Annual Report — Small Business — Form 10-KSB
Filing Table of Contents
Document/Exhibit Description Pages Size
1: 10KSB Annual Report -- Small Business 40 159K
2: EX-10.5 Material Contract HTML 5K
3: EX-14.1 Code of Ethics 7 22K
4: EX-31.1 Certification per Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Section 302) 2± 8K
5: EX-31.2 Certification per Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Section 302) 1 6K
EX-14.1 — Code of Ethics
| EX-14.1 | 1st Page of 7 | TOC | ↑Top | Previous | Next | ↓Bottom | Just 1st |
|---|
DIVERSIFIED PRODUCT INSPECTIONS, INC.
CODE OF ETHICS
April 2005
Our Standards
As an employee or director of Diversified Product Inspections, Inc. (the
"Company") you share the privilege and responsibility of upholding our Company's
ethical reputation. You do this each time you act honestly, ethically and
legally. While many, if not most, of the situations you encounter in the conduct
of your own or the Company's business or other dealings present clear choices as
to proper conduct, there are also many situations where making the right choice
can be challenging.
We have prepared this Code of Ethics (the "Code") to summarize certain key
policies and procedures that we believe govern doing business in an ethical and
legal manner. This Code does not describe all of the details or all of the
applicable laws, regulations or Company policies. Rather, we have attempted to
discuss those you are most likely to encounter. You are expected to understand
how our policies apply to you and to follow them. We encourage you to discuss
any questions or concerns you may have with your supervisor or to request advice
from our General Counsel, Lisa Temple, Esq.
Responsibilities of All Employees and Directors
All employees and directors of the Company are responsible for complying
with this Code. Any employee or director having information concerning any
prohibited or unlawful act shall promptly report such matter to the General
Counsel. While this is the preferred reporting procedure, employees should also
feel free to report to anyone in management, including the Board of Directors,
the Chief Financial Officer or a Vice President.
Employees and directors should be advised of this reporting obligation and
encouraged to report any prohibited or unlawful activities of which they are
aware. There will be no reprisals for reporting such information in good faith,
even if it later turns out that all or some the report is incorrect..
Conflicts of Interest
Every director and employee has a duty to avoid business, financial or
other direct or indirect interests or relationships which conflict with the
interests of the Company or which divide his or her loyalty to the Company. Any
activity which even appears to present such a conflict must be avoided or
terminated unless, after disclosure to the General Counsel, it is determined and
communicated in writing to the employee or director that the activity is not
harmful to the Company or otherwise improper.
A conflict or the appearance of a conflict of interest may arise in many
ways. For example, depending on the circumstances, the following may constitute
an improper conflict of interest:
1
o Ownership of or an interest in a competitor or in a business with
which the Company has or is contemplating a relationship (such as a
supplier, customer, landlord, distributor, licensee/ licensor, etc.)
either directly or indirectly, such as through family members.
o Profiting, or assisting others to profit, from confidential
information or business opportunities that are available because of
employment by the Company or being a director of the Company.
o Providing service to a competitor or a proposed or present supplier
or customer as an employee, director, officer, partner, agent or
consultant.
o Soliciting or accepting gifts, payments, loans, services or any form
of compensation from suppliers, customers, competitors or others
seeking to do business with the Company. Social amenities
customarily associated with legitimate business relationships are
permissible. These include the usual forms of entertainment such as
lunches or dinners as well as occasional gifts of modest value.
While it is difficult to define "& customary," "modest," or "usual"
by stating a specific dollar amount, common sense should dictate
what would be considered extravagant or excessive. If a
disinterested third party would be likely to infer that it affected
your judgment, then it is too much. All of our business dealings
must be on arm's-length terms and free of any favorable treatment
resulting from the personal interest of our employees. Loans to
employees from financial institutions which do business with the
Company are permissible as long as the loans are made on prevailing
terms and conditions.
o Influencing or attempting to influence any business transaction
between the Company and another entity in which an employee or
director has a direct or indirect financial interest or acts as a
director, officer, employee, partner, agent or consultant.
o Buying or selling securities of any other company using non-public
information obtained in the performance of an employee's duties, or
providing such information so obtained to others.
Disclosure is the key. Any employee or director who has a question about
whether any situation in which he or she is involved amounts to a conflict of
interest or the appearance of one should disclose the pertinent details,
preferably in writing, to the Company's General Counsel and should not act until
advised in writing that the action is not harmful to the Company or otherwise
improper.
To summarize, each employee and director is obligated to disclose his or
her own conflict or any appearance of a conflict of interest. The end result of
the process of disclosure, discussion and consultation may well be approval of
certain relationships or transactions on the grounds that, despite appearances,
they are not harmful to the Company. But all relationships or transactions that
are actual conflicts of interest or may appear to be conflicts of interest are
prohibited, even if they do not harm the Company, unless they have gone through
this approval process.
2
Compliance with Laws and Regulations
It is company policy to comply with the laws of each state and country in
which we do business. It is the responsibility of our Company's directors,
management and employees to be familiar with the laws and regulations that
relate to our business responsibilities and to comply with them.
The General Counsel is always available for consultation on the laws which
relate to our businesses. However, it is the responsibility of management to
ensure compliance with applicable laws.
If an employee or director has any question whether a transaction or
course of conduct complies with applicable statutes or regulations, it is the
responsibility of that employee or director to obtain legal advice from the
General Counsel and act in accordance with that advice. It is the responsibility
of management to ensure that employees are aware of their responsibilities in
this regard.
