The Snow & Ice Management Association (the “Association”) is committed to the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct in its operations and activities.
The Association expects its members to conduct their business according to the highest ethical standards of conduct and to comply with all applicable laws. Therefore, the Association has established the following Code of Ethics (the “Code of Ethics”) and requires its observance as a prerequisite for continued membership and affiliation with the Association. This Code of Ethics provides broad guidelines for many situations, because it cannot cover every possible situation members may face in the course of business. In these cases, member’s actions should be guided by the fundamental values of integrity and honesty.
Adopted on September 19, 2018
Position on Ethics and Enforcement (Approved on May 3, 2011)
SIMA has an established code of ethics and believes that all members should abide by this code. At times SIMA is made aware of members who may be in violation of the code of ethics. In such cases, SIMA will remind those members to abide by the code and will encourage members and non-members who have ethical complaints against one another to resolve their differences in an open, honest and professional manner. Questions or filing a complaint can be submitted to Martin@sima.org.
When SIMA is made aware of violations of its code of ethics, SIMA will undertake the following process:
- Step 1: Grievance is received from a complainant by the SIMA professional staff. SIMA staff records the complaint, with both the complainant and respondent information and a complete description of the grievance. All complainants will be forwarded to the executive director for review.
- Step 2: The executive director and the chair of the governance committee will review if the grievance is a possible violation of SIMA’s code of ethics.
» If No, the complaint is not related to the code - SIMA will send a letter to the complainant stating the grievance noted is not related to the code of ethics. Nothing further is done.
» If Yes, the complaint is a possible violation of the code - SIMA will draft an information letter to both parties, noting the need to comply with the code of ethics, asking that the situation be handled professionally and encouraging reconciliation. In this letter, useful contacts and information to help resolve the dispute will be included, most notably for each party to seek legal advice if the dispute cannot be resolved
If one person/company receives multiple grievances over a 2-3 year period, or if there is an egregious violation of the code of ethics (ex: NY State Attorney General prosecuting a member company), the ethics complaint will be discussed amongst the full governance committee with possible discussion at the board level. The SIMA board is developing changes to its bylaws that would allow for the censure, suspension, or revocation of membership for egregious or multiple violations of the code of ethics.