Advisory Opinion 95-01-1116

Public Health/Conflict of Interest

ISSUE: WHETHER A SUBCONTRACTOR TO A COUNTY DEPARTMENT WOULD INCUR A CONFLICT OF INTEREST BY ALSO WORKING FOR THE SAME DEPARTMENT AS AN EMPLOYEE?

Opinion: The Board of Ethics finds there is no conflict of interest in this instance, because the prospective employee's contractual relationship with the department would not conflict with her ability to perform her official duties as a County employee. The Board offers no opinion as to the advisability of having employees in both an employment and a contractual relationship, or to having an individual supervised in those capacities by the same supervisor. This opinion should not be interpreted as a blanket authorization to by-pass normal hiring or contractual procedures.

County managers should be aware that situations in which contractors or consultants are hired as employees, or in which employees are subsequently hired as contractors or consultants, are situations which could invite abuse and at least have the prima facie appearance of providing employment or consulting opportunities on the basis of privileged access rather than on the basis of a fair and competitive process. All such situations require careful consideration and should be exceptions and not the rule.

Statement of Circumstances: The County coordinator for the Refugee and Interpreter Program would like to hire an individual to assist in the administration of the Health Education Linguistic Low Literacy Project (HELLLP) Program. The individual would be responsible for program management, networking, and planning for the transition of the project into the overall structure of the Department of Public Health. This individual also currently subcontracts with the Refugee and Interpreter Program throught the Community Health Interpretation Service to provide spoken language interpreter training. The County coordinator supervises the individual as a subcontractor and would also supervise this person as an employee, if hired. The coordinator has asked the Board of Ethics whether it is appropriate under the Code of Ethics to hire this individual given her preexisting contractual relationship with the Interpreter Program?

Analysis: In Advisory Opinion 1092, the Board of Ethics looked at a similar question which also involved an employee who had been offered employment by a County department while in a contractual relationship with that same department. After accepting the offer of employment, the department faced the difficult question of whether it should renew or reissue her contract for work on another project. In that instance, the Board of Ethics agreed that the contractual relationship created a situation which gave the appearance of impairing the fair and impartial process of awarding a contract because there could be a perception of unfair advantage. The present issue before the Board differs from that addressed in Advisory Opinion 1092 because the work to be performed by the potential employee is different from that performed on a contractual basis. In addition, while the Code provides that an employee would have a conflict if that employee:

Engages in or accepts compensation or renders service for any person or a governmental entity other than King County when such employment or service is incompatible with the proper discharge of official duties or would impair independence of judgement or action in the performance of official duties. (K.C.C. 3.04.030 I)

it does not appear that the employee's position with the Community Health Interpretation Service, or her subcontracting relationship with the Department of Public Health would be incompatible with assisting in the administration of the HELLLP Project. Therefore, the Board of Ethics finds no conflict of interest.

References: King County Code of Ethics, sections 3.04.030 (I), and Advisory Opinion 1092.

ISSUED THIS ___________ DAY OF ___________________, 199__.

Signed for the Board: Dr. J. Patrick Dobel, Chair

Members:

Dr. J. Patrick Dobel, Chair
Timothy Edwards, Esq.
Rev. Paul Pruitt
Ron Carlson
Dr. Lois Price Spratlen

JPD/mag

cc:

Gary Locke, King County Executive
Metropolitan King County Council Members
Paul Loveless, Regional Audit Manager, State Auditor's Office
Susan Baugh, Director-Ombudsman, Office of Citizen Complaints
Robert I. Stier, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Counsel to the Board of Ethics
Alonzo Plough, Director, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health
Nova Jones, Administrator, Downtown Public Health Center, Department of Public Health
Shari Michelson Wilson, Refugee and Interpreter Coordinator, Department of Public Health