Advisory Opinion No. 2006-5 Advisory Opinion No. 2006-5 Re: Kathleen M. McKeon QUESTION PRESENTED: The petitioner, the former Assistant Director for the Department of Elderly Affairs, a state employee position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether she may accept employment with the Diocese of Providence despite the fact that the Diocese of Providence receives grant funds from the Department of Elderly Affairs. RESPONSE: It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Code of Ethics does not prohibit the petitioner, the former Assistant Director for the Department of Elderly Affairs (“the Department”), a state employee position, from accepting employment from the Diocese of Providence (“the Diocese”) provided that: 1) she does not have any personal involvement with a matter before her former agency that goes beyond ministerial activities for a period of one-year following her official severance of employment; and 2) she does not disclose confidential information obtained during the course of her state employment. The petitioner informs that on December 24, 2005, she retired as the Assistant Director of the Department after thirty-one (31) years of state service. The petitioner advises that the Department regularly awards several state and federal grants to the Diocese for elder services including grants for “Respite Care” and “Friendly Visiting.” The petitioner further advises that she has been offered a position as Parenting Coordinator with the Diocese. She informs that her duties would include working with parishes to develop support for families and residents of the Slater Hospital and, developing new programs for low income families with children attending licensed day care facilities. The petitioner represents that she advised the Diocese that she would not be able work in any capacity which involved contact with the Department for one-year following her official severance from the Department. The petitioner represents that the Diocese assured her that the position of Parenting Coordinator would neither involve any services related to elders nor would it involve any services related to the grants from the Department. The Code of Ethics provides that the petitioner may not represent herself or any other person before any state or municipal agency of which she is a member or by which she is employed. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(e)(1), (2). Section 36-14-5(e)(4) extends these prohibitions for a period of one-year after the petitioner has officially severed her position with the agency. See A.O. 2001-33 (opining that a DCYF employee could seek employment with a DCYF vendor upon retiring from state service, provided that she did not have personal involvement with matters within her former DCYF division for a one-year period). This “revolving door” language is provided so as to minimize any influence the former public official may have in a matter before her former agency. Further, R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 36-14-5(b), (c) and (d) prohibit the use and/or disclosure of confidential information acquired by an official or employee during the course of, or by reason of, her official employment, particularly for the purpose of obtaining financial gain. Finally, a public official or employee may not accept any reward or promise of future employment in return for, or based on, any understanding or expectation that his or her vote, official action or judgment would be influenced thereby. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(g). The Commission consistently has concluded that under the very strict, but very clear, language of section 5(e) public officials and employees may not appear before their own agency or board before the expiration of one-year from their date of separation. See A.O. 99-125 (finding that a former Department of Health employee or his firm should not appear before his former Division in variance hearings for a period of one-year following the date of his official severance of employment with that agency); A.O. 98-92 (advising former Providence Department of Public Works employee that he should not appear before his former Department on behalf of his new employer on any matter, including the pre-existing contract with the City of Providence, except for ministerial activities such as submitting or retrieving papers). Although the Commission has concluded that individuals subject to the Code may not appear before their own agency or board prior to the expiration of one-year from their date of separation, that prohibition does not extend to the performance of ministerial acts. See A.O. 2005-54 (finding that the former Executive Director for the Division of Developmental Disabilities at the Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals, was not prohibited from contracting with private provider agencies with whom she had previously worked while in her public employment provided that she did not have any personal involvement with a matter before her former agency that went beyond ministerial acts for a period of one-year following her official severance of employment and that she did not disclose confidential information obtained during the course of her state employment); A.O. 98-5 (DHS Casework Supervisor in the East Providence Long Term Care Unit could accept private employment that may involve contact with the DHS so long as contact with East Providence Long Term Care Unit is ministerial in nature for a period of one-year from the date of separation). The Commission concludes that the Code of Ethics does not per se prohibit the petitioner from accepting employment from the Diocese. However, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(e)(4), the petitioner may not have any personal involvement with any matter before the Department that goes beyond ministerial activities (e.g., hand delivering documents to or reviewing files at the agency) for a period of one-year following her official severance of employment with the Department. Finally, the petitioner may not use any confidential information she obtained while working for the Department for financial gain. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(b), (c), (d). Code Citations: 36-14-5(a) 36-14-5(b) 36-14-5(c) 36-14-5(d) 36-14-5(e) 36-14-5(g) 36-14-7(a) Related Advisory Opinions: 2005-54 2001-63 2001-52 2001-33 2001-26 2000-66 2000-60 2000-19 99-140 99-125 99-108 99-61 99-53 Keywords: Post employment Revolving door