From 1978 to 1979, you were a state employee. You are now employed by XYZ Company. XYZ is under contract with QRS, another private company, to perform work on the contract which QRS has with the state.
You ask whether you may work for XYZ on the state contract without violating the conflict-of-interest law, General Laws Chapter 268A.
Section 5 sets forth the prohibitions on the conduct of former state employees.§ 5(a) prohibits you from ever acting as agent or attorney for, or from receiving compensation from, anyone other than the Commonwealth in connection with any particular matter in which the Commonwealth has a direct and substantial interest and in which you participated as a state employee. Therefore, you cannot work for XYZ on any matter on which you worked or were substantially involved in any way as a state employee.
The state contract is a "particular matter" (§ 1(k)). The state is a party to that contract and also has a direct and substantial interest in it. You state that you did not participate" in the state contract within the meaning of § 1(j) of the conflict law. However, as a state employee, you attended a meeting at which the head of the contracting state agency and his staff discussed the status of the state contract. During this meeting, you participated in a discussion of the estimate of the potential cost savings to be achieved by the contract. The cost factors you discussed were central considerations in the final evaluation of the state contract which was occurring during this period of time. Your superior and the agency head sought your expert opinion on those topics. While you state that you had no involvement in the selection of QRS or in the final review, approval and execution of the contract, the Commission concludes that you "participated" (§ 1(j)); in the state contract, and agency action related to it, personally and substantially. Therefore, § 5(a) prohibits you from ever having any involvement in the implementation of the state contract on behalf of anyone other than the Commonwealth unless and until the present contract expires or is renewed. § 5(b) precludes you, for one year (until 1980), from personally appearing before any state agency in connection with any particular matters which were pending in the agency you worked for and which were under your "official responsibility" (§ 1(i)) as a state employee at any time prior to the termination of your employment, i.e. from 1978 to 1979. You may, however, appear now on behalf of anyone in connection with any matter which arose since 1979.
Finally, you served as an employee of a City prior to your appointment as a state employee. In this capacity, you were a "municipal employee" as defined in § 1(g). By virtue of its enabling legislation, the Ethics Commission is now alone responsible for rendering conflict of interest opinions to state and county employees. That legislation left unchanged § 22 of Chapter 268A which entitles every municipal employee to request and obtain conflict of interest opinions from his town counsel or city solicitor. While the Commission may in the future assume jurisdiction over certain conflict of interest questions concerning municipal employees, it is not yet in a position to do so. Accordingly, any questions you might have concerning the application of General Laws Chapter 268A to your activities as a former municipal employee should be addressed to the Corporation Counsel.
End Of Decision
