Procedures Upon Receipt of Complaints Regarding Conduct of AEA Members

Adopted March 9, 2020

Purpose: To Develop Procedures for Prompt and Effective Review and/or Investigation of Complaints against Members for Violations of the AEA Policy on Harassment and Discrimination.

These procedures do NOT apply to complaints brought by applicants for employment, or by employees or contractors of AEA, or to complaints brought against employees or contractors of AEA. Those complaints are handled in accordance with AEA’s employee handbook and/or employment policies and procedures.

These procedures do apply to complaints regarding the conduct of an AEA member, Board member or Officer when those complaints do not otherwise meet the criteria above.

I. Complaints Referred to Ethics Committee

When the Board of Trustees (“Board”) receives a complaint that any member, including any Board member or Officer, has breached the AEA Policy on Harassment and Discrimination, the Board will refer the matter to an Ethics Committee for prompt and effective review and, if deemed necessary, investigation. After review and/or investigation, the Ethics Committee will make a Report to the Board, including any recommendation for what, if any, action is appropriate for addressing the complaint.

The Board will consider the Report of the Ethics Committee and vote on its acceptance and any recommendation. The acceptance and approval of the Ethics Committee Report requires the affirmative vote of a two-thirds majority of the Board at the meeting.

The Ethics Committee will be an ad hoc committee with three members, comprised of the Board President, and two other Board members selected by the President. Each year the Board President will appoint a Board member to serve as the Ombudsperson Liaison. The Ombudsperson Liaison will serve as the main point of contact between the Board and the Ombudsperson. The Board President may, but is not required to, ask the Ombudsperson Liaison to serve on the Ethics Committee. The AEA Secretary-Treasurer will serve as an ex officio non-voting member of the Ethics Committee. Once appointed, the Ethics Committee in place when a complaint is received will continue to be the committee of record for the case until it is resolved. There is no limit to the number of times a Board member may serve on the Ethics Committee.

The President shall not appoint to the Ethics Committee any Board member who has a personal or professional interest in, or connection to, the matter at hand or to any of the parties to the complaint, or who was a witness to the matter complained of. If the President has a conflict of interest, the immediate past President shall take on the responsibilities of the President on the Ethics Committee and in selecting the Ethics Committee’s other members.

II. Role of the Ombudsperson

If a complaint is made to the Ombudsperson, the Ombudsperson will inform the complainant that complaints made to the Ombudsperson do not constitute notice to the AEA and will not trigger any action on the part of the AEA. The Ombudsperson will direct the complainant to the AEA Secretary-Treasurer or Board President if the complainant wishes to make a formal complaint for the AEA’s consideration. The Ombudsperson will not encourage or assist a complainant in making a formal complaint to the AEA, and shall explain to the complainant his or her role as a neutral in the process.
If the Ombudsperson receives a complaint regarding the conduct of an AEA member but the complainant does not wish to make a formal complaint to the appropriate AEA representative, the Ombudsperson may, with the consent of the complainant and, if needed, in consultation with AEA’s outside general counsel, engage in informal fact-finding. After such informal fact-finding, the Ombudsperson may at the Ombudsperson’s discretion, and with the consent of the complainant, provide the written results of his or her fact-finding inquiry to the AEA Secretary-Treasurer or Board President for the purpose of referring the matter to an Ethics Committee. The Ombudsperson will not make recommendations or conclusions regarding the merit of the underlying complaint, but rather will make only factual findings, which may be accepted in whole or part, or rejected by the Ethics Committee upon its review and investigation. The Ombudsperson may also, with the consent of the complainant, and if needed, in consultation with AEA’s outside general counsel, engage in attempts at informal dispute resolution of the matter.
Due to the Ombudsperson’s role as a neutral provided to serve AEA constituents and the complaint process, the Ombudsperson for the AEA will not serve as a fact-finder or investigator at the request of the Ethics Committee; however, if the Ombudsperson has previously conducted an informal fact-finding inquiry and has prepared a report, this report may be provided to the Ethics Committee, or to any outside agency that shall be retained by the Ethics Committee to conduct a formal investigation of the matter.
Any member of the Ethics Committee shall be free to confer with the Ombudsperson to get clarity about his/her role and responsibilities in considering and investigating a matter and in determining appropriate steps for such review or investigation.

