for those activities which are part of the
employee’s job description.
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12. No employee shall give a client their home, cell or family member
phone number. No employee should be communicating via
telephone or cell phone with any client or clients’ family members
except for business necessity reasons. Non-adherence to this is a
serious violation of this policy.
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13. Any violation or attempted violation of this policy that pertains to
clients must be reported via phone and in writing to the Regional
Director and/or to the corporate office.
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a. Failure to report a violation or to take appropriate
disciplinary action against an employee who has violated
this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and
including termination.
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C. Confidentiality:
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1. All employees including direct and indirect service staff:
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a. All Company employees must maintain the integrity and
confidence of each Company client.
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b. While in-group, employees must set a norm of
confidentiality regarding all group participants’ disclosures.
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c. When Company employees provide information to the
public, they have a responsibility to ensure that the content
is general and unidentifiable. The information must be
accurate, unbiased, and consist of objective factual data.
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1. Employee’s operating within a government
environment or company facility bears the responsibility of
safeguarding government and/or client assets and any
sensitive or protected information, regardless of whether it
is in electronic or paper form. Comprehensive guidelines
regarding the handling and transmission of protected
documents can be found in our Handbook on delivering
Chaplaincy Services in a Correctional Environment.
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2. Employee’s may not release any employee
information, including past employee information.
All requests for employee information must be
forwarded to Human Resources.
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a. This includes business reference checks from
employers on current and/or past employees;
b. Wage verification on current and/or past
employees;
c. Current employment status of any
employees; or any other employee
information.
d. The use of data derived from a spiritual mentoring
relationship for purposes of professional training or research
shall be confined to content that can be disguised to ensure
full protection of the identity of the client and/or
participant(s).
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e. Any information concerning clients, or the Company is
considered confidential and is not to be discussed outside the
Company.
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f. All Company records and information relating to the
Company may not be removed from Company premises
without permission from the company.
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01 Additionally, the contents of Company records or
information otherwise obtained in regards to
business, employees or clients may not be disclosed
to anyone, except where required for business
purposes.
g. Employee and client information is considered
confidential and is not to be discussed with any
unauthorized individuals.
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01 Always consult your supervisor for the definition of
who is an authorized or unauthorized individual.
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h. Employees are strictly prohibited from discussing employee
or client information that they receive as part of their job
duties or that is overheard with anyone except authorized
individuals. This includes passing along information in the
form of gossip.
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i. Confidential information includes but is not limited to the
following examples:
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01 Documents;
02 Notes;
03 Files;
04 Records;
05 Oral Information;
06 Computer files;
07 Compensation data;
08 Client lists and confidential information;
09 Financial information;
10 New Materials research;
11 Employee personnel, confidential or medical file
information;
12 Employee information obtained from a file or
verbally;
13 Pending projects and proposals; and/or
14 Research and development strategies
j. Employees must not disclose any confidential information,
purposefully or inadvertently (through casual conversation),
to any unauthorized person inside or outside the company.
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k. Any employee who knowingly or unknowingly reveals
information of a confidential nature will be subject to
disciplinary action, up to and including termination and/or
legal action, even if they do not actually benefit from the
disclosed information.
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l. Employees who are unsure about the confidential nature of
specific information must ask their supervisor for
clarification
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2. Employee and Client Relationship:
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a. A Company employee’s primary obligation is to respect the
integrity and to promote the welfare of the client.
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b. In a group setting, the employee is also responsible for
taking reasonable precautions to protect individuals from
physical and/or psychological trauma resulting from
interaction within the group.
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c. A Company employee must recognize the power of the
client relationship and maintain clear boundaries for the
client by not engaging in any activities that seek to meet the
employee’s personal needs, at the expense of the client.
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d. Dual relationships with a client may impair the employee’s
objectivity and judgment (i.e., establishing a therapeutic
relationship with a friend, co-worker, or relative) must be
avoided.
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e. Engaging in a personal relationship, or any sexual conduct,
not limited to sexual intercourse, between an employee and
a client, is specifically a violation of the code of ethics and
conduct.
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01 Any employee found guilty of sexual misconduct
will be dismissed from employment and prohibited
from future employment in any capacity with the
company.
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02 Employees who witness or who can provide
evidence of sexual misconduct are required to make
a report within 72 hours to their Supervisor, Human
Resources or the Vice President of the company.
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03 No such activity as mentioned above shall ever be
considered appropriate.
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g. It is recognized that the client relationship goes on in
perpetuity; in other words, once a person becomes a client,
that person remains a client, even after their release from a
Company Program.
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h. Through the awareness of the negative impact of racial,
sexual, religious, gender, marital status, nationality or
physical stereotyping and discrimination, the employee
guards the individual rights and personal dignity of the
client.
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i. When clients possess diverse or non-familiar cultural and/or
ethnic backgrounds, employees are motivated to learn about
cultural and ethnic sensitivities in order to provide the
highest level of care.
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j. While offering dignified and reasonable support, employees
must be cautious in prognosis and may not exaggerate the
outcome of services to the client.
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k. If a client is already in an employee-client relationship with
another professional person, the employee does not enter
into a professional relationship without first contacting that
other professional.
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l. If the employee discovers the client is in another
professional relationship after this relationship begins, the
employee will contact the other professional providing
services.