Set forth below are several areas of regulated business activity that
require particular attention.
Environmental Laws and Regulations
The Company is committed to conducting its business in an environmentally
sound manner. Management and employees are required to be familiar with
environmental laws and regulations which relate to their employment
responsibilities and to comply with them.
Workplace Safety Laws and Regulations
In the interest of maintaining a safe and healthy workplace, the Company
requires full compliance with applicable workplace safety and industrial hygiene
standards mandated by law.
Compliance with Securities Laws
The Company is often required by the securities laws of the United States
to disclose to the public important information regarding the Company.
An employee or director who knows important information about the Company
that has not been disclosed to the public must keep such information
confidential. It is a violation of United States law to purchase or sell the
Company's stock on the basis of such important non-public information. Employees
and directors may not do so and may not provide such information to others for
that or any other purpose.
Directors and employees may not buy or sell securities of any other
company using important non-public information obtained in the performance of
their duties. Directors and employees may not provide such information so
obtained to others.
3
You should understand that securities laws are taken very seriously and
government agencies have developed extensive ways to monitor securities trading
activities. Violations of securities laws can result in large civil and criminal
penalties against companies and individuals.
Political Activities and Contributions
The Company encourages directors and employees to be involved personally
in political affairs. However, no director or employee shall directly or
indirectly use or contribute funds or assets of the Company for or to any
political party, candidate or campaign unless such a use or contribution is
lawful and is approved in writing by the General Counsel.
Respect for Trade Secrets
It is the policy of the Company to respect the trade secrets and
proprietary information of others. Although information obtained from the public
domain is a legitimate source of competitive information, a trade secret
obtained through improper means is not. The unauthorized use of trade secrets or
other proprietary information could subject both the Company and you to
substantial civil liability.
If a competitor's trade secrets or proprietary information are offered to
you in a suspicious manner, or if you have any question about the legitimacy of
the use or acquisition of competitive information, you should contact the
General Counsel immediately. No action regarding such information should be
taken before consultation with the General Counsel.
Confidentiality of Personal Information
Confidentiality applies not only to business information, but to the
personal information of the Company's employees, former employees, job
applicants and other persons. The Company requires that personal information be
collected, processed, stored and transferred with adequate precautions to ensure
confidentiality and be accessible only to those individuals with legitimate
reasons to know about or have access to the information. When appropriate, the
Company will ask individuals for their consent to the collection, processing,
storage and transfer of personal information and employees will be given the
opportunity to review their personal data held by the Company and correct any
errors found.
4
Use of Funds and Assets and Complete and Accurate Books and Records;
Second-Country Payments
Sales of the Company's products and services, and purchases of products
and services of suppliers, shall be made solely on the basis of quality, price
and service, and never on the basis of giving or receiving payments, gifts,
entertainment or favors.
No Company funds or assets shall be used for any unlawful purpose. No
director or employee shall purchase privileges or special benefits through
payment of bribes, illegal political contributions, or other illicit payments.
No undisclosed or unrecorded fund or asset shall be established for any
purpose.
No false or artificial entries shall be made in the books and records of
the Company for any reason, and no employee shall engage in any arrangement that
results in such prohibited act, even if directed to do so by a supervisor.
No payment shall be approved or made with the agreement or understanding
that any part of such payment is to be used for any purpose other than that
described by documents supporting the payment.
No payments of any kind (whether commissions, promotional expenses,
personal expenses, free goods or whatever) shall be made to an unaffiliated
distributor or sales agent (or employee or agent thereof) in any country other
than that in which the sales were made or in which the distributor or sales
agent has a substantial place of business. Such payments (sometimes referred to
as "second-country" payments) may be made to other entities such as suppliers of
goods and services provided under certain circumstances about which counsel
should be consulted.
Equal Opportunity
The Company's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities and to
treat all employees and applicants without regard to personal characteristics
such as race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, national origin,
marital status, pregnancy, disability or veteran status. Managers are
responsible for implementing this policy.
Discrimination or Harassment
The Company strives to maintain a work environment free of verbal or
physical harassment regarding racial, ethnic, religious, physical or sexual
characteristics or any other prohibited factor. This policy applies to conduct
that is made a condition of employment, is used as a basis for making employment
or promotion decisions, creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working
environment or otherwise unreasonably interferes with an individual's work
performance.
5
The Company may be held responsible for the harassment of or
discrimination against employees by managers or other employees or even
non-employees if the Company knows or should have known about the behavior and
fails to take corrective action. Employees should be aware that they are subject
to dismissal if they engage in harassment or discrimination of others.
Abuse of Drugs and Alcohol
Substance abuse presents serious health and safety hazards in the
workplace. Our policy is to eliminate substance abuse by our employees.
Applicants are subject to pre-employment drug testing. The Company also reserves
the right to test employees who display unusual behavior or where there is
reasonable suspicion of drug or alcohol abuse. Where permitted, employees may
also be tested on a random, universal basis.
6
↑Top
Filing Submission 0001144204-06-012648 – Alternative Formats (Word / Rich Text, HTML, Plain Text, et al.)
Copyright © 2024 Fran Finnegan & Company LLC – All Rights Reserved.
About — Privacy — Redactions — Help —
Sat., May 4, 8:18:28.1am ET 