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BEST PRACTICES IN ETHICS

Submitted by christian on Thu, 10/26/2017 - 12:32
  1. Speaking not in terms of personal integrity, but rather in terms of the responsible, professional handling of conflict situations.
  2. Recognition, as the basis for government ethics rules and administration, of the fiduciary duties of government officials and employees, the appearance of their conduct to the community, and how officials’ handling of conflict situations affects the public’s trust in those who manage their community and public participation in the government.
  3. Transparency as the default position of the ethics program, with respect to advice, disclosure, and enforcement. Whenever there is confidentiality, an ethics officer should ask the official involved to waive it.
  4. Timely informal ethics advice from the ethics officer, taking into consideration that ethics laws are minimum requirements.
  5. Informal advice to anyone, relating to real or hypothetical situations; formal advisory opinions only to those under the ethics program’s jurisdiction and only about real situations. Advice only regarding future or ongoing conduct, and taking into account precedents.
  6. Advice binding on the individual seeking advice but only to the extent the facts provided were accurate and complete.
  7. Formal advisory opinions written in clear, simple language, with a restatement of the facts.
  8. Mandatory ethics training followed by continuing ethics education.
  9. Ethics training on the blind spots, institutional norms, and situational forces that interfere with officials’ ability to deal responsibly with conflict situations.
  10. The placement of aspirational provisions at the beginning of an ethics code, with a clear statement that these provisions are not enforceable.
  11. The use of clear, simple language in ethics provisions, recognizing that they are intended to provide guidance to officials and employees.
  12. The treatment of appearance of impropriety, preferential treatment, and favoritism as values behind ethics rules, not as enforceable ethics language.
  13. Placement of the parts of an ethics code most useful to the ordinary official, that is, the ethics and disclosure provisions, before the administrative and enforcement provisions. Placement of definitions after the ethics provisions, not before.
  14. Defining conflicts not in terms of interests, but in terms of benefits and relationships.
  15. Not prohibiting conflicts of interest, but instead requiring conflicts to be dealt with responsibly.
  16. Withdrawal from any participation whatsoever in a matter as soon as an official or employee recognizes he or she may benefit, directly or indirectly, or has a special relationship, directly or indirectly, with anyone who may benefit, with public disclosure of the relevant conflict.
  17. The inclusion of non-financial benefits in conflict provisions.
  18. Requirement that officials with ongoing conflicts either resign or remove the conflict.
  19. The prohibition of officials wearing multiple hats, including the holding of incompatible jobs or offices and the representation of clients before their agency or board.
  20. The limitation of gift bans to direct and indirect gifts from those seeking special benefits from the government.
  21. Gift bans with very few exceptions.
  22. Gift provisions that cover both influence and pay to play.
  23. Handling of gratuities as a personnel, not ethics issue
  24. The prohibition of sharing or using confidential information for one’s own or another’s financial benefit, but not prohibiting the general disclosure of confidential information for another purpose.
  25. Nepotism prohibition that covers hiring, managing, and oversight of relatives, and applies to all officials, employees, and consultants, with no exclusions for uniformed departments.
  26. The prohibition on transactions with subordinates.
  27. A requirement to report possible ethical misconduct.
  28. Complicity in ethical misconduct as an ethics violation.
  29. Whistleblower protection.
  30. Recognition that, despite one’s integrity, one has blind spots, one can be influenced, one is vulnerable to one’s unconscious biases as well as the unhealthy aspects and pressures of a government organization’s ethics environment, and that whatever one thinks about one’s relationships or transactions, it is what the public thinks that matters and that the public is right to make its assumptions considering the information it has.
  31. Recognition that, as a public servant, one has special obligations, gives up some of one’s rights, and needs to make certain sacrifices.

 

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BEST PRACTICES IN ETHICS

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