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Our commitment to our clients is to
develop and maintain a business atmosphere that focuses
not only on the property management services we provide
but also on the ethical conduct of our employees. The following
summarizes our policies eight areas of importance in this
regard:
| 1. |
Incentives.
We will not accept gifts, incentives, or other forms
of consideration at any time, except reasonable gifts
of appreciation given or received at Christmas time.
Our actions will always be in the best interest of our
clients without hidden compensation or benefit.
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| 2. |
Competitive Spirit. We will concentrate
on improving our service and will not unfairly criticize
or make negative statements about our competition in
the property management field. However, we will
compare ourselves to our competition when factual circumstances
warrant comparison. |
| 3. |
Honesty. We will not lie or provide false
information but will always respond truthfully based
on current knowledge. We will not resort to puffery
or exaggeration. |
| 4. |
Client
Confidentiality. Without our clients' consent,
we will not divulge confidential information unless
we are bound by legal or ethical standards to divulge
such information and then we will do so only to the
appropriate parties. |
| 5. |
Awarding
Contracts for Services and Product Purchases.
We will always seek out the best value with regard to
price, quality, delivery, service and maintenance.
Contracts will not be given to friends, relatives, or
others we have a personal relationship with unless full
disclosure is made and their service or product is the
best value. |
| 6. |
Managing Property for Non-Local Owners.
All owners will receive the same effort from our staff,
whether they live in town, or are out-of-town, or are
in constant contact with us, or only visit with us once
per year. Our management effort will also be
the same for large and small sites and owners with one
site or multiple sites. |
| 7. |
Substance
Abuse Policy. Our policy regarding substance
abuse is as follows:
A. |
It
is a violation of company policy for any employee
to use, possess, distribute, sell, trade, or
offer for sale illegal drugs or alcohol on the
job. |
| B.
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It
is a violation of company policy for anyone to
report to work under the influence of illegal
drugs or alcohol. |
| C. |
It
is a violation of company policy for anyone to
misuse prescription drugs. |
| D. |
It
is a violation of company policy to not report
a work-related injury within 24 hours.
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| E. |
Violations
of this policy are subject to disciplinary action
which may include termination. |
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8. |
Code of Conduct. Annually, each employee
signs a code of conduct which renews the focus on our
ethical commitment to our clients. Our code of conduct
is: |
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Code
of Conduct |
1. |
I
affirm my responsibility to our property owners, partners,
and lenders that their assets, which they entrusted
to me, are not subject to conflict of interest.
I understand and agree to the following code of conduct.
I also understand that I must list any
exceptions below, and those exceptions must
be approved by my manager and District Manager (DM)
or Home Office Supervisor (HOS). |
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A. |
Neither
I, nor any member of my family has an interest
in or operating responsibility for rental housing
other than with Bernard/Allison. |
B. |
Any
outside employment that I participate in, must
be disclosed and approved by my DM or HOS.
|
C. |
Employment
of relatives at the same community or home office
department is prohibited unless approved by my
DM or HOS. |
D. |
Neither
I, nor my family may invest in any Bernard/Allison
vendor unless approved by my DM or HOS.
|
E. |
I
will not give or receive cash, gifts or tips of
any kind or borrow or lend money or items among
employees, residents or vendors. |
F. |
I
will not directly use the services or skills of
any other employee or vendor with or without compensation.
Materials and services may be purchased
through Bernard/Allison at the Bernard/Allison
price providing the invoice is processed through
the Bernard/Allison Home Office. |
G. |
I
understand and agree that all property left in
an apartment is the property of the site.
All sales of site property to employees or the
public must have DM approval. |
H. |
If
I hold a real estate license, I will give notice
in writing of the status of my license and notice
in writing of any changes in status if my license
is inactive. I will either be on inactive status
or Bernard/Allison must be my employing broker
and I will conduct no real estate activity outside
of Bernard/Allison. |
I. |
If
I drive on company business, I understand and
agree that I will have a current and valid driver’s
license and carry the standard insurance policy
required by financial responsibility laws in addition
to $100,000/$300,000 liability coverage required
by the Bernard/Allison insurance policy.
I will notify Bernard/Allison immediately if I
no longer have a valid driver’s license or the
company-required insurance. |
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2. |
I
understand and agree that Bernard/Allison Management
Services, Inc. is a drug-free work place and if an employee
uses, is under the influence of, has in his/her possession,
or sells or gives others any illegal substance or alcohol
during work or on-call hours, it is grounds for immediate
termination without severance pay or benefits.
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3. |
I
understand that I am financially responsible for improper,
careless, negligent, destructive or unsafe acts that
result in damage or theft to equipment and/or property.
In this event, I authorize amounts owed, which
will be disclosed to me, to be deducted from my paycheck.
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4. |
I
agree to report any work related injury to my supervisor
immediately, regardless of the severity of the injury.
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5. |
I
agree to comply with federal and state employment
and fair housing laws, in that, my business practices
will not be influenced or affected by a person’s race,
color, religion, gender, national origin, familial
status, age, disability, or any other legally protected
class. All residents, prospective residents,
and co-workers must be treated as human beings, not
as members of a particular group. |
| 6. |
I
understand that information gained while employed
with Bernard/Allison is confidential and proprietary.
This includes any information describing Bernard/Allison’s
business and operations, clients, residents, products,
vendors, contracts, employees, managed properties,
finances, forms, manuals, handbooks, training programs,
policies and procedures, reports, drawings, notes
and software stored in hard-copy or electronically.
I agree not to personally disclose, divulge
or allow any information to be disclosed or divulged
to persons outside the company unless authorized to
do so by management in writing. I also agree
not to reproduce in any manner any information for
purposes other than performing my duties and responsibilities
for Bernard/Allison.
This ethical conduct statement is provided to all of our clients to communicate
our intent to do the best we can on their behalf by trying to avoid potential
conflicts of interest whenever possible.
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