Advisory Opinion No. 2017-40 Rhode Island Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 2017-40 Approved: September 12, 2017 Re: Christopher B. Frenier QUESTION PRESENTED: The Petitioner, a Probation and Parole Supervisor for the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, a state employee position, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from working, in his private capacity, as an adjunct professor at Rhode Island College. RESPONSE: It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, a Probation and Parole Supervisor for the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, a state employee position, is not prohibited by the Code of Ethics from working, in his private capacity, as an adjunct professor at Rhode Island College. The Petitioner is a Probation and Parole Supervisor with the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (“DOC”), working full-time from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Petitioner represents that he was recently offered and accepted a part-time position as an adjunct professor at Rhode Island College (“RIC”) and anticipates that he will start teaching a class in Crime and Criminal Justice in January of 2018. Cognizant of the Code of Ethics, the Petitioner states that his new part-time employment, including the planning and preparation for all the classes, will occur on his own time, outside of his DOC hours. Given this set of facts, the Petitioner asks whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from working, in his private capacity, as an adjunct professor at RIC. No person subject to the Code of Ethics shall engage in any business, employment, transaction or professional activity which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his duties or employment in the public interest. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(a). A substantial conflict of interest exists if an official has reason to believe or expect that he, any person within his family, a business associate or an employer will derive a direct monetary gain or suffer a direct monetary loss by reason of his official activity. Section 36-14-7(a). Additionally, the Code of Ethics prohibits a public official from using his public office or confidential information received through his public office to obtain financial gain for himself, his family, his business associate, or any business by which he is employed or which he represents. Section 36-14-5(d). Finally, the Code of Ethics provides that a public official shall not accept other employment that would impair his independence of judgment as to his official duties or require or induce him to disclose confidential information acquired by him in the course of his official duties. Section 36-14-5(b). Provided that the above provisions concerning conflicts of interest, use of confidential information and maintaining independence of judgment are satisfied, the Code of Ethics does not preclude a public employee from engaging in outside or secondary employment. See A.O. 2016-7 (opining that a probation and parole training officer and intern/volunteer coordinator at DOC could continue working at Rhode Island Batterer’s Intervention Program (“RIBIP”) as a facilitator, given that her official duties did not involve the supervision of any offenders or probation/parole officers, or the referral of anyone to RIBIP classes, and her private employment occurred on her own time and without the use of any DOC resources or equipment); A.O. 2011-20 (opining that a senior planner at the Rhode Island Department of Administration, Division of Planning, was not prohibited by the Code of Ethics from working in his private capacity as a real estate salesperson, provided that all such work was performed on his own time and without the use of public resources or confidential information obtained as part of his state employment); A.O. 2008-50 (opining that the Rhode Island State Veterinarian, an employee of the Division of Agriculture, is not inherently prohibited by the Code from serving as an adjunct professor at URI, notwithstanding the fact that the two roles may intersect, as neither the Division of Agriculture or URI are “businesses” as defined by the Code and thus the petitioner’s relationships with those entities are not “business associations”). In the present matter, based on all the representations above, it is the opinion of the Ethics Commission that there is no evidence that the Petitioner’s employment as an adjunct professor with RIC would either impair his independence of judgement or create an interest in substantial conflict with his public duties. Accordingly, the Code of Ethics does not prohibit the Petitioner from working as an adjunct professor, provided that all the work and preparation for his classes are performed on his own time and without the use of public resources or confidential information obtained as part of his state employment at the DOC. This Advisory Opinion is strictly limited to the facts stated herein and relates only to the application of the Rhode Island Code of Ethics. Under the Code of Ethics, advisory opinions are based on the representations made by, or on behalf of, a public official or employee and are not adversarial or investigative proceedings. Finally, this Commission offers no opinion on the effect that any other statute, regulation, ordinance, constitutional provision, charter provision, or canon of professional ethics may have on this situation. Code Citations: § 36-14-5(a) § 36-14-5(b) § 36-14-5(d) § 36-14-7(a) Related Advisory Opinions: A.O. 2016-7 A.O. 2011-20 A.O. 2008-50 Keywords: Secondary Employment