Welcome to Ethics Training!

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Welcome to Ethics Training!
The reputation of a thousand years is determined
by the conduct of one hour. Japanese
proverb
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Training Objective

• Clear Understanding of the Ethics in Public
  Service Act
• Update on Recent Rules Changes
• Resources for questions

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Ethics
The embodiment of those values that the person or
organization feels are important, and spell our
proper conduct and appropriate action. -
Merriam Webster
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Ethical Choices

• What you find is that the tough ethical choices
  are not between good and evil, but rather between
  two goods
• Truth versus Loyalty
• Individual versus Community
• Short-term versus Long-term
• Justice versus Mercy

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Ethical Principals

• Objectivity
• Selflessness
• Stewardship
• Transparency
• Integrity

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Objectivity

• Public employees must place the publics interest
  before any private interest or outside obligation
  - choices need to made on the merits.
• RCW 42.52.020, Activities incompatible with
  public duties
• RCW 42.52.030, Financial interests in
  transactions
• RCW 42.52.040, Assisting in transactions

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Conflict of Interest

• A conflict of interest occurs when you have a
  private interest that may benefit from your
  actions, or when a private interest could
  interfere with official duties
• An interest need not be financial to create a
  conflict of interest
• Most conflicts result from the exercise of
  discretionary authority

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Dilemma

• You are a health inspector with a partnership
  interest in a local restaurant, and are assigned
  to perform an inspection of this same restaurant.
  
• Can you conduct the inspection? What actions
  should you take?

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Dilemma

• A state employee serves on the board of directors
  for a non-profit organization. The non-profit
  bids on a contract from the employees agency.
  The employee serves on the review panel that will
  select the successful contractor.
• Can the employee serve on the review panel even
  though there is no personal benefit?

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Dilemma

• You enforce business license requirements. You
  discover that a local business, with with you
  have a private legal dispute, is overdue in
  paying its taxes.
• What would you do?

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Selflessness

• Public employees should not make decisions in
  order to gain financial or other benefits for
  themselves, their family, or their friends.
• RCW 42.52.070, Special privileges
• RCW 42.52.140, Gifts
• RCW 42.52.150, Limitations on gifts
• RCW 42.52.080, Employment after public service

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Use of State Position
A state officer or employee may not use his or
her state position to secure special privileges
or to grant exemptions to benefit himself,
herself, family members, or other persons.
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Gifts

• General rules
• Those items that are not gifts
• Those items that are gifts, but not subject to
  the 50 limitation
• Rebuttable presumption these do not influence
• The only items that may be accepted by employees
  who contract or regulate

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Post-state Employment

• Former state officers or employees may not
  benefit from state employment
• Contract restriction
• Beneficial interest restriction
• Offers of employment
• Prohibition against participating in previous
  state transactions
• Situations are fact-specific

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Dilemma

• You receive a plaque and a 100 check from the
  Institute of Government Financial Managers for
  your many contributions to the field.
• Can you accept the plaque and the check?

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Dilemma

• You supervise a contract with ABC Audits. ABC is
  sponsoring a regional conference and tells you
  that if you attend, ABC will waive your
  conference fees.
• Can you accept the waiver of conference fees?

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Dilemma

• You are a professor for a state university or
  community college and a publisher sends you a
  textbook (solicited or unsolicited) for
  evaluation. After completing your evaluation,
  you take the textbook home and sell it to a
  friend for 25.
• Is this activity a violation of the Ethics in
  Public Service Act?

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Textbooks

• On September 12, 2003, the Executive Ethics Board
  issued Advisory Opinion 03-04 that prohibits
  selling textbooks for personal profit. There are
  several options for disposing of textbooks in
  lieu of selling them.
• State supported institutions of higher education
  may want to consider adopting policies or
  procedures that assist faculty members in
  exercising these options. For example, faculty
  may dispose of textbooks and other publications
  by giving them to the institution, to a charity
  or educational foundation, or in accordance with
  agency surplus property procedures.

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Ethical Habits
A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives
it the superficial appearance of being
right. Thomas Paine
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Stewardship

• Public employees have a duty to
• conserve public resources and funds
• against misuse and abuse.
• RCW 42.52.070, Special privileges
• RCW 42.52.160, Use of persons, money, or
  property for private gain
• RCW 42.52.180, Use of public resources for
  political campaigns
• WAC 292-110-010

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Questions to Ask Yourself

• Will my use of state resources result in added
  costs or any other disadvantage to the state?
• Am I using this resource in order to avoid
  personal expense?
• Am I confident that my use of state resources
  will not compromise the security or integrity of
  state information or software?
• Are state resources being used for purposes that
  could be embarrassing for my agency if reported
  publicly?

