CEO 80-69 -- September 19, 1980

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE SERVING AS ADVISER ON NEGOTIATING TEAM FOR MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND ON MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE BOARD

To: Douglas W. Moore, Jupiter

Prepared by: Phil Claypool

SUMMARY:

Reference is made to CEO 77-145, in which the commission found that s. 112.313(7)(a), F. S., did not prohibit a municipal employee from serving on a civil service board while acting as chief negotiator for a collective bargaining unit because, as chief negotiator, the employee did not have an employment or contractual relationship with the bargaining unit. That is, in the absence of some employment or contractual relationship, s. 112.313(7) has no applicability. Similarly, the Code of Ethics does not prohibit one from serving as an adviser on a negotiating team for municipal employees in collective bargaining matters while also serving on the civil service board. Because of the sensitive nature of both positions, however, attention is directed to s. 112.313(8) of the Code of Ethics relating to the disclosure or use of "inside" information.

QUESTION:

Does a prohibited conflict of interest exist when I, a municipal employee, serve as an adviser on a negotiating team for municipal employees in collective bargaining matters while also serving on the municipality's civil service board?

Your question is answered in the negative.

In your letter of inquiry you advise that you are a fireman for the City of Riviera Beach and a member of that city's civil service board. You also advise that recently you were appointed by the president of your local union to serve on a collective bargaining unit negotiation committee which serves as an adviser for the union's manager during negotiations.

In a previous advisory opinion, CEO 79-50, we advised that the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees would prohibit a municipal employee from serving on the municipality's civil service board while also serving as president of a collective bargaining unit within the city. We found that service as an officer of the collective bargaining organization constituted an employment or contractual relationship which would impede the full and faithful discharge of the duties of a member of the civil service board and would create a frequently recurring conflict with those duties, in violation of s. 112.313(7)(a), F. S. That provision of the Code of Ethics is set forth in full in that opinion. However, you are not an officer of the collective bargaining unit; instead, you serve as an appointed volunteer to assist in collective bargaining negotiations. Therefore, we are of the opinion that your situation is more analogous to the facts in an earlier opinion, CEO 77-145.

In that opinion we found that s. 112.313(7)(a), F. S., did not prohibit a municipal employee from serving on a civil service board while acting as chief negotiator for a collective bargaining unit because, as chief negotiator, the employee did not have an employment or contractual relationship with the bargaining unit. In the absence of some employment or contractual relationship, s. 112.313(7) does not apply.

Accordingly, we find that the Code of Ethics does not prohibit your serving as an adviser on a negotiating team for municipal employees in collective bargaining matters while also serving on the civil service board. As we observed in CEO 77-145, because of the sensitive nature of both of these positions, we caution you to be aware of the following provision of the Code of Ethics:

DISCLOSURE OR USE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION. -- No public officer or employee of an agency shall disclose or use information not available to members of the general public and gained by reason of his official position for his personal gain or benefit or for the personal gain or benefit of any other person or business entity. [Section 112.313(8), F. S.]