Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at IIT

MISSION STATEMENT
The purpose of the EAPA Ethics Committee is to foster the highest practice among Employee Assistance Professionals and the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (“EAPA”) members by providing Education and training with regard to the EAPA Code of Ethics and standards for the profession and its members.

PREAMBLE
The EAPA Board of Directors (“Board”), at the call of the Membership, has developed and adopts this Code of Ethics (“Code”). The Code is based on key activities, behavioral standards and most importantly, fundamental goals and values self evident through the examination of our diverse and rich history. This Code has been established to encourage Employee Assistance Professionals to adhere to high standards of ethical behavior for the benefit of their clients. This Code shall apply to activities and relationships between employees, employers, unions, colleagues, professionals from other disciplines, the local community, and society as a whole.

The Board and Membership hold each other, as well as each individual member, responsible for conducting their professional and personal activities consistent with the intent of this Code. This Code serves as a set of guidelines by which Employee Assistance Professionals shall conduct their professional behavior

This document does not supersede nor replace the guidelines on ethics in the EAPA Standards or the EACC Code of Professional Conduct.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCY
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) practitioners shall be professionally competent and proficiently knowledgeable about the employer organization, human resources management, EAP policy and administration, and EAP direct services.

Decisions shall be made according to the client’s best interest in treatment modality and continuity of care.

Members who are EAP practitioners shall recognize their boundaries of competence and shall provide services only for which the EAP practitioner is qualified as a result of his/her training and experience. EAP practitioners shall be competent in addressing chemical dependency addictions and emotional disorders.

EAP practitioners shall continue to participate in education and training programs to maintain and enhance proficiency and competency.

Members who are EAP practitioners shall exercise due diligence to recognize the effects of personal impairment on both their personal and colleague’s professional performance and quality of services to their clients and, thus, members shall be willing to regularly participate in self care education, and to utilize colleague assistance programs and/or seek appropriate treatment for themselves or for a colleague in such an event.

Members shall recognize the effects of personal impairment on their professional performance and quality of services to their clients and, thus, members shall be willing to seek treatment for themselves or for colleagues in such an event.

PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
All members shall perform their professional conduct in an ethical and legal manner.

A Member shall be considered in violation of this Code if within the two-year period prior to joining EAPA or any time during his/her membership he/she:

a) is convicted of a misdemeanor related to his/her professional functions;
b) is convicted of a felony;
c) is expelled from or disciplined by other professional organizations;
d) has his/her license or certification suspended or revoked, or is otherwise disciplined
by regulatory bodies;
e) is no longer competent to practice because he/she is impaired due to physical or
mental causes, or the abuse of alcohol or other substances;
f) is determined to have operated outside the recognized boundaries of his/her
professional competencies.

CONFIDENTIALITY
Members shall treat all client related information as confidential unless released in compliance with a proper court order or subpoena, or with the written permission and consent of the client.

Members shall adequately inform their clients their rights regarding the scope of limitations of confidential communications during the assessment, referral, treatment, and follow-up process.

Members shall not disclose information without their client’s written consent except when failure to disclose would likely result in imminent threat of serious bodily harm to the client or others, and as may be required by law.

The term “client” shall include individual employees as well as the employer company or organization. Members shall also regard their organizational consulting activities as confidential unless given written permission to do otherwise by the company or organization.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
EAPA members shall not allow any personal consideration, either financial or otherwise,
or any other matter which may cause a conflict of interest to affect, in any way, the best interests of the EAP’s client.

CONSUMER PROTECTION
EAPA members shall not discriminate because of a client’s race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. Members shall not engage in professional conduct that results in conflict of interest.

When conducting research, members shall respect and safeguard the welfare of research participants.

Individual members shall make full disclosure to their clients and employer organizations regarding the functions and purposes of the Employee Assistance Program as well as any affiliation with a proposed personal provider or organization.

Members shall not provide or receive any financial consideration or gain of any other considerations for referring clients to particular therapists or treatment programs.

Members shall not engage in sexual conduct with clients seeking assistance, referral, treatment, or follow-up services for assessment during the existence of any professional client relationship, which relationship shall be deemed to exist five years beyond the last date on which the member and the client met professionally. A member shall not act in any manner that compromises the professional relationship with the client.

BUSINESS PRACTICES
Members shall conduct their businesses and professions in an ethical manner. Typical EAP business issues may include sales, competition, advertising, and general business operations, such as record keeping and hiring.

Members shall not discriminate against employing persons based on race, gender, color, religion, national origin, political affiliation, disability, or sexual orientation. All policies and procedures pertaining to employment should ensure compliance with this policy and other applicable employment policies and laws.

All records shall conform to written Standards as maintained by EAPA.

Members shall conduct themselves in such a manner that their business concerns shall not harm or interfere with the positions of their professional responsibilities to clients and employer organizations, as well as to the community at large.

EAP professionals shall conduct supplier/vendor relationships so that there are no personal obligations, actual or implied, which might affect decisions in awarding business.

Members shall conduct themselves fairly and provide all services as agreed to by the member and the client.

Members shall contribute to the betterment of others and the field. Members shall protect the anonymity and confidentiality of clients.

PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY
EAPA members are encouraged to maintain and promote the highest standards in their profession and to promote employee assistance programs to the public.

EAPA members should commit to educate and foster professional development throughout the field.

Cooperation within a professional community precludes denigrating other professionals to promote one’s own interests. An Employee Assistance Professional shall not, in any manner engage in misleading advertising practices, and his/her professional qualifications shall be presented to the public in an accurate and truthful manner.

Research shall be conducted in accordance with ethical standards as maintained by EAPA Standards.

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION AND RECORD KEEPING
Employee assistance professionals shall take all reasonable precautions to ensure and maintain the privacy, security and confidentiality of individually identifiable information transmitted to other parties through any means, including but not limited to, the use of computers, electronic mail, facsimile machines, telephones and telephone answering machines, and other electronic or computer technology. Disclosure of individually identifying information must be avoided whenever possible.

EA professionals are committed to being in compliance with all applicable laws and statutes with respect to privacy, security and confidentiality.

EAPA Code of Ethics Approved 6/10/97
Revised June 2001
Amended October 2002