| Advisory opinion request for approval of a proposed disqualification plan from the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office regarding the employment of Danielle Nelson Thomas and Kawaski Thomas. |
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Danielle Nelson Thomas ("Sgt. D. Thomas") was hired by the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office on July 1, 2020, and was recently promoted to serve as the Criminal Investigations Unit Sergeant in the Enforcement Division. Her husband, Kawaski Thomas ("Sgt. K. Thomas"), was hired on May 2, 2022, and currently holds the position of Patrol Sergeant within the Enforcement Division. They were married on September 23, 2023. In these current positions, Sgt. D. Thomas and Sgt. K. Thomas may, at times, be required to work together on assigned cases.
To avoid any potential violation of La. R.S. 42:1112B(1), the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office submits the following proposed disqualification plan for approval by the Board in accordance with La. R.S. 42:1112C.
Proposed Disqualification Plan
Sgt. D. Thomas shall be disqualified and excluded from any and all duties, decisions, and/or approvals required by the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office that affect the employment and/or salary of Sgt. K. Thomas. Inversely, Sgt. K. Thomas shall be disqualified and excluded from any and all duties, decisions, and/or approvals required by the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office that affect the employment and/or salary of Sgt. D. Thomas.
Any such duties, decisions, and/or approvals of all matters pertaining to the employment of both Sgt. D. Thomas and Sgt. K. Thomas will be performed by the following chains of command. Sgt. D. Thomas' chain of command: Investigations Commander/Captain, Enforcement Division Commander/Major, Chief Deputy, Sheriff. Sgt. K. Thomas' chain of command: Patrol Commander/Captain, Enforcement Division Commander/Major, Chief Deputy, Sheriff. These chains of command will flow directly to the St. Martin Parish Sheriff or an individual appointed by the Sheriff to make such decisions.
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La. R.S. 42:1112B(1) provides that no public servant shall participate in a transaction involving the governmental entity in which, to his actual knowledge, any member of his immediate family has a substantial economic interest.
La. R.S. 42:1112C allows a disqualification plan to be developed in accordance with rules adopted by the Board to remove a public servant from participating in transactions that would otherwise present violations of Section 1112 of the Code.
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Approve the proposed disqualification plan.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Jessica Meiners |
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