CEO 84-20 -- March 8, 1984

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

D.H.R.S. DISTRICT EMPLOYEE WORKING FOR ORGANIZATION CONTRACTING WITH DEPARTMENT

To: (Name withheld at the person's request.)

SUMMARY:

No prohibited conflict of interest would be created were a Human Services Counselor II employed in the Children's Medical Services Program of District I, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, to be employed by an organization which has contracted with the District to provide services to displaced homemakers. Although Section 112.313(7)(a), Florida Statutes, prohibits the employee from having any employment with an organization which is doing business with her agency, Section 112.316, Florida Statutes, permits employment with the organization where the employee's public responsibilities are removed from the organization and its contract. CEO's 77-147, 83-85 and 83-92 are referenced.

QUESTION:

Would a prohibited conflict of interest be created were you, a Human Services Counselor II employed in the Children's Medical Services Program of District I, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, to be employed by an organization which has contracted with the District to provide services to displaced homemakers?

Your question is answered in the negative.

In your letter of inquiry and in a telephone conversation with our staff, you advise that you are employed as a Human Services Counselor II with the Children's Medical Services Program of District I, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. In that position, you do social work with children who are eligible for assistance under the Children's Medical Services Program because of catastrophic illness, and with the families of these children. You also advise that you have been asked to work during your off-duty hours with an organization which has contracted with the District to provide a program of services for displaced homemakers. Finally, you advise that you had absolutely no responsibility as an employee of the District for the contract between the organization and the District, which was handled under the Aging and Adult Services Program rather than the Children's Medical Services Program.

The Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees provides in relevant part:

CONFLICTING EMPLOYMENT OR CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP. -- No public officer or employee of an agency shall have or hold any employment or contractual relationship with any business entity or any agency which is subject to the regulation of, or is doing business with, an agency of which he is an officer or employee . . . ; nor shall an officer or employee of an agency have or hold any employment or contractual relationship that will create a continuing or frequently recurring conflict between his private interests and the performance of his public duties or that would impede the full and faithful discharge of his public duties. [Section 112.313(7)(a), Florida Statutes (1983).]

This provision prohibits you from having any employment or contractual relationship with a business entity which is doing business with your agency. As you are employed by District I of the Department, we find that District to be your "agency" for purposes of the Code of Ethics. See CEO 82-37 and CEO 81-2. Therefore, you would be prohibited from working for an organization which is contracting with the District.

However, in situations such as this, where you have had no responsibility for the contract with the organization and where your responsibilities with the Department are removed from the organization and its contract, we have concluded that such employment would not interfere with the full and faithful discharge of an employee's duties to his agency. See CEO 77-147, CEO 83-85, and CEO 83-92, in which we found that Section 112.316, Florida Statutes, permitted outside employment despite the literal language of Section 112.313(7)(a).

Accordingly, we find no prohibited conflict of interest would be created were you to be employed with an organization which has contracted with the District to provide services for displaced homemakers while remaining an employee of the District in the Children's Medical Services Program.