Ethics

The Ethics Reform Act of 2022 made significant changes to Executive Law § 94 and replaced JCOPE with the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government. Ethic laws were enacted to prevent both actual and apparent conflicts of interest between your official duties and private interests. All SUNY employees are covered by these laws. 

The Commission was created to restore public trust in government by ensuring compliance with the State’s ethics and lobbying laws and regulations. It has jurisdiction over more than 250,000 officers and employees at State agencies and departments, including commissions, boards, State public benefit corporations, public authorities, SUNY, CUNY, and the statutory closely-affiliation corporations; the four statewide elected officials; members of the Legislature and candidates for those offices; employees of the Legislature; certain political party chairpersons; and registered lobbyists and their clients.

The Commission provides information, education, and advice regarding ethics and lobbying laws and promote compliance through audits, investigations, and enforcement proceedings. It also issues formal and informal advisory opinions and promulgates regulations on the applicable laws and the effect on those subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction. The Commission promotes transparency by making required disclosures by those under its jurisdiction available to the public. These disclosures include, but are not limited to, annual financial disclosure statements filed by thousands of individuals and activity and expense reports filed by lobbyists and their clients.

The Ethics Commission Reform Act of 2022 made significant changes to the ethics training mandate in Executive Law § 94, including mandating ALL state officers and employees take live comprehensive ethics training every two years and an online ethics refresher course in the intervening years.  

At Buffalo State, Jamie Warnes is the Ethics Officer and is responsible for ensuring that both the agency and its personnel comply with the legal obligations. If you have any questions, please contact her for guidance.

Ethic laws and regulations applicable to SUNY employees

• Public Officers Law Section 73: Outside employment and professional activities, restriction on political activities, nepotism, gifts, honorarium, travel, negotiations on future employment, and post-employment restrictions. Violations of this law carry a civil penalty of up to $40,000 and the value of any gift, compensation, or benefit received.
• Public Officers Law Section 73-A: Financial Disclosure Statements - All covered agency employees who are "FDS Filers" under the Public Officers Law Section 73 must file their financial disclosures. Employees should not accept outside employment that impairs their impartiality in performing their State duties and responsibilities.
• Public Officers Law Section 74: The Code of Ethics embodies the guiding principles of impartiality, confidentiality, stewardship of State resources, and integrity.
• Public Officers Law Section 74-A: Employees shall not accept outside employment that impairs their impartiality in performing their State duties and responsibilities.
• Public Officers Law Section 74-B and 74-C: Employees should not accept outside employment or engage in any business or professional activity that requires them to disclose confidential information they have received in their State position, nor shall they use such confidential information to further their personal interests.
• Public Officers Law Section 74-D: Employees shall not use their State position to secure unwarranted privileges or exemptions for themselves or others. This includes but is not limited to the misappropriation to the employee or others of the property, services or other resources of the State for private business or other compensated non-governmental purposes.
• Public Officers Law Section 74-E: Employees shall not engage in any transaction as representative or agent of the State with any business entity in which they have direct or indirect financial interest that might be reasonably tend to conflict with the proper discharge of their State duties.
• Public Officers Law Section 74-F: In your personal and professional life, employees shall not conduct themselves in such a way that gives the reasonable impression that a person or entity can improperly influence you or enjoy your favor in the performance of your State duties.
• Public Officers Law Section 74-G: Full-time State employees are prohibited from contracting for the provision of goods and services with entities regulated or licensed by Buffalo State. This prohibition applies to any entity in which the employee is a member and to any corporation a substantial portion of the stock of which is owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the employee.
• Civil Service Law Section 107: (aka Hatch Act) Prohibition against certain political activities in the work place. Prohibited conduct includes: making personnel recommendations or hiring decisions based on another's political affiliation, directly or indirectly asking about the political affiliations of any employee or potential employee nor transmit such information in any medium, directly or indirectly coercing an employee to pay, lend, or contribute anything of value to a party, committee, organization or person for political purposes, or using State offices and computer networks to solicit or collect any political contributions including using the computer in your office after work to produce a brochure in support of a candidate's campaign, or sending email invitations to campaign events to friends within the agency, etc.
• Public Officers Law Section 17: Defense and indemnification of State employees. As a New York State employee, you are subject to the Public Officer's Law. Upon initial employment, you signed an Oath of Office document Statement in Lieu of Oath which is on file in Human Resources. By agreeing to abide by the Public Officer's Law, you are entitled to be protected from financial loss arising out of a civil action brought against you for alleged negligence that occurred while conducting the duties assigned to you in the nature of your employment. This is known as indemnification.
• Who is required to file an FDS (Financial Disclosure Statement)? Employees designated as policy makers by their agency and employees whose salary exceed the annual salary threshold. In general, part-time employees who serve in a position with an annual full-time salary that exceeds the "filing rate" are still required to file an FDS even if they actually receive less than the "filing rate" amount in any year.
• Mandatory Ethics Trainings for FDS Filers: Employees who are newly-subject to the FDS filing requirement are required to complete the Online Ethics Orientation within three months from they date they became a policy maker or a threshold filer (either through being newly-hired, promoted or transferred).
• Comprehensive Ethics Training Course for FDS Filers: Employees are required to complete the Comprehensive Ethics Training Course ("CETC") within two years from the date they became a policy maker or threshold filer (either through being newly-hired, promoted or transferred).  New FDS Filers who complete the CETC within three months from the date they became a policy maker or threshold filer are not required to take the Online Ethics Orientation.

