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HomeMy WebLinkAbout460-S Sledge In Re: Temisha Sledge, : File Docket: 14-024-P Respondent : X-ref: Order No. 460-S : Date Decided: 10/7/15 : Date Mailed: 10/19/15 Before: Nicholas A. Colafella, Chair Mark R. Corrigan, Vice Chair Roger Nick Kathryn Streeter Lewis Maria Feeley Melanie DePalma This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission as to the alleged delinquency and/or deficiency of Statement(s) of Financial Interests required to be filed pursuant to Sections 1104 and 1105 of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ("Ethics Act"), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq. The Investigative Division initiated these proceedings by filing with the State Ethics Commission and serving upon Respondent a Petition for Civil Penalties. An Order to Show Cause was issued to Respondent. An Answer was filed, and a hearing was deemed waived. The record is complete. I. FINDINGS: A. Pleadings 1. Respondent is an adult individual who resides or maintains a mailing address at \[address redacted\]. 2. At all times relevant to these proceedings, Respondent has been an Income Maintenance Caseworker employed with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, and as such, Respondent has at all times relevant to these proceedings been a "public employee" as defined in Section 1102 of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1102. a. Respondent avers that she resigned from her Commonwealth employment in July 2013. (Answer to Order to Show Cause, at paragraph 2). 3. Respondent as a public employee has been subject to the Statement of Financial Interests filing provisions of the Ethics Act. a. Respondent avers that she was not aware that she needed to complete Statements of Financial Interests until October 2014. (Answer to Order to Show Cause, at paragraph 3). 4. Respondent failed to file a Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 by May 1 of 2014. 5. By Notice letter dated August 11, 2014, Respondent was served with Notice in accordance with Section 1107(5) of the Ethics Act of the specific allegations against Sledge, 14-024-P Page 2 Respondent concerning the above transgression. Said Notice letter provided Respondent an opportunity to avoid the institution of these civil penalty proceedings by filing an accurate and complete Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 within twenty (20) days of receipt of the Notice letter. 6. By Notice letter dated October 2, 2014, Respondent was served with Notice in accordance with Section 1107(5) of the Ethics Act of the specific allegations against Respondent concerning the above transgression. Said Notice letter provided Respondent an opportunity to avoid the institution of these civil penalty proceedings by filing an accurate and complete Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 within twenty (20) days of receipt of the Notice letter. 7. Section 1109(f) of the Ethics Act provides: § 1109. Penalties (f) Civil penalty.-- In addition to any other civil remedy or criminal penalty provided for in this chapter, the commission may, after notice has been served in accordance with section 1107(5) (relating to powers and duties of commission) and upon a majority vote of its members, levy a civil penalty upon any person subject to this chapter who fails to file a statement of financial interests in a timely manner or who files a deficient statement of financial interests, at a rate of not more than $25 for each day such statement remains delinquent or deficient. The maximum penalty payable under this paragraph is $250. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1109(f). 8. For each violation the State Ethics Commission finds, Respondent is subject to civil penalty liability under Section 1109(f) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1109(f), at a rate of not more than $25.00 per day for each day the Statement of Financial Interests remains delinquent or deficient, for a maximum civil penalty of $250.00 per violation. Because Respondent has committed one violation alleged herein, Respondent could be subject to total maximum civil penalty liability of $250.00. 9. The Investigative Division asserts that there are no mitigating circumstances in this case and that Respondent should be assessed the maximum civil penalty of $250.00, in that the twenty-day deadline set forth in the said final Notice letter to Respondent expired without Respondent complying. a. Respondent asserts that there are mitigating circumstances in this case. Respondent asserts that: (1) the filing of her Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 may have been untimely due to personal medical reasons and associated matters; and (2) she currently has a limited income as a result of such personal medical reasons. B. Other Fact Findings 10. On November 18, 2014, the Investigative Division filed with the State Ethics Commission a Petition for Civil Penalties against Respondent, alleging that Respondent failed to file a Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013, which Statement of Financial Interest was to be filed by May 1 of 2014. 11. On November 24, 2014, Respondent filed a complete and accurate Statement of Sledge, 14-024-P Page 3 Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 with the State Ethics Commission. (Position Statement of Investigative Division, at 2; Id., Exhibit A). 12. On December 1, 2014, the Chair of the State Ethics Commission issued an Order to Show Cause, ordering Respondent to show cause why a civil penalty should not be levied against her. 13. On December 29, 2014, Respondent filed an Answer to the Order to Show Cause. 14. Neither party requested a hearing in this matter, and a hearing was deemed waived. 15. Pursuant to the direction of the State Ethics Commission, Respondent was afforded an opportunity to file with the State Ethics Commission by no later than June 8, 2015, certain information verifying the assertions/circumstances set forth in her Answer to Order to Show Cause. 16. On June 3, 2015, Respondent filed with the State Ethics Commission such information. II. DISCUSSION: As an Income Maintenance Caseworker for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (“Department of Public Welfare”), Respondent Temisha Sledge (“Sledge”) was at all times relevant to these proceedings a “public employee” subject to the provisions of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ("Ethics Act"), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq. See, Quaglia v. State Ethics Commission, 986 A.2d 974 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2010), amended by, 2010 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 8 (Pa. Cmwlth. January 5, 2010), allocatur denied, 607 Pa. 708, 4 A.3d 1056 (2010). Pursuant to Section 1104(a) of the Ethics Act, Sledge was specifically required to file a Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 with the Department of Public Welfare on or before May 1, 2014. See, Quaglia, supra. