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1. Who may file a complaint with the OIG?

Anyone, including Nassau County employees, companies that do business with the County, and members of the public.

2. What kind of complaints does the OIG investigate?

Fraud, waste, abuse, corruption, conflicts-of-interest and serious misconduct affecting or involving County operations, programs, projects or funds. OIG does not investigate routine personnel issues, such as grievances.

3. Does the OIG investigate individuals or companies that conduct business with the County?

Yes. The OIG may investigate any individual or entity that either is doing business with Nassau County or which, through the submission of a bid, proposal or application, expresses interest in doing business with the County.

4. How do I file a complaint with the OIG?

A complaint can be registered with the OIG in several ways: via the online complaint form, email, surface mail, or telephone.

5. Can I request that my identity be kept confidential?

Yes. If you request confidentiality, we will not reveal your identity without your permission, except if required by law. You should also be aware that there are provisions of law that, under appropriate circumstances, protect employees from retaliation. If you believe that making a report to the OIG will place you at risk of retaliation, you should inform us of that as well.

6. Do I have to identify myself if I make a complaint to the OIG?

No. You can remain anonymous in submitting an allegation to us. Note however that your information will be most useful if we can contact you if follow-up questions are necessary. If you remain anonymous, we also will not be able to later advise you if the matter is in open or closed status.

7. What information should I include in my complaint?

Please provide as much information as you can. Information that Is too vague or cannot be supported can result in closing your complaint without remedial action. Therefore, we encourage you to give us at least one way to contact you should we have questions or need more information. In any event, please be as specific as possible in explaining the nature and details of your complaint. You may use the following list as a guide to the information to Include:

• If a project or contract is involved, identify it.
• When and where did it happen? Give dates, times; location; facility; work unit.
• Who engaged in the misconduct? Who else was involved?
• What exactly did he/she/they do?
• How do you know what you are reporting? Did you witness it?
• What proof exists to support or confirm your complaint?
• Who else witnessed it? Who else is aware of the wrongdoing?
• Who else has further information? What is their contact information?
• How was the fraud accomplished? How was the scheme concealed?
• How many times has it happened? How long has this situation existed?
• Who else have you reported this matter to? When? What action was taken?

The above list is only a guide; you may wish to include other/additional information.

8. What should I do if I acquire more information after I have submitted a complaint?

Any additional Information you acquire after making your report to the OIG should be reported to us In a follow-up telephone call, email or letter.

9. What do the terms fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement mean?

• Fraud is the misrepresentation of a material fact in order to obtain a payment or benefit.
• Waste is negligent or extravagant expenditure of County funds or incurring of expenses, or misuse of County resources or property.
• Abuse is the intentional wrongful or improper use of County resources, which can include the excessive or improper use of a person’s County position, in a manner contrary to its rightful or legally intended use.
• Mismanagement is when management action – or inaction – could adversely impact the County’s operations, programs, projects or funds or grossly deviates from the standard of care or competence that a reasonable person would follow.

10. What is an example of a conflict-of-interest?

An example would be a County contracting or oversight official who has an undisclosed financial interest in a contractor, vendor or consultant, resulting in an improper contract award or inflated costs to the County.    

11. What is an example of fraud?

Fraud can take many forms.  One example is where a supplier misrepresents how much material was provided, or the type or quality of the goods it provided, to the County.

12. What is an example of waste?

Waste can include extravagant, careless, or needless expenditure of County funds.  An example would be causing County funds to be used to purchase replacement parts for old equipment that is being scrapped.

13. What is an example of misconduct?

Examples include a County official or employee improperly using County resources for unauthorized purposes, or disseminating confidential information without proper authority to do so.

14. What is an example of abuse?

An example would be a County official or employee improperly using his or her position in order to benefit the interests of a family member, such as inducing the County to hire that person.