Code of Conduct Incident Response Guidelines

Information on reporting a Code of Conduct incident is outlined in the Guidelines below.

The checklists below outline the steps any member can take during a potential Code of Conduct incident before reporting it to the COCP. You may encounter challenging situations and have limited experience or training to feel comfortable enforcing the Code of Conduct. These guidelines are meant to help guide you through the process of supporting other members and yourself during an incident.

All members should feel empowered to play a role in enforcing the Code of Conduct, and report any incidents if it is warranted. Ideally, we would all be able to defuse an incident we are involved in among ourselves by practicing appropriate behavior. In practice, we have varying comfort with situations depending on our experience and the environment. Below are ways that you can be supportive and steps that you can take during or after an incident.

If you are able, move from being a bystander to being a Code of Conduct first responder. If you see something inappropriate happening, speak up or do something. If you don’t feel comfortable intervening, but feel someone should, you are encouraged to submit a report via the Code of Conduct incident report form[1] . For in-person events, please begin implementing the Immediate Response Process Steps as listed below. You may contact a staff or Board member so that they can assist you and help submit a report by filling out this form[2] .

Immediate Response

The initial response to an incident is very important. Depending on the severity and/or details of the incident, an immediate response may be required. If an incident involves physical danger or involves a threat to anyone’s safety (e.g. threats of violence), any member of the community may – and should – act immediately to protect safety. This can include contacting police or emergency resources.

Ongoing Incidents

If an incident is ongoing, whether in-person or online, any member may act immediately and employ any of the tools available to members to pacify the situation. In situations where an individual member acts immediately, they should fill out this form[3]  or inform staff or a member of the Board as soon as possible. Should there be a need for an immediate response, please see the Immediate Response Process Steps.

Checklists for Responding to an Incident

Immediate Response Process Steps for In-Person Events with the Potential for Physical Harm

• Assess whether you need a first-responder (law enforcement, EMTs, etc.) to immediately respond to the incident. If so, ask the reportee to stay with you and dial the appropriate emergency response number.
• If there is any general threat to participants and/or the safety of anyone attending an SLA event, contact the emergency response number established.
• If individuals are physically safe, contact law enforcement or security only at the reportee’s request.
• Follow any local guidelines for handling incidents, including if you have a legal reporting role. You may need to ask a staff member for assistance.
• If first responders or security have been contacted, they will have to provide a report within their own agency. You should inform a member of the Board or staff of the incident as soon as possible, the steps taken, and the current status.

In-Person and Online Event Process Steps

• Ensure participants are safe. This may include calling first responders or security.
• If participants are not safe, refer to the Immediate Response Process Steps.
• For incidents that are violations of the Code of Conduct but don’t put anyone at risk for physical harm, ask the person(s) involved to complete the Code of Conduct Incident Report Form[4] .
• If they would like your help or feel more comfortable if you complete the report, talk to them or communicate via email/online call to get their inputs in getting as much detail as possible, and help submit the report with their assistance.
• If first responders or security have been contacted, they will have to provide a report within their own agency. You should inform a member of the Board or staff of the incident as soon as possible, the steps taken, and the current status.

Online Communications Channels Process Steps

• Inform the event host/meeting facilitator that there was an issue and send a report via the incident report form[5] .
• Save a screenshot and/or chat log of any online interaction where the issue occurred and share those in your report.
• If the incident involves the event host/meeting facilitator, please complete the incident report form[6]  and rest assured that confidentiality and your experience in our community is our first priority.
• If a community member has violated the Code of Conduct, the COCP or the Community hosting the event can request a short-term suspension. A Community may immediately enact their own terms of suspension, contact the staff and Board liaison, and then report the incident via the incident report form. The COCP can request a suspension by contacting the SLA membership director. A short-term suspension means that the member’s or members’ privileges to all SLA communication channels could be suspended until the COCP sub-panel has concluded their investigation of the reported incident.

If a member knowingly falsely reports a Code of Conduct violation, that member’s privileges to all SLA communication channels could be suspended until the COCP sub-panel has concluded their investigation of the reported incident.

Individuals reported often get upset, defensive, or deny the report. Allow them to give any additional details about the incident. However, remember:

• It does not matter if they did not intend to hurt anyone; their behavior still impacted participants negatively.
• It is not your job to reassure or forgive them.
• While we encourage participants to resolve the incident among themselves, if they are not able to do so, do not allow the reported person to make an apology to the reportee or impacted person. Often an apology centers on the reported person’s feelings and not the person who was impacted. You may accept their apology and offer to pass it on, but you’re not required to if you think it would negatively impact the reporting party.

Information To Report To COCP

When reporting an incident, more information will help the COCP investigate and resolve the matter efficiently. When reporting an incident, be prepared to supply as much of the following information as possible:

• Reporting party’s name - optional, but helpful (required if you were impacted, optional if you are reporting for someone else)
• The name of the person(s) impacted, if it is not you (required)
• The name of the person exhibiting behavior that violates the Code of Conduct (required)
• Contact information (email and phone numbers) for the above 3 persons as appropriate (optional, but highly useful)
• The names of other people who were present and/or witnessed the incident (optional)
• The time and date of the incident (required. Date should be specific, time can be the best you remember)
• The location and platform for the incident e.g., in-person event like the annual conference, webinar, Connect, etc. (required)
• Nature of the behavior that violates the Code of Conduct - see the list of unacceptable behaviors (required)
• Description of the incident, preferably including how the situation arose, the course of events, names of all parties involved (as much as possible), and a timeline (required)
• Other information that will help the COCP quickly investigate and resolve the incident (optional)[7] 

Incidents involving association management staff or SLA Board members

If a report involving association management staff or an SLA Board member is submitted the COCP should treat the incident as they would for any other member or participant, with the caveat that there may be complicating conflict of interest issues that will need to be addressed within the scope of this Code of Conduct.

If a report involving association management staff or an SLA Board member is susceptible to meet the appropriate criteria for harassment as defined by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the COCP should contact the SLA membership coordinator or the SLA President-Elect. The SLA membership coordinator or SLA President-Elect will refer anything that comes in by or about association management staff or SLA Board members to legal counsel if appropriate.

SLA staff are not employees of SLA but are employees of the association management company. The association management company is expected to have its own policies regarding events between or among staff that do not involve SLA members.