III. Standards for Investigation and Potential Sanction of Members

The AEA Board of Trustees, as delegated to the AEA Ethics Committee, will adhere to the following guidelines for the processing of complaints that a member has breached the AEA Policy on Harassment and Discrimination.

The complainant must be a member of the AEA.
The complaint must allege conduct occurring within a reasonable period of time preceding the date of the complaint, as determined by the Ethics Committee. As a general rule, conduct occurring more than seven (7) years prior to the date of the complaint will not be considered unless the underlying conduct is deemed serious and the reason for the delay in complaining is deemed reasonable.
The complaint will be addressed in keeping with the nature of the complaint, the underlying conduct, how recently it is alleged to have occurred and its connection the AEA, and such other factors as the Ethics Committee or its delegated investigator deem appropriate, in their discretion.
Complaints about alleged events occurring in the context of AEA-sponsored activities, or involving AEA officers or Board members:
1. If a complainant accuses an AEA officer or Board member of breaching the AEA Policy on Harassment and Discrimination, or if a complainant accuses an AEA member of breaching this policy in the context of an AEA-sponsored activity, the Ethics Committee will determine what next steps to take in reviewing and/or investigating the matter. If the matter is being reviewed and/or investigated by some other entity, the Ethics Committee is not required to await the outcome of that entity’s review/investigation and generally will conduct its own investigation.
2. If the Ethics Committee conducts its own review/investigation, the Ethics Committee will expect cooperation from the participants, and the Ethics Committee may consider any lack of cooperation as a factor in making findings and/or determining appropriate sanctions.
3. In general, if the Ethics Committee determines that an investigation is appropriate, the Ethics Committee or its designee will include in its investigation taking a statement from the complainant, taking a statement from the member about whom the complaint has been made, reviewing relevant documentation, including emails, text messages, and/or social media, and interviewing possible witnesses as identified and as deemed to likely have relevant information.
Other Member Complaints
1. If a complainant accuses an AEA member of breaching the AEA Policy on Harassment and Discrimination under circumstances that are not addressed by Section III.D. above, the Ethics Committee will determine what next steps to take in reviewing and/or investigating the matter.
2. If the matter has been reported to some other entity and that entity already has reviewed and/or investigated the matter, the Ethics Committee will determine what steps, if any, are appropriate to gather necessary information from that entity, to the extent possible, including the possibility of requesting cooperation from the AEA members involved in that matter. The Ethics Committee is not required to accept the other entity’s determination and can conduct its own further review or investigation.
3. If the matter has been reported to some other entity and that entity is conducting a review and/or investigation of the matter but has not yet made any determination, the Ethics Committee generally will await such determination before deciding whether to conduct its own review or investigation. However, the Ethics Committee is not required to accept the other entity’s determination and can conduct its own further review or investigation.
4. In general, if the Ethics Committee determines that an investigation is appropriate, the Ethics Committee or its designee will include in its investigation taking a statement from the complainant, taking a statement from the member about whom the complaint has been made, reviewing relevant documentation, including emails, text messages, and/or social media, and interviewing possible witnesses as identified and as deemed to likely have relevant information.
5. If the Ethics Committee conducts its own review/investigation, the Ethics Committee will expect cooperation from the participants, and the Ethics Committee may consider any lack of cooperation as a factor in making findings and/or determining appropriate sanctions.
Once the Ethics Committee decides to investigate a complaint, it may conduct the investigation itself or retain the services of a reputable outside agency or firm (“its designee”) to conduct the investigation. The Committee in its discretion may rely on statements contained in a previous fact-finding report, if any, made by:
1. An employer, independent organization or agency, or other institution having responsibility for oversight of the member whose conduct is in question, as described above; or
2. The Ombudsperson, as described above.
If after investigation the Ethics Committee determines that the AEA member, Board member or Officer engaged in a violation of applicable policy, the Ethics Committee will then determine a recommendation for the appropriate sanction. The Ethics Committee’s Report to the Board will include its findings, the general basis for such findings, and the recommendation of the appropriate sanction for addressing the violation.
The Ethics Committee’s Report will be considered by the AEA Board at the next scheduled meeting following receipt of the Ethics Committee’s Report. If the Board deems it appropriate, it can schedule a special meeting for consideration of the Report.
Sanctions may include, depending on the level of severity of the conduct:
1. Private or public reprimand.
2. Temporary suspension of membership privileges pending investigation.
3. Removal of some or all membership privileges for a stated period of time.
4. Revocation of membership for a stated period of time, after which period the member may apply for reinstatement.
5. Revocation of right to serve as a journal referee, editor, committee member and/or Board member.
6. Other sanctions as determined in the Board’s discretion.
The Board, in its discretion, can accept the Report and approve the recommendation for sanctions, or it may choose a different sanction. The Board also may, in its discretion, determine that the review and/or investigation of the Ethics Committee was not reasonable and appropriate and select a different ad hoc committee to conduct additional review and/or investigation.
All decisions of the Board are final.
Standards for the imposition of sanctions: Upon finding that the subject of the complaint has violated the AEA Policy on Harassment and Discrimination, the level of sanction recommended by the Ethics Committee will be guided by:
1. the level of severity of the violation;
2. the context of the conduct and the level of its connection to the core activities of the AEA;
3. whether the conduct complained of occurred before the adoption of the AEA Policy on Harassment and Discrimination;
4. whether the conduct caused serious professional and/or personal harm to the complainant;
5. whether the conduct had the effect of damaging the reputation of the AEA and/or the reputation of the economics profession;
6. the level of cooperation of the persons involved in the matter;
7. such other factors as the Ethics Committee deems appropriate and relevant.
Any suspension of membership or privileges recommended by the Ethics Committee shall include findings underlying the reasons for the action.
The Ethics Committee may, in its discretion, engage in informal methods of alternative dispute resolution in order to resolve complaints.
After a complaint is addressed by the AEA, the Secretary-Treasurer shall inform the complainant and the Ombudsperson of the final decision of the AEA Board, to the extent permitted by applicable privacy laws.

