Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 48 - PUBLIC HEALTH-GENERAL › Part V - Preventive Health Services › Subpart 28 - Drinking Water Laboratories › Chapter 80 - Certification of Laboratories Performing Drinking Water Analyses › Subchapter B - Program Procedures and Requirements › Section V-8043 - Ethics, Standards of Professional Conduct and Conflict of Interest

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Professional
					 standards apply to every employee of the department including laboratory
					 assessors, whether a government employee or an employee of a third party
					 organization conducting assessments under an agreement with the department or
					 other certification body.
1. Department
					 employees, including assessors that knowingly engage in unprofessional
					 activity, may be liable for punitive actions as initiated by the department.
					 Standards for professional conduct outlined herein are based upon  5 CFR 2635, January 1, 2019 edition, (Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the
					 Executive Branch) and will be followed in all laboratory certification related
					 matters. Additionally, conformance with the Louisiana Code of Governmental
					 Ethics,
					 R.S.
					 42:1101 et seq., is required.
2. All employees including assessors
					 representing the department shall:
a. have no
					 interest at play other than that of the department during the entire
					 certification process;
b. act
					 impartially and not give preferential treatment to any organization or
					 individual;
c. provide equal
					 treatment to all persons and organizations regardless of race, color, religion,
					 sex, national origin, age and/or disability;
d. not use their position for private
					 gain;
e. not solicit or accept any
					 gift or other item of monetary value from any laboratory, laboratory
					 representative or any other affected individual or organization doing business
					 with, or affected by, the actions of the assessor's employer or the
					 department;
f. not hold financial
					 interests that conflict with the conscientious performance of their
					 duties;
g. not engage in financial
					 transactions using information gained through their positions as assessors to
					 further any private interest;
h.
					 not engage in employment activities (seeking or negotiating for employment) or
					 attempt to arrange contractual agreements with a laboratory that would conflict
					 with their duties and responsibilities as an assessor;
i. not knowingly make unauthorized
					 commitments or promises of any kind purporting to bind the department;
					 and
j. attempt to avoid any actions
					 that could create even the appearance that they are violating any of the
					 standards of professional conduct outlined in this Section.
3. It is the individual's responsibility to
					 report to the department any personal issues or activities that constitute a
					 conflict of interest before an assessment occurs. It is up to the department to
					 determine if the reported issues and activities regarding a specific assessor
					 constitute, or may be construed as, a conflict of interest. The department's
					 laboratory director, or assistant laboratory director, shall contact the Bureau
					 of Legal Services within the Department of Health (LDH) for guidance and
					 assistance in deciding a conflict of interest case and the course of action the
					 department should take.