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LZACC Code of Conduct Policy

I. INTRODUCTION

Membership on the Board of Directors or employment as a staff member of the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce ("Chamber") carries certain duties and responsibilities. This Code of Conduct outlines some of those duties and responsibilities.

II. CONFIDENTIALITY

Chamber Board members and staff will from time to time come to know information that, if revealed to outsiders, or even to Chamber members, could be highly embarrassing to a Chamber member or staff member, harmful to the interests of the Chamber, or even create legal liability for the Chamber. All information acquired by a Chamber Board member or staff member concerning Chamber personnel matters, financial matters, legal matters, member status issues, or any other item of Chamber business designated by the President or Executive Director as being confidential in nature, therefore shall be held in the strictest of confidence and shall not be divulged to any outside party, including Chamber members, without prior authorization by the President or Executive Director.

III. REPRESENTATION OF THE CHAMBER

Ordinarily, only the President and Executive Director may sign contracts, correspondence, and other documents on behalf of the Chamber as well as speak to the media or any public agency, governmental official, or community organization on behalf of the Chamber. Other Chamber Board members, Chamber members or Chamber staff may only do so upon the express direction by the President or Executive Director, or upon a resolution of the Executive Committee or Board of Directors. Under no circumstances shall any Board member, Chamber member or staff member endorse any product, service, community organization, political candidate or ballot initiative on behalf of the Chamber or use or permit the Chamber’s letterhead or other insignia to be used for such purpose.

Policy to outline authority level and responsibilities of LZACC staff and board members regarding representation of chamber positions:

There is no preclusion from a member or staff member speaking on their personal behalf, but in order to represent the LZACC, the following procedures must be followed.

The Government Affairs Committee has established an outlet for input regarding community comment. Any member or resident email complaint received by the Government Affairs committee through this forum is to be presented and reviewed by the Government Affairs committee to deem if it is necessary to take action, including emailing the member to make aware of the complaint. The Executive Board must be made aware of any serious complaint prior to any response.

Any member or resident complaint presented to the LZACC should be reviewed by the Executive Director. The Executive Board must be allowed to provide input before any written or electronic response is made. This notice to the Executive Board must be provided at least one business day, in advance of submission.

Any letter, electronic message, or public position on matters of policy or project endorsement, either positive or negative, must be presented to the Executive Board allowing the board at least one business day to review and provide input

IV. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Chamber Board members and staff members owe a high fiduciary duty to the Chamber. Therefore, no Chamber Board member or staff member shall maintain any business enterprise or other activity that directly conflicts with the interests of the Chamber.

V. POLICY DEVELOPMENT

As a Board member, you are responsible for establishing all policy matters brought before you. The Board of Directors is the one and only source of policy decisions. Although your personal position or thoughts on an issue are important and can be helpful for the Board of Directors to hear all points of view, once the Board of Directors has taken an official position on a particular matter, you are requested to place your personal position aside for the good of the organization.

WHAT IS POLICY? Policy is a formal statement of position in the name of the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce.

A policy statement may be:

Advisory to our membership and the community at large, as on a public question such as support for - or opposition to - a ballot proposition.
A statement of a course of action to be taken by the Chamber, such as a plan to secure the construction of a cultural arts center or a convention center for the

WHO MAKES POLICY? In nearly all cases, policy is recommended to the Board of Directors. Such recommendations are made by the Chamber's standing committees (e.g., Government Affairs Committee) concerning matters within their field of interest, or by special committees or Task Forces appointed by the Board to study a specific issue (e.g., Building Task Force).

In many cases, standing committees have subcommittees which have been assigned specific fields of interest (e.g., Taste of the Towns Marketing Committee). Policy formulation then begins with the studies and reports of these subcommittees to the standing committee. The Chairman of the committee making the report to the Board is expected to make the main argument before the Board in support of his/her committee’s recommendation. Where desirable, he/she may bring expert witnesses from the committee to assist the Board in study of the issue. Arrangements for any guest to be invited to a Board meeting should be made well in advance with the President or Executive Director.

PUBLICITY ON COMMITTEE ACTION - Publicity on a committee policy recommendation before it has been approved by the Board of Directors is forbidden.

ACTION IN SUPPORT OF POLICY - Action to carry out policy approved by the Board of Directors is a function of Chamber management, working with the Executive Committee, the Chairman of the standing committee and staff.

VI. COMPUTERS, INTERNET ACCESS and E-MAIL

Chamber computers are to be used for business purposes only. All files and records stored on Chamber computers are the property of the Chamber. Use of Chamber computers for personal advertising or soliciting is not permitted, and copying of any Chamber files for personal use is strictly prohibited. Electronic mail messages are to be used for business purposes only and are considered Chamber property. Inappropriate, offensive, off-color or sexually-related messages are prohibited. The Chamber maintains the right to access all data on the computer and E-mail systems at any time with or without prior notice.

VII. POLICY AGAINST HARASSMENT

The Chamber does not tolerate unlawful harassment of any of its staff members. Any form of harassment which violates federal, state or local law, including, but not limited to harassment related to an individual's race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, marital status, pregnancy, age, medical condition (cancer related or HIV/AIDS related), or physical or mental disability is a violation of this policy. For these purposes the term "harassment," includes slurs and any other offensive remarks, jokes, other verbal, graphic, or physical conduct.

In addition to the above listed conduct, "sexual harassment" can also include the following examples of unacceptable behavior:

Unwanted sexual advances
Offering employment benefits in exchange for sexual favors
Visual conduct -- leering, making sexual gestures, displaying of sexually suggestive objects or pictures, cartoons or posters
Verbal sexual advances or propositions
Verbal abuse of a sexual nature, graphic verbal commentaries about an individual's body, sexually degrading words used to describe an individual suggestive or obscene letters, notes or invitations, or
Physical conduct -- touching, assault, impeding or blocking

Note that this policy is a "zero-tolerance" policy. Any violation of this policy will be treated as a disciplinary matter, regardless of whether it constitutes illegal harassment under the law.

A Chamber staff member who feels that he or she is being harassed by another staff member or by a Board member should immediately notify the Executive Director, the President of the Chamber, or the Chamber's Legal Counsel. A Chamber staff member will not be penalized in any way for reporting a harassment problem.

All complaints of harassment which are reported will be investigated as promptly as possible. All complaints of harassment which are reported will be treated with as much confidentiality as possible, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation.

Harassment of Chamber staff members in connection with their work by Chamber members or outsiders may also be a violation of this policy. Any such harassment should be reported immediately, and appropriate action will be taken. Harassment of Chamber members by Chamber Board members or staff members is also prohibited.

VIII. VIOLATIONS OF CODE OF CONDUCT

Violations of this Code of Conduct may result in disciplinary action, including the removal of a Board member from office or the termination of a staff member's employment.

IX. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT

I acknowledge that I have received and read a copy of the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce Code of Conduct for Board of Directors and staff, and that I am responsible for following it.

Last Revised Jan 11, 2022

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Signed by Claire Slattery
Signed On: February 8, 2024

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January 11, 2022 1:44 pm CDT

LZACC Code of Conduct Policy Uploaded by Claire Slattery - claire@lzacc.com IP 76.150.255.167