State Ethics Commission Conflict of Interest Training Seminar.

State Ethics Commission

Conflict of Interest Training Seminar

Background

• The conflict of interest law, Chapter 268A of the General Laws, requires that all current state, county and municipal employees must give undivided loyalty to the state and act in the public interest rather than for private gain.

• This law sets a minimum standard of ethical conduct for all state employees and officials.

• The law and the Ethics Commission, which enforces the law, were established to foster integrity in government and promote public trust.

Purpose

• The purpose of the law is to ensure that public employees’ private financial interests and personal relationships do not conflict with their public obligations.

• The law governs what you may do on the job, what you may do after hours or “on the side,” and what you may do after you leave public service.

Question 1

You administer tests for the Board of Registration, which provides professional licenses to individuals who receive a grade of 70 or better on the tests. You have made special arrangements to administer the test on a Saturday.

Select Correct Answer

May you accept a $100 bill from a test-taker to ensure that his test receives a grade of 75?

• Yes, if the test taker passed the test with a 70 without any action on your part.

• No, but the test taker may treat you to lunch.• Yes, it's okay to accept money from the test

taker because you are administering the test on a Saturday.

No, even if it is a $1 bill, it's a bribe.

Question 2 You are an employee of the Mass Highway

Department who will be recommending to the head of the department the awarding of a $3 million paving contract for a section of Route 2. Halfway through the bid process, a potential contractor invites you to a Patriots Game. The contractor, a season ticket holder who paid $2,000 for two seats at each of the team's ten home games, wants to discuss the contract with you.


Can you attend the game? • Yes, because you only make recommendations

on which contractor should be awarded the contract. Your boss makes the final decision.

• Yes, season tickets do not have a dollar value printed on them.

• No, unless the state employee refuses to talk about the contract during the game.

No, the contractor is providing the state employee with a free ticket to influence him.

Question 3

You are overseeing a contract that was awarded to a vendor to redesign the Massachusetts Department of Public Health website. To show his gratitude for the work you are doing related to the contract, the vendor offers you two $25 restaurant gift certificates over the course of a month.


May you accept the gift certificates? • Yes, the contract was already awarded.• Yes, $50 won't even pay for the entire meal

at that restaurant.No, because the gift certificates together

are worth $50.• Yes, because each gift certificate is worth

only $25.

Question 4

You are an employee of the Division of Insurance. You recently completed an investigation involving insurance fraud. A member of the public who saved thousands of dollars because of your hard work sends you a thank you note with a $50 bill enclosed.


Can you keep the money? • Yes, it was not given to you to influence

you because you had already completed the investigation.

• No, but you can give it to your assistant.No, it is an illegal gratuity.• Yes, the person would be insulted or hurt if

you were to refuse the gift.

Question 5

You are a Mass Highway Department employee assigned to review an environmental impact report for a proposed highway interchange project. The project abuts property owned by your parents.

Select Correct AnswerMay you review the project?

• Yes, you believe the project won't affect your parents' financial interest.

• Yes, your report is a recommendation, not a final approval of the project.

Yes, you disclosed your parents' interest in the project, your appointing authority determined that your participation will not affect the integrity the state expects from you and you filed both the disclosure and the determination with the Ethics Commission.

• Yes, you believe your parents' property value will decrease because of the project.

Question 6

You are a pharmacist who works as an investigator for the State Board of Registration for Pharmacists. You also work weekends as a pharmacist for a large chain at a location in New Hampshire. A complaint regarding one of your employer's Massachusetts stores has been assigned to you. Substantial fines may be imposed if violations are found.


May you investigate this complaint? • Yes, because the complaint doesn't involve the

store at which you work.• Yes, your investigation won't affect your

financial interest.No, the matter affects the financial interest of

your employer.• No, you should ask another investigator to deal

with it.

Question 7

You are an environmental engineer for the Department of Environmental Protection. You oversee the cleanup of a landfill. The company that is conducting the cleanup has asked you if you would like to discuss a position with the company to oversee its cleanups in Connecticut

Select Correct Answer May you continue to oversee the contract with the

company? • No, once they have expressed an interest in interviewing

you, you may not oversee the contract.• Yes, until they actually offer you a job and you are

negotiating salary and benefits, you may continue to work with the company as a state employee.

No, unless you make a written disclosure to your appointing authority, your appointing authority approves your participation in writing and these documents are filed with the Ethics Commission.

• Yes, the contract has already been awarded so you won't be participating in matters affecting the company's financial interest.

Question 8

You are the human resources manager of the Department of Education. A longtime friend of yours, who was your college roommate and the best man at your wedding, has applied for a job for which he is very qualified.


