CONFLICT OF INTEREST

We initiated an investigation into an allegation that an Amtrak employee violated company policy by accepting a $1,000 donation from one of the company’s vendors to help with personal medical expenses. Our investigation confirmed that the employee, who was responsible for selecting vendors that service and maintain Amtrak Police Department vehicles, accepted the donation.

While his acceptance of the donation from a company vendor is in violation of Amtrak policy, mitigating this violation is the fact that the employee never directly solicited the vendor for a donation; rather, the donation came through a separate collection established by another employee. Further, there was no promise of future business with the vendor in exchange for the donation, and our review of the vendor’s service and payment history showed no significant variation in services rendered before or after the date of the vendor’s donation. In March 2017, the employee received a letter of counseling concerning the matter.