Agents from government regulatory agencies may arrive on campus without prior notification. Should inspectors from any local (Palo Alto, Santa Clara County), state or federal governmental agency appear in your department offices or laboratories and ask to conduct an inspection or review documents, please do the following:

1. Be courteous. Stanford fully cooperates with all regulatory officials while maintaining our rights to ensure inspections are lawful and to have agency officials accompanied by appropriate University and School representatives. Request that the inspectors refrain from conducting their inspection until you can contact Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S). You can politely state that you do not have authority to permit a review or inspection on behalf of the school or University and that you will contact the appropriate university officials. Typically, someone will arrive to accompany the investigators within 10-15 minutes. If there is break room or waiting area nearby, ask the inspectors to wait there, preferably accompanied by a department representative.
2. Call the University EH&S office: 723-0448, identify yourself and your location, and inform the operator that inspectors from a regulatory agency (mention which one) are in your department and you are calling to request EH&S send a representative to accompany them on their inspection.
3. Refrain from answering any specific questions until someone from EH&S arrives.
4. If the inspectors are not willing to wait to begin the inspection or search, do the following:
   1. Request identification from the inspectors or get their business cards.
   2. Request a copy of a warrant; or if there is no warrant, request the legal authority under which they are acting, e.g., the specific legal statutory authority.
   3. Alert someone in your department to call EH&S to inform them that the inspection is taking place without University officials present.
   4. Ask if they will be conducting a general inspection or are responding to a specific issue.
   5. Accompany them and take notes concerning what is searched or reviewed, and what is taken.
   6. Write down any questions that they ask, including searching for items that are not located.
   7. Ask for an inventory or copy of all items taken or removed from the premises.

Please note that inspectors and auditors are aware of the need to be accompanied by an appropriate representative from Stanford while conducting an investigation. You will not be considered rude or uncooperative if you ask them to wait.

May 7, 2019
Report #LSP_19-068