| Advisory Opinion request from Melinda Richard, an employee of Louisiana Department of Health, regarding outside consulting services. |
|
Melinda Richard is employed by the Louisiana Department of Health ("LDH") as the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Aging and Adult Services ("OAAS").
Ms. Richard is a certified Master Black Belt in the continuous improvement methodology known as Lean Six Sigma. Through her certification, Ms. Richard assists groups in identifying efficiency gains and lead the team to execute the improvements. Ms. Richard has formed Richard Consulting Solutions LLC in anticipation of providing consulting services. She has a prospective client that is a non-profit credit union. The credit union does not receive any funding from LDH.
Ms. Richard stated that any time she spends performing the consulting work will be done outside of normal working hours, or she will take annual leave. Mr. Richard further stated that her duties as OAAS Assistant Secretary do not include leading Lean Six Sigma projects. She asks whether she may provide such consulting services.
|
|
La. R.S. 42:1111(C)(1)(a): No public servant shall receive any thing of economic value for any service, the subject matter of which is devoted substantially to the responsibilities, programs, or operations of the agency of the public servant and in which the public servant has participated.
La. R.S. 42:1111(C)(2)(d): No public servant and no legal entity in which the public servant exercises control or owns an interest in excess of twenty-five percent, shall receive any thing of economic value for or in consideration of services rendered, or to be rendered, to or for any person during his public service unless such services are: Neither performed for nor compensated by any person who: (1) has or is seeking to obtain contractual or other business or financial relationships with the public servant's agency; (2) conducts operations or activities which are regulated by the public employee's agency; or (3) has substantial economic interests which may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the public employee's official duty.
La. R.S. 42:1102(2)(a)(i) defines "agency," for public servants in the twenty principal departments of the executive branch of state government to mean the office in which such public servant carries out his primary responsibilities.
La. R.S. 42:1102(18)(a)(ii) defines a "public employee" to include any person, whether compensated or note, who is: (i) An administrative officer or official of a governmental entity who is not filling an elective office; (ii) Appointed by any elected official when acting in an official capacity, and the appointment is to a post or position wherein the appointee is to serve the governmental entity or an agency thereof, either as a member of an agency, or as an employee thereof; (iii) Engaged in the performance of a governmental function; (iv) Under the supervision or authority of an elected official or another employee of the governmental entity.
La. R.S. 42:1102(19) defines "public servant" to include a public employee or elected official.
|
|
|
Adopt the proposed advisory opinion.
|
|
| Assigned Attorney: |
David Bordelon |
|
|