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m. Employees must recognize the need for clients’ freedom of
choice. Services must be client led and client driven.
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n. Under those circumstances where this is not possible, the
employee must apprise the client of restrictions that may
limit their freedom of choice.
o. Employees must notify their supervisor and the appropriate
governmental agency if a client is in any way engaging in
what may be criminal conduct, including but not limited to
in any way abusing a child.
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D. Employee to Employee Relationship:
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1. Supervisors are strictly prohibited from engaging in relationships,
other than professional, with subordinates.
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2. Employees involved in personal relationships with peers understand
that they have entered into these relationships voluntarily and do not
hold the company liable or responsible for any issues that arise from
such relationships that are beyond the company’s control.
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a. Employees may not disrupt other employees or their own job
duties for matters relating to personal relationships.
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3. Employees are obligated to disclose any personal relationships of a
romantic nature with a peer to the Company immediately.
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E. Professional Competency:
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1. Company employees must maintain a certain level of knowledge
and skills and to strive to achieve and maintain the highest level of
professional competence.
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2. Company employees must have a continuing commitment to assess
personal strengths, limitations, biases, and effectiveness.
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3. Whenever possible, employees should strive for self-improvement
by using this self-assessment to procure appropriate continuing
education.
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4. Company employees must recognize that other spiritual
professionals may be valuable to the welfare of the client.
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5. If it is in the best interest of the client, the employee should seek the
advice and counsel of colleagues and supervisors or refer the client
to another professional who can provide the appropriate services for
that individual.
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6. When a Company employee demonstrates multiple failures in
recognized care functions or when an employee’s behavior
evidences a willful or gross neglect of a client’s rights and needs, a
finding of incompetence may be warranted, and disciplinary action
imposed.
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7. Company employees who function as trainers or supervisors assume
unique ethical responsibilities that frequently go beyond that of the
employee who does not function in a training capacity.
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8. At a minimum, these ethical responsibilities, as described above,
include, but are not limited to, the following:
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a. Orientation of trainees/supervisees to program expectations,
basic skills development, and employment prospects at the
beginning of the training or supervision;
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b. Presentation of an established program directed toward
developing students’ skills, knowledge and self-understanding,
stated whenever possible in competency or performance terms;
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c. Methodical and thorough evaluation of the students’
progress;
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d. Presentation and modeling of the ethical responsibilities and
standards of the profession;
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e. Presentation of varied theoretical positions so that students
may make comparisons and has the opportunity to select a
position;
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f. Conformance to any other expectations and standards set
forth by the company to assure competent training and
supervision.
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F. Professional Responsibility in Public and Professional Relations:
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1. Company employees are to respect and enhance the work field,
other professionals, and their place of employment by exhibiting
high standards of ethical conduct.
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2. These standards include, but are not limited to, the following
examples:
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a. Awareness of the prevailing community standards and of the
possible impact upon the quality of professional services
provided by their conformance to or deviation from these
standards.
3. Mutual progress toward the goals of the company requires that both
the employee and the company:
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a. Make the company’s goals explicit and public.
b. Make the employee’s contribution to the organization goal
specific; and
c. Foster mutual responsibility for goal achievement.
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4. To accomplish this, the employee and the company must share
responsibilities in the formulation and implementation of personnel
policies, including the development of the following:
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a. A definition and parameters of professional competence for
each employee.
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b. Regular review and evaluation, with an opportunity for
employees to inform the company of conditions that may
limit their effectiveness; and
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c. In-service development for self and staff.
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5. It is unethical for employees to use the company to recruit clients
for one’s private practice.
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6. Employees must represent accurately and objectively their
professional qualifications, affiliations, and functions, as well as
those of the company when making public statements or
announcements.
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7. Employees must know and consider the traditions and practices of
other professional groups with whom they work and cooperate fully
with such groups.
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8. Employees may make full use of all the professional, technical, and
administrative resources that serve the best interests of the clients.
This includes an awareness of related services within the community,
working agreements and referrals, without charge, for such referrals,
when appropriate.
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9. Any discriminatory conduct toward clients, colleagues, supervisors,
or others, with whom the employee interacts, in the course of
professional duties, is considered unethical behavior.
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G. Controlled Substances:
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1. The company strictly prohibits the possession, use, and/or
distribution of any illegal controlled substances on any Company
and/or Contracted property, vehicle, or site.
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2. The company strictly prohibits the use of alcohol and cannabis or
illegal controlled substances by an employee on duty or on
Company and/or Contracted property.
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H. Conflicts of Interest:
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1. Responsibility to the Employer:
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a. All Company employees must adhere to their
commitment(s) to the company.
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b. Company employees are prohibited from participating in
decision-making activities for the company when it involves
any entity in which the employee and/or any member of his
or her family have an interest, financial or otherwise.
c. A Company employee who engages in work for pay with
any agency (that may be in direct or indirect competition
with Company interest) must disclose such a relationship to
his or her supervisor immediately.
2. Responsibility to Clients:
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a. A Company employee’s primary responsibility is to
Company clients.
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b. A Company employee does not treat a client in a cruel or
inhumane manner, and they do not use profane and/or
abusive language when dealing with a client.
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c. The company will not place any client in a company program
where pre-existing or continuous relationships exist between
the client and a Company employee.
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