Mandatory Ethics Training

Information and Resources

• What is in the State Ethics Laws
• Ethics at a Glance Topics and Fact Sheets (includes gift rules)
• Ethics Laws and Regulations (includes Public Officers Laws)
• FDS Filing Deadlines, Salary Thresholds, and Exemption Requests (exemptions are not applicable to policy makers)
• Navigating the FDS Online Filing System for SUNY Filers 
• Conflict of Interest Policy (SUNY)
• Nepotism and the Public Officers Law - Employees are prohibited from participating in any decision to hire, promote, discipline, or discharge a relative per Section 73. The recommended best practice is for the supervisor to recuse themselves from any personnel decisions that involve a family member or a close personal friend. When a potential violation of this policy is identified for current employees, the supervisor or department head will contact Human Resources immediately to identify alternative arrangements for reporting, evaluation, assessment, and supervision. An agreement will be developed with the input of the affected parties and will be approved by Human Resources. This agreement will be maintained in the personnel files of the affected parties.
• Election Poll Workers
• Gifts | When exchanging holiday gifts at the office - A gift is any item or service of more than nominal value in any form including but not limited to money, service, travel, meals, entertainment, lodging, refreshments. In most circumstances, employees cannot redirect an impermissible gift to a third party including their spouse or child or a charitable organization. The gift must be returned to the sender.
• Items not considered gifts: tickets to bona fide charitable and political events, awards or plaques in recognition of public service, honorary degrees, promotion items with no resale value, discounts available to the general public or a broad segment thereof - i.e., wireless providers offer discounts to all government employees, gifts from those with whom there is a demonstrated familial or personal relationship, meals and beverages provided to participants at professional and educational programs, food or beverage valued at $15 or less, complimentary attendance offered by the sponsor of a widely attended event, travel payments for speakers at informational events when payment or reimbursement is offered by a governmental entity or an in-state accredited institution of higher education.
• Third Party Gifts Advisory Opinion
• Conflicts of Interest
• Accepting Free Textbooks from Publishers
• Are you a student intern in a State agency?
• Contracting with the State?  What a State employee can and cannot do
• Outside Activities
• Post Employment Restrictions

Honoraria

Honoraria is a payment or other compensation offered in exchange for a professional service or activity such as delivering a speech, writing, or publishing an article, or participating in any public or private conference, convention, meeting, or similar event that is not part of the employee's official position or duties. An honorarium may include expenses incurred for travel, lodging, and meals related to the service performed. Under Public Officers Law 73 and 74, there are restrictions on the acceptance of an honorarium and there is an Honorarium Approval Request Form. Please contact Accounts Payable for guidance on processing payment.

Honoraria Checklist

• It is not offered with the intention to influence or reward the recipient.
• The service was not part of the individual's official duties.
• Service was performed on other than work time or time was charged to accrued leave (not to sick leave).
• Buffalo State resources were not used to prepare or deliver service.
• Buffalo State funds were not used for registration, travel, lodging, or meal expenses.

Honoraria Regulations (19 NYCRR Part 930) note the following exemption:

"A member of the faculty (including an adjunct member of the faculty) at the State University of New York...  is exempt from section 930.4 and section 930.5, provided the service performed by such member of the faculty is within the subject matter of his or her official academic discipline." Therefore, prior approval of an honorarium request is not required by academic employees.