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The Use Zones

• Public employees have a duty to
• conserve public resources and funds
• against misuse and abuse.
• Green Zone Official Duties
• Yellow Zone Personal Use Under Limited
  Circumstances
• Red Zone Prohibited Uses

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The Green Zone

• Any Use that is Reasonably Related to Your
  Official Duties
• Combined Fund Campaign

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The Yellow Zone

• Personal Use OK Under Limited Circumstances
• Really de minimis exceptions
• There is little or no cost to the state
• There is no interference with the performance of
  official duties
• The use is brief in duration and frequency
• The use does not distract from the conduct of
  state business and
• The use does not disrupt other state employees
  and does not obligate them to make a personal use
  of state resources and

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The Red Zone

• Prohibited Uses
• Outside business interests
• Commercial uses
• Illegal or unprofessional activities
• Political activities, including lobbying

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Dilemma

• You send emails to your friends home computer
  from your state computer regarding personal plans
  for the weekend.
• Is this appropriate stewardship of state
  resources?

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Dilemma

• You ran across an article in TIME magazine that
  you want to share with friends and make several
  copies using the offices copier.
• Is this appropriate stewardship of state
  resources?

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Dilemma

• You send an email to your senator opposing the
  confirmation of a nominee for federal office.
• Is this appropriate stewardship of state
  resources?

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Dilemma

• Your supervisor approves the use of a state
• computer to do course work for a class that
• will enhance your skills.
• Is this appropriate stewardship of state
  resources?

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Dilemma

• You send a brief email or make a brief, local
  call to check on your kids.
• Is this appropriate stewardship of state
  resources?

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Dilemma

• You access the Internet during a lunch break to
  check on your stock portfolio and transfer assets
  to a different fund.
• Is this appropriate stewardship of state
  resources?

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Quote
A perfect value consists in doing without
witness all that we could have done in front of
the entire world - Nobel Laureate Gabriela
Mistral
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Transparency

• Public employees must practice open and
  accountable government. They should be as open
  as possible about their decisions and actions,
  and protect truly confidential information.
• RCW 42.52.050, Confidential information

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Confidential Information

• Standards that protect confidential
• information
• Outside employment, business, or professional
  activities
• Disclosure for personal gain or benefit
• Disclosure to unauthorized person

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Public Records

• Standards for disclosure
• May not intentionally act to conceal a record if
  under a personal obligation to release the
  record.
• May apply to e-mail communications

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Integrity

• Employees in public service should not place
  themselves under any financial or other
  obligation to outside individuals or
  organizations that might influence them in the
  performance of their duties.
• RCW 42.52.020, Activities incompatible with
  public duties
• RCW 42.52.110, Compensation for official duties
  or nonperformance
• RCW 42.52.120, Compensation for outside
  activities
• RCW 42.52.130, Honoraria

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Honoraria

• Honorarium defined
• Agency approval required
• May not be approved if donor
• Is expected to seek contractual relations
• Is regulated by the agency
• Is reasonably expected to seek or oppose adoption
  of rules or policy changes by your agency

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Outside Compensation

• Work must be bona fide and actually performed
  and,
• Not related to a contract or grant you supervise
• Comply with agency policies on outside
  employment
• Not be compensated by anyone you contract with or
  regulate
• Not related to a contract or grant you authorize
• Cannot involve the disclosure of confidential
  information.

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Quote
If you cant be a good example, then youll
just have to be a horrible warning. -
Catherine Aird
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Executive Ethics Board

• Interprets and enforces the ethics law
• Issues advisory opinions
• Reviews agency ethics policies
• Investigates and hears complaints
• Imposes sanctions for violations
• Disciplinary action also may be taken by the
  agency

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Complaint Status
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Good People - Bad Choices

• (19982002) - 89 of Cases involving sanctions
• In 2001 - 35 of cases involved sanctions
• Civil Penalties 123,900 - 1393 average
• Suspended 491 average
• Investigative Costs 41,125 - 462 average
• Agency Restitution 16,527

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Good People - Bad Choices

• Deadlines or performance goals
• Lack of resources, human or otherwise
• Pressures to produce and get the job done
• The action is not really illegal or unethical
• The action is in the individuals or
  organizations best interests
• The action will never be discovered
• Fear of authority

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Briefly

• Daily decisions will guide us in crisis
• Values can be instilled
• Subordinates seek standards
• Choice is often between two goods
• Only a leader of courageous ethical standards
  can earn the trust of subordinates

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Interventions

• Establish workplace expectations
• Brief common ethical problems
• Publicize noteworthy role models
• Routinely raise potential ethics issues
• Review commitment to ethics annually
• Attend to the ethical treatment of others