Virginia Administrative Code › Title 1 - ADMINISTRATION › Agency 42 - OFFICE OF THE STATE INSPECTOR GENERAL › Chapter 30 - FRAUD AND ABUSE WHISTLE BLOWER REWARD FUND › Section 1VAC42-30-10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall
				  have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
"Abuse" means an employer's or employee's conduct or
				  omissions that result in substantial misuse, destruction, waste, or loss of
				  funds or resources belonging to or derived from federal, state, or local
				  government sources.
"Commonwealth" means the Commonwealth of Virginia.
"Disclosure" means a voluntary formal or informal
				  communication or transmission of (i) any violation of any law, rule, or
				  regulation; (ii) gross mismanagement; (iii) a gross waste of funds; (iv) an
				  abuse of authority; or (v) a substantial and specific danger to public health
				  or safety.
"Employee" means any individual who is employed on either a
				  salaried or wage basis, whose tenure is not restricted as to temporary or
				  provisional appointment, in the service of and whose compensation is payable no
				  more often than biweekly in whole or in part by a Virginia governmental
				  agency.
"Employer" means a person supervising one or more employees,
				  including the employee filing a good faith report, a superior of that
				  supervisor, or an agent of the governmental agency.
"Executive branch agency" or "agency" means any agency,
				  institution, board, bureau, commission, council, public institution of higher
				  education, or instrumentality of state government in the executive department
				  listed in the appropriation act.
"Fraud" means the intentional deception perpetrated by an
				  individual or an organization, either internal or external to state government,
				  that could result in a tangible or intangible benefit to themselves, others, or
				  the Commonwealth, including local government, or could cause detriment to
				  others or the Commonwealth. Fraud includes a false representation of the facts,
				  whether by words or by conduct. Fraud also includes false or misleading
				  statements, the concealment of essential information, or information or actions
				  that deceive or are intended to deceive.
"Fraud and Abuse Whistle Blower Protection Act Program" or
				  "WBPA Program" means the policy of the Commonwealth that Commonwealth citizens
				  and employees of state government are freely able to report instances of
				  wrongdoing or abuse committed by their employing agency, other state agencies,
				  or independent contractors of state agencies.
"Fraud and Abuse Whistle Blower Reward Fund" or "fund" means
				  the fund used solely to provide monetary rewards to Commonwealth citizens who
				  have disclosed information of wrongdoing or abuse under the WBPA Program that
				  results in a recovery of at least $5,000.
"Good faith report" means a reported incident of possible
				  wrongdoing or abuse made without malice, for which the person reporting has
				  reasonable cause to believe wrongdoing or abuse occurred.
"Governmental agency" means
(i) any agency, institution, board, bureau, commission,
				  council, or instrumentality of state government in the executive branch listed
				  in the appropriation act and any independent agency;
(ii) any county, city, town, or local or regional
				  governmental authority; and
(iii) any local school division as defined in §
									22.1-280.2:2
				  of the Code of Virginia.
"Hotline coordinator" means a qualified employee, designated
				  by a governmental agency director or chief administrator, responsible for
				  conducting State Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline investigations referred to the
				  agency by OSIG.
"Internal audit director" means a director of a governmental
				  agency internal audit program.
"Misconduct" means conduct or behavior by an employee that is
				  inconsistent with state, local, or agency standards for which specific
				  corrective or disciplinary action is warranted.
"Nonstate agency" means any public or private foundation,
				  authority, institute, museum, corporation, or similar organization that is (i)
				  not a unit of state government or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth
				  as established by general law or special act and (ii) wholly or principally
				  supported by state funds. "Nonstate agency" shall not include any such entity
				  that receives state funds (a) as a subgrantee of a state agency; (b) through a
				  state grant-in-aid program authorized by law; (c) as a result of an award of a
				  competitive grant or a public contract for the procurement of goods, services,
				  or construction; or (d) pursuant to a lease of real property as described in
				  subdivision 5 of §
									2.2-1149
				  of the Code of Virginia.
"Office of the State Inspector General" or "OSIG" means the
				  governmental agency that conducts independent investigations, performance
				  audits, and other services designed to provide objective and useful information
				  to the Commonwealth and those charged with its governance and promotes
				  efficiency and effectiveness in state government executive branch agencies in
				  accordance with Article 1 (§
									2.2-307 et seq.) of
				  Chapter 13.2 of the Code of Virginia.
"Public body" means any legislative body; any authority,
				  board, bureau, commission, district, agency, or political subdivision of the
				  Commonwealth, including counties, cities, towns, city councils, boards of
				  supervisors, school boards, planning commissions, and boards of visitors of
				  institutions of higher education; and other organizations, corporations, or
				  agencies in the Commonwealth supported wholly or principally by public funds.
				  "Public body" includes any committee, subcommittee, or other entity however
				  designated of the public body or formed to advise the public body, including
				  those with private sector or citizen members and corporations organized by the
				  Virginia Retirement System. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "public
				  body" does not include the courts of the Commonwealth.
"Reward" means a monetary benefit payable from the fund by
				  OSIG to an eligible whistle blower.
"Screening process" means OSIG's internal review to ensure
				  reports of information or disclosures of wrongdoing fall within the authority
				  of the WBPA Program.
"State Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline" or "hotline" means the
				  program (i) that provides Commonwealth citizens with a confidential and
				  anonymous method to report suspected occurrences of fraud, waste, and abuse in
				  state agencies and institutions and (ii) that provides the Commonwealth a way
				  to investigate such occurrences to determine their validity and make
				  appropriate recommendations to address deficiencies.
"Whistle blower" means a Commonwealth employee or citizen who
				  witnesses or has evidence of wrongdoing or abuse and who makes a good faith,
				  open, and public report of the wrongdoing or abuse to one of the employee's
				  superiors, an agent of the employer, or an appropriate authority.
"Wrongdoing" means a violation, which is not of a merely
				  technical or minimal nature, of a federal or state law or regulation or a
				  formally adopted code of conduct or ethics of a professional organization
				  designed to protect the interests of the public or an employee. "Wrongdoing"
				  includes (i) any violation of any law, rule, or regulation; (ii) gross
				  mismanagement; (iii) a gross waste of funds; (iv) an abuse of authority; or (v)
				  a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.
Statutory Authority: §
											2.2-3014
					 of the Code of Virginia.