May you hire your friend? • Yes, he is only a friend – not an immediate family

member which would require you to file a disclosure and get permission from your appointing authority to participate in the hiring process.

• No, you are biased and should not participate. Yes, provided that you disclose in writing to your

appointing authority the fact that your friend is a candidate.

• Yes, provided you can act without bias in considering your friend's application.

Question 9

You are a supervisor at the University of Massachusetts. You recently purchased an old farmhouse that you are renovating.


May you direct a subordinate to leave her position to come to your house to perform certain

house repairs, using state equipment?• Yes, as long as she does the work on her own

time.• No, unless your appointing authority gives you

permission in writing.• Yes, as long as you pay her minimum wage.No, you may not use your position for your

private interest.

Question 10

• You are an elected official. You have been stopped by a local police officer on your way home from a fundraiser. The officer suspects that you have been drinking and asks you to perform a field sobriety test.


May you tell the police officer that you are an elected official and direct her to escort you home without

conducting the field sobriety test or citing you for any other infractions?

No, you are subject to the same laws as every other citizen in the Commonwealth.

• Yes, if you first call the police chief on your cell phone to ask him to direct the police officer to escort you home.

• Yes, that is one of the benefits of office.• No, but you can give him your business card without

asking him to let you leave without taking the field sobriety test.

Question 11

You are a salaried employee of the Department of Education. Your best friend is running for state representative and would like you to manage his campaign.


May you spend approximately four hours of work time each week during the six weeks leading up to the

November elections working on your friend's campaign?• No, unless you regularly work nine or ten hours a week

more than you are required, so you can use some of that time working on the campaign.

• Yes, you did not give up your rights as a citizen when you became a state employee.

• Yes, as long as you do not solicit campaign donations for your friend, you can work on his campaign.

No, you may not use your office and time for which the state pays you to conduct a political campaign.

Question 12

You are an employee of the Office of the Comptroller. You have access to a list of the names and home addresses of all state employees.

Correct Select Answer

May you sell this list to a private company that wants to market its products at a discount to

state employees? • Yes, three of your colleagues have sold such

lists in the past.No, the home addresses of state employees are

exempt from the public records law.• No, but you can provide them at no cost.• Yes, because the list is made up of public

employees

Question 13

You work for the Department of Education. A neighbor asks you to complete and present a grant application to the Department of Housing and Community Development on her behalf because you are more familiar with the application procedures than she is.


May you complete and submit the grant application? • Yes, because you are doing it as a favor and for free. No, this action would constitute acting as an agent, even

if it is done merely as a favor and for free.• Yes, it is being submitted to a different agency than the

one that employs you.• Yes, no one at the agency that is accepting grant

applications knows you are a state employee.

Question 14

You are a professor at a state college. The Department of Mental Health is seeking to locate several group homes in your neighborhood. You and your neighbors have pooled your resources to form an association to protect the neighborhood's interests.


Can you attend a community meeting about the proposed group homes and speak on behalf of the

private association? • Yes, because you are not being paid.No, because you would be speaking on behalf of

the association.• Yes, because you are not an employee of the

Department of Mental Health.• Yes, because you are representing your own

interests.

Question 15

You are an attorney for the Registry of Motor Vehicles. You also practice law privately. A client of yours has been refused housing because of her religion.


May you, using vacation time, represent a client before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination,

a state agency? • Yes, the matter does not involve the Registry of Motor

Vehicles. No, as a state employee you may not represent anyone in

connection with a matter in which the state is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.

• Yes, your supervisor approved your practice of law on your own time

• Yes, if you filed a complaint for your client before you became a state

Question 16

You are a civil engineer employed by the MBTA. You also work privately for an engineering firm that provides environmental engineering services.


May you perform private engineering work, for compensation, reviewing construction drawings that are

to be submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection as part of your private employer's applications

for permits? • Yes, the drawings will not be submitted to the MBTA.• Yes, you can always do private engineering work on your

own time.• Yes, as long as you do not put your stamp on the work. No, you cannot receive compensation for work done in

connection with state-issued permits.

Question 17

You work for the Lottery Commission. You would like to run for selectman in the town in which you live.


Can you continue to work at the Lottery Commission and serve and be compensated as selectman in your

hometown? • No, state employees may not be involved with local

government.• Yes, the state and the town are different levels of

government and I can be involved in both without creating any conflicts of interest.

Yes, as long as you don't act as a selectman on any matters involving the Lottery Commission.

• No, because a portion of Lottery revenues is transferred to the town in the form of local aid.

