Ethics

A public official or employee is prohibited from hiring a family member or using their position in any way to secure employment of a family member. An official or employee cannot hire these family members, even if they do not live in the same household with the official or employee:

• Spouse;
• Parents or grandparents;
• Children or grandchildren;
• Siblings; and
• Step-children or step-parents.

An official or employee also cannot hire these family members if they live in the same household with the official or employee:

• Uncles and aunts;
• Cousins;
• Nieces and nephews;
• In-laws; and
• Anyone else related to the official or employee by blood or by marriage.

See R.C. 2921.42(A)(1).

A public official or employee cannot solicit or accept “anything of value,” such as a gift, travel expenses, employment, substantial meals, or other things of significant value from anyone if the thing of value could have a substantial and improper influence on the official or employee in the performance of their duties. The Ohio Ethics Commission has explained that these kinds of gifts would improperly influence a public official or employee if they are provided to the official or employee by anyone who is:

• Doing or seeking to do business with their public agency;
• Regulated by their public agency; or
• Interested in matters before their public agency.

See R.C. 102.03(E).

Public employees are prohibited from accepting the payment of travel costs from an improper source. An “improper” source is any individual or party who is:

• Doing business with the public entity;
• Seeking to do business with the public entity;
• Interested in matters before the public agency; or
• Regulated by the public agency.  

A public official or employee may not use or authorize the use of their public position to get a benefit for themselves or for anyone else with whom they are closely connected. The law also prohibits the official or employee from using their public position to avoid a detriment for themselves or a closely connected person. This means that a public official or employee cannot act on a matter before their public agency if the matter definitely and directly affects the official or employee; one of the official’s or employee’s close family members; or one of the official’s or employee’s business associates.  See R.C. 102.03(D).

The laws prohibit a public official or employee from:

• Authorizing a public contract in which the official, a family member, or a business associate has an interest;
• Authorizing an investment of public funds in which a family member or business associate has an interest or from which a family member or business associate receives a fee;
• Profiting from a public contract authorized by the official or by a board on which they sit unless the contract was competitively bid and awarded to the lowest and best bidder; and
• Having an interest in a public contract of any public agency with which they are connected.

See R.C. 2921.42(A)(1), (A)(2), (A)(3), and (A)(4).

A public official or employee may not profit from any public contract that they authorized.  A public official or employee is also prohibited from having an interest in a contract entered into by their public agency. Usually, a public official or employee cannot sell goods or services to their own agency. A public official or employee is prohibited from having a definite and direct interest in a contract with their public agency. A prohibited interest can be either financial or fiduciary in nature.  See R.C. 2921.42(A)(3)(4).

A public official or employee cannot solicit or accept compensation from any source other than their public employer for the performance of their public duties. A private party also cannot promise or give a public official or employee compensation for performing public duties.  See R.C. 2921.43.

The Ethics Law prohibits a current or former public official or employee from representing any person before any public agency on matters in which the official or employee personally participated.  See R.C. 102.03(A)(1).