The Ohio Ethics Commission (OEC) recently weighed in on the application of the Ohio Ethics Law to public officials or employees participating in matters involving their domestic partners. In their first formal advisory opinion of the year, OEC recognized that a “family member” could include domestic partnerships where someone is living with a public official or employee.
Generally, under Ohio Ethics Law, public officials and employees are prohibited from authorizing the employment of their family members; using their position to secure authorization of a family member’s employment; and soliciting, or using their position to secure, a definite and direct financial benefit or detriment for their family members.
The Revised Code does not contain a definition of “family member” for purposes of the Ethics Law. Previously, OEC defined this phrase to include a public official’s grandparents, parents, step-parents, spouse, children and step-children (whether dependent or not), grandchildren, brothers and sisters. They also included any other person related to a public official by blood or marriage and residing in the same household with the official.
In its opinion, OEC stated the current landscape of Ohio law and policy supports a modification to the definition of “family member” to include domestic partners for purposes of the restrictions in RC 2921.42(A)(1) and 102.03(D) and (E). A “domestic partner” includes a person who is living with the public official or employee in a common law marital relationship or who otherwise is cohabiting with the public official or employee. A person who lives with a public official or employee as a roommate but does not have a romantic relationship with the official or employee would not qualify as the official’s or employee’s domestic partner.
OEC opined that the familial relationship between domestic partners is such that it could affect an official’s or employee’s impartiality in the consideration of any public contract in which the domestic partner has an interest. As such, OEC held that the Ethics Law prohibits a public official or employee from:
- Authorizing or using the authority or influence of their office to secure authorization of any public contract, including an employment contract, if their domestic partner has an interest in the contract.
- Soliciting, or using their position to secure, a definite and direct financial benefit or detriment for their domestic partner.
- Participating in any matter or decision that could affect the continuation, implementation or terms and conditions of a domestic partner’s individual employment including:
- Changes in compensation or benefits that are determined by individual working conditions.
- The assignment of duties that will change the terms of the employment.
- Evaluations.
- Actions involving promotions, discipline, lay-offs and termination.
- Using the authority or influence of their position, formally or informally, to impact the decisions or actions of other officials or employees in matters that could affect the domestic partner’s interest in their individual employment.
For general questions about Ohio Ethics Law or OEC’s new opinion, please call OSBA’s Legal Division at 855-OSBA-LAW. OEC also provides several resources for public officials and employees on this topic, which are available on OEC’s Public Jobs & Family webpage.