Question 18

You and your brother own a construction company. Your brother runs the company. You maintain your ownership interest in the company, but work full-time as a manager for Mass Highway. Your brother recently bid for and was awarded a contract with Mass Highway. The contract is with a division of Mass Highway in which you have no involvement as a Mass Highway employee.


May the construction company hold the contract and be paid for its work?

• Yes, you did not participate in awarding the contract.• Yes, as long as it is with a different division of Mass

Highway than the one you work for.• No, unless you make a disclosure to your appointing

authority. No, as the owner of the construction company, you

have a financial interest in the contract with Mass Highway.

Question 19

You are a full-time employee of the Department of Social Services. You have been offered a part-time position by the Treasurer's Office to provide money management services. The position was publicly posted. You would work nights and weekends to create and maintain a website about the money management services contract.


May you accept the position? • Yes, it does not involve a contract with DSS,

your employer.• Yes, you would only work nights and weekends

so it would not interfere with your job at DSS.No, unless you qualify for an exemption.• Yes, the job involves working on a website,

something which is not your responsibility at DSS.

Question 20

You are a full-time nurse at Wrentham State Hospital. MCI Cedar Junction, a state correctional facility, is seeking part-time nurses.


May you work an overnight shift at the prison each weekend?

• No, nurses who work for the state are limited to five shifts each week.

• No, you may not receive paychecks from two state agencies.

Yes, an exemption allows you to work part-time in any facility that operates on a 24 hour basis in addition to your full-time job.

• Yes, if a private vendor supplies health services to the prison so you will not be working for the state.

Question 21

As a consultant to the Department of Correction, you provide ten hours of consulting services each month. The Department of Public Safety has offered you a full-time job as an analyst.


May you continue to consult with the Department of Correction if you accept the analyst position?

• No, once you become a state employee, you may not have any contracts with the state

• No, unless the Governor approves. Yes, because you are compensated for less than 800

hours a year, you are a special state employee.• Yes, because both jobs involve law enforcement, you

may continue in both.

Question 22

You are a former state employee of the Board of Library Commissioners who participated in recommendations and decisions pertaining to regulations enacted by the Board involving library construction.


Can you get paid as a consultant by a private construction company that is building a library for a town pursuant to

the regulations you helped to create? • No, you participated in creating the regulations and

cannot now profit from applying the regulations.• Yes, you have not been a state employee for over one

year. No, if part of your consulting work will involve

challenging parts of the regulations with which you disagree.

• Yes, the law does not prohibit former employees from using expertise gained while employed by the state.

Question 23

• You are a former assistant attorney general whose responsibility involved consumer fraud litigation for the state. You successfully sued a mortgage company for predatory lending practices. You now represent private clients in litigation matters.


Can you represent the mortgage company in its appeal of the court decision fining it millions of dollars?

• Yes, the appeal is a different matter than the original litigation.

No, the appeal is in connection with the original litigation in which you participated as a state employee.

• Yes, you are no longer a state employee.• Yes, you now recognize that the decision was wrong and

would like to help correct it.

Question 24

• As a manager at the Department of Public Safety, you supervised the staff that made recommendations to the Board of Building Regulations to amend building regulations. You did not participate in creating or amending the new regulations. You left the Department two months ago to work for a private employer.


May you appear on behalf of your new private employer at a public hearing regarding those new regulations

whose creation you supervised? • Yes, you did not participate in creating or amending the

new regulations. No, you have only been gone from the Department for

two months.• Yes, provided that you have been gone from state service

for more than one year.• No, but you can send them a letter or call your former

colleagues to discuss the matter as long as you don't visit your former office.

Question 25

• You were an analyst at the Department of Telecommunications and Energy. While serving as an analyst, you participated in setting rates for telecommunication services. You have joined a small telecommunications consulting firm as a partner.


May one of your partners testify at a hearing to seek changes to the rates you were involved in setting?

• Yes, my partner has never been a state employee. No, for a one year period after I leave public service, my

partner is restricted from acting in any activity in which I am prohibited from acting.

• Yes, as long as I don't participate in preparing her testimony.

• Yes, if my participation in setting rates occurred more than two years ago.

Summary

• This training is not intended to be legal advice and, because it is training seminar, it does not mention every provision of the conflict law that may apply in a particular situation.

• You can also contact the Commission’s Legal Division via our website, by telephone, or by letter. Our contact information is at the top of this document.

State Ethics Commission Conflict of Interest Training Seminar.

Documents

Transcript of State Ethics Commission Conflict of Interest Training Seminar.