| Disqualification Plan Request from Stanley Ard, on behalf of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development ("DOTD"), to approve a plan allowing a promoted employee to recuse himself from any matters relating to his brother's employment. |
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David Smith is employed by DOTD and was promoted to the position of chief of the Project Development Division (the "Division") in September 2021. His brother, Dustin Smith, was hired by DOTD in 2013 and moved into Section 30 in October 2014. As a result of David Smith's promotion, his role is above his brother's position in the DOTD chain of command, as Section 30 of DOTD is part of the Division. David Smith does not have any day-to-day supervision of Dustin Smith, as Dustin's Smith immediate supervisor is Steve LeBlanc, and his department supervisor is Stanley Ard.
DOTD has submitted a disqualification plan to avoid any potential violation of La. R.S. 42:1112, whereby David Smith would recuse himself from participating in any transaction or duties involving Dustin Smith, including, but not limited to, pay, performance evaluation, and/or promotion decisions. Any such decisions will be handled by Mr. LeBlanc and Mr. Ard, as necessary.
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La. R.S. 42:1112B(1) states 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.
La. R.S. 42:1119A provides that no member of the immediate family of an agency head shall be employed in his agency.
La. R.S. 42:1119C(2) provides that the provisions of this Section shall not prohibit the continued employment of any public employee nor shall it be construed to hinder, alter, or in any way affect normal promotional advancements for such public employee where a member of public employee's immediate family becomes the agency head of such public employee's agency, provided that such public employee has been employed in the agency for a period of at least one year prior to the member of the public employee's immediate family becoming the agency head.
La. R.S. 42:1102(2)(a)(i) defines "agency" to mean a department, office, division, agency, commission, board, committee, or other organizational unit of a governmental entity.
La. R.S. 42:1102(3) defines "agency head" to mean the chief executive or administrative officer of an agency or any member of a board or commission who exercises supervision over the agency.
La. R.S. 42:1102(12) defines "immediate family" as the term relates to a public servant to mean his children, the spouses of his children, his brothers and their spouses, his sisters and their spouses, his parents, his spouse, and the parents of his spouse.
La. R.S. 42:1102(17)(a) defines "public employee" to mean any person, whether compensated or not 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(18) defines "public servant" to mean a public employee or elected official.
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Approve proposed disqualification plan.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Charles Reeves |
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