2018-1304 - Laserfiche WebLink

STATE LOUISIANA "t ' ENT OFOF STATEUISICIVIL �p OF LOpI!.. DEPARTMSERVICE- LOUISIANA BOARD OF ETHICS �d yy�u P.O. BOX 4368 44JD 1 BATON ROUGE,LA 70821 °NFi /,`,'' (225)219-5600 " =000. FAX (225)381-7271 1-800-842-6630 wwwethics.la.gov December 17,2018 Ms. Matthew K. Brown Sullivan, Stolier, Schulze & Grubb 909 Poydras St., suite 2600 New Orleans, LA 70112 Re: Ethics Board Docket No. 2018-1304 Dear Mr. Brown: The Louisiana Board of Ethics, at its December 14, 2018 meeting, considered your request for an advisory opinion as to whether the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics("Code")would prohibit the wife of Jimmy Siebert who is employed by Washington Parish Hospital Service District No. 1 d/b/a Riverside Medical Center("Riverside") from providing services to Riverside Emergency Physician Partners, LLC ("REPP") You stated that Marsha Siebert is a nurse practitioner currently employed by REPP and she is the wife of Jimmy Siebert who is employed as the Chief Nursing Officer at Riverside. You provided an organizational chart of Riverside which indicated that the Emergency Department is within the agency of Jimmy Siebert as Chief Nursing Officer. You stated that REPP has a written contract with Riverside that provides for medical coverage and management for Riverside's emergency department. You stated that Marsha Siebert receives a fixed salary and that her schedule is determined by REPP. You stated that Ms. Siebert's compensation is not affected by the contract between REPP and Riverside. Further, you stated that Ms. Siebert does not have an ownership interest in REPP and that she is not an officer, director, trustee, nor a partner of REPP. La. R.S. 42:1111 C(2)(d) provides that 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: (d)neither performed for nor compensated by any person or from any officer,director,agent,or employee of such person,if such public servant knows or reasonably should know that such person has or is seeking to obtain contractual or other business or financial relationships with the public employee's agency. However,in EB Docket No. 82-02D, the Board provided an exception to Section 1111 C(2)(d) of the Code when a public servant works for a company and the following factors are met: (1) the employee must be a salaried or wage- earning employee;(2)the employee's salary must remain substantially unaffected by the contractual relationship;(3)the public servant must own less than a controlling interest in the company;and(4) the public servant must be neither an officer, director, trustee, nor partner in the company. The exception found in EB Docket No. 82-02D was extended to apply to the spouse of a public servant in Ethics Board Docket No. 2008-957. AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER