The U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, publishes a guidance document: Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (ECCP). The DOJ has updated the guidance multiple times, most recently in March 2023.
This guidance is used in two ways:
- Federal prosecutors conducting criminal fraud or misconduct investigations (including healthcare fraud) use it to evaluate the effectiveness of a corporation’s compliance program. An effective program has the potential to reduce financial penalties imposed.
- Corporations, including healthcare providers, use the ECCP as a resource when implementing or evaluating the effectiveness of their compliance programs.
The DOJ guidance focuses on three questions:
- Is the corporation’s compliance program well designed?
- Is the program being applied earnestly and in good faith? (Is the program adequately resourced and empowered to function effectively?)
- Does the corporation’s compliance program work in practice?
June ECCP 2020 Updates
In June 2020, the DOJ updated the ECCP; a summary of updates follows.