IV. Process for participants in the complaint process

As much as reasonably achievable under the circumstances, the participants in the complaint process will receive:

Timely notice of the complaint and its basis;
Advance notice of any meeting the person is asked to attend;
The opportunity to provide support for any complaint or for any response to a complaint, including a written statement, the identification of other witnesses or other sources of information.
The right to a personal supporter of the party’s choice, who may or may not be an attorney, who may assist and advise the person throughout the disciplinary process, including attending all meetings the party is asked to attend; however, parties will be expected to speak for themselves unless unable to do so by reason of a disability;
Have the complaint investigated in an impartial, timely and reasonably thorough manner;
The opportunity to submit written objections to the Board in response to the Ethics Committee’s Report; and
Fair and proportionate sanctions, as determined in the discretion of the Board.

V. Confidentiality:

All AEA officers and/or Board members involved in the consideration and processing of complaints shall keep the entire matter confidential to the fullest extent possible. The facts of the matter and the identities of the parties may be shared only to the extent necessary to consider the matter, arrange for an investigation, process the complaint and response, and make a recommendation to the Board. Therefore, information shall be shared only with independent investigators, legal counsel, the complainant, the subject of the complaint, other members of the Ethics Committee, or otherwise as required by law. The complainant may choose to share information about the complaint and its progress with the AEA Ombudsperson.
All records regarding the complaint shall be stored by the AEA Secretary-Treasurer in a secure format and location and shall be disclosed only to those persons and to the extent necessary to carry out the core business of the AEA.
Initiation of legal action against the AEA, its Board members, officers or employees shall constitute a waiver of confidentiality by the person initiating such action.