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Responsibility for ethical violation rests with the state employee or the supervisor who authorized the employee action. State officers and employees never lose their identity as a state employee, even when they are not working. In terms of practical application on a daily basis, this law means that occasional local telephone calls for medical and dental appointments, child or elder care arrangements, transportation coordination, etc., are acceptable. This means that occasional and brief personal email messages are acceptable. This does not mean state resources can be used for any purpose during break periods. Student employees are state employees and are subject to restrictions while employed. University visitors and employee family members (including children) are not authorized to use university information technology resources.
- State employees are obligated to conserve and protect state resources for the benefit of the public interest.
- State employees may not use state resources for private gain.
Occasional but limited use is permitted if:
- There is little or no cost to the state;
- Any use is the most effective use of time or resources;
- There is no interference with the performance of official duties;
- The use is brief in duration and frequency;
- The use does not disrupt other state employees and does not obligate them to make a personal use of state resources; and
- The use does not compromise the security or integrity of state information or software.
Personal use of state resources may not be reimbursed so that there is no actual cost to the state. Certain uses are prohibited regardless of whether there is no actual cost to the state and it does not interfere with the performance of official duties. This includes:
- Conducting an outside business, whether or not for profit;
- Any use for assisting the campaign of a candidate or to oppose/promote a ballot issue;
- Advertising or selling for commercial purposes;
- Illegal activities or activities incompatible with professional workplace, e.g., accessing pornography or gambling sites on the Internet;
- Lobbying activity unless authorized by law; and
- Any use to promote, support, or solicit for an outside organization or group; and
- State employees may not accept a gift if it could reasonably be expected to influence the performance or nonperformance of the employee's official duties.
- State employees may not accept a gift from any person with a value in excess of $50 a year.
Unsolicited flowers, promotional items, and tokens of appreciation, informational materials, food and beverages at a hosted reception, admission to, and food and beverages at, civic, charitable, governmental, or community events. Travel, lodging and subsistence expenses are gifts when paid by another agency for section 4 employees. Section 4 employees have contracting authority. Prohibited gifts may be returned to the sender or donated to charity within 30 days of receipt. No state officer or employee may receive anything of economic value under any contract or grant outside of their official duties.
- The contract is bona fide and actually performed.
- The performance of the contract is not prohibited by the RCW or applicable rules governing outside employment.
- Performance is not within your official duties, under your supervision, or created by you.
- Not performed for a person from whom you are unable to legally accept a gift.
- Does not require disclosure of confidential information.
- Personal outside business use of e-mail is NOT permitted.
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Occasional and limited personal (non-business) use is acceptable, if it does not interfere with the performance of state duties.
Appropriate Example: You may email home (or
call) to see if children are home safe. There is no cost to the state,
it is brief, and it does not interfere with performance of duties.
Inappropriate Example: An employee in the PTA
(fund-faising event where the more the parent raises, the less his
personal contribution) solicits contributions using email. This is
NOT permitted. This is using state resources to further private interest
and promote an outside organization.
- Email is a technology that may create an electronic record. Such records may be subject to the public record disclosure law, or legitimately may be disclosed for audit or management purposes.
- Personal use of computers for the purpose of conducting outside personal business activities is a violation of the Ethics Law.
- The de minimis rule does apply to computer use.
- Downloading games is an ethical violation.
- Playing games already on the computer as part of university software during break is not an ethical violation with supervisor's approval.
Appropriate Example:
Completing job applications for state positions are considered professional development and are appropriate.
Appropriate Example:
An employee taking a computer class on his/her own time to enhance job skills may use the computer to do homework after working hours, using his/her own paper. This enhances the effectiveness of the organization.
- Facsimile transmissions and voice mail are technologies that may create an electronic record. Such records may be subject to the public record disclosure law, or legitimately may be disclosed for audit or management purposes.
- Because state contracts prohibit personal use, employees cannot have a personal line on a state cell phone. It would be appropriate to have a state line on a personal cell phone.
- Personal or personal business use of phones and copy machines is a violation of the Ethics Law, even if reimbursed.
- Any use for the purpose of conducting an outside business is a violation of the Ethics Law. (Includes Avon, Amway, Shaklee, Tupperware)
- It is not appropriate to bring your child to the work place for daycare.
- Any use for the purpose of supporting, promoting, or soliciting for an outside organization or group is not appropriate. There is an exception for the Combined Fund Drive.
- This is considered a gift of public funds and is a violation of the state constitution.
- Discretionary Funds (Foundation) can support these activities.
- State supported meals and light refreshments are allowed as an integral part of training. This requires prior approval by PBA including an estimated cost and the number of people in attendance.
- State supported meals or light refreshments are not appropriate for routine business meetings and employee gatherings.
- Personal or personal outside business data (home phone, home address, and home e-mail) is not appropriate.
- Use of business card to enter drawings is not appropriate
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If a state agency pays consideration or allows state time to attend a conference, the agency may:
-Keep the prize,
Example: A state agency pays for an employee to attend a computer technology conference. At a random drawing, the employee wins a color laser printer. The agency could use the equipment for an upgrade in one of its divisions. The agency asks the employee to bring the printer in for the agency's use.
-Allow the employee to retain the prize,
Example: An employee wins a piece of luggage at a conference paid for by the state. The agency has no use for the luggage and they allow the employee to keep the prize.
-Ask that the door prize be returned to the donor or donated to a charity.
Example: At a state paid conference, an employee wins an exciting new training video from the Training Vendor. The agency asks that the video be returned or donated to charity to avoid the appearance that the prize might affect the state employee's judgment, since the employee works in the field of training.
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Employees may retain a door prize if:
-The employee pays consideration for an event and the employee does not use state time to attend the event.
Example: A state employee pays to attend a local home show event on a Saturday. The entry ticket qualifies the employee for drawings. The employee wins a trip to Hawaii. He/she can accept the prize because the event was attended on his/her own time, and he/she paid consideration for the event.
- Business cards may not be used to enter drawings when a state employee attends an event in his/her personal capacity.
- State employees should not enter drawings when attendance is related to the performance of official duties, when the state paid consideration, or when the state allowed the use of state time for attendance.
- Banking 15-Minute Breaks (to extend lunch hours, adjust arrival or departure times) is not appropriate. Rest periods not taken at appropriate times are lost.
- Skipping Lunches (to adjust arrival or departure time) is not appropriate.
- Supervisor approved flexible work schedules are appropriate.
- Letter of reprimand, formal reprimand
- Recommend suspension, removal from position, prosecution, or other action
- Civil penalty up to $5,000 per violation (3 times economic value)
- Payment of damages
- Costs of investigation
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