Washington Administrative Code › Title 162 - Human Rights Commission › Chapter 162-04 - General provisions › Section 162-04-050 - Ethics and conflicts of interest

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Purpose.
This section is
		  intended to guide the commission's staff and commissioners on official ethics,
		  and to carry out the policies and purposes of chapter 42.18 RCW, the Executive
		  Conflict of Interest Act, as provided in RCW 42.18.250.
(2)
General rule.
It is the duty
		  of all employees of the commission and of all commissioners to maintain the
		  highest standard of ethics in all official actions, and specifically to comply
		  strictly with the requirements of the Executive Conflict of Interest Act,
		  chapter 42.18 RCW.
(3)
Specific matters.
The following applications of the rule are for
		  guidance on common problems and are to serve as examples for extension by
		  analogy; they are not a complete catalog of applications of the general rule:
(a)
Dealing with parties.
No
		  commission employee who has duties with respect to a complaint pending before
		  the commission shall deal in any way with the complainant or respondent, on a
		  business or personal basis, except for routine transactions done on the same
		  basis as other members of the public transact business with the party. An
		  employee may continue to deal privately with a public utility or continue to
		  shop at a party's store, if the employee deals with appropriate customer
		  service representatives or salespersons and does not identify his or her
		  official position or mix official business into the transaction. In
		  circumstances unlike these, employees shall either not deal with parties or
		  shall report the matter to the employee's supervisor, who shall relieve the
		  employee of responsibility for the case. Commissioners who have nonroutine
		  dealings with parties shall abstain from voting or other action on the
		  matter.
(b)
Accepting things
		  of value.
No commission employee or commissioner shall accept anything
		  of economic value from a party to a complaint before the commission, or from
		  any other person who is dealing with the commission, except under circumstances
		  permitted in RCW 42.18.190. Permitting another person to pay for an employee's
		  lunch is within the prohibition of this paragraph, but accepting a cup of
		  coffee under normal office hospitality is not. If the coffee is ordered in a
		  restaurant the prohibition of this section applies.
(c)
Honoraria for speaking.
If
		  the speaking engagement is within the course of a person's official duties,
		  acceptance of an honorarium or other compensation is prohibited. RCW 42.18.190.
		  Payment of travel expenses and living expenses while traveling, or
		  reimbursement of the commission for these expenses, is not prohibited, if the
		  trip and payment arrangement have been approved by the employee's supervisor.
		  It is not necessary for a person who is on the program to pay for a meal that
		  is served, or for the price of admission to the seminar, where the custom is to
		  not charge persons on the program for the meal at which they are speaking, or
		  for admission to the seminar. The prohibitions of this subparagraph do not
		  apply to commissioners, because speaking outside of commission meetings is not
		  a duty of commissioners.
(d)
Job offers.
No employee of the commission shall make or continue
		  an application or request for employment with a party to a case or other matter
		  before the commission while the employee has official duties with respect to
		  that case or matter. If any employee is assigned a case or matter while he or
		  she has an application pending for employment with a party to the case or
		  matter, the employee shall either withdraw the application or report the facts
		  to his or her supervisor. The executive director shall determine whether to
		  relieve the employee from further responsibility for the case or matter. If any
		  employee receives and considers a job offer from a party to a case or other
		  matter pending before the commission with which the employee has official
		  responsibilities, the employee shall report the facts to his or her supervisor
		  and the supervisor shall relieve the employee from any further responsibility
		  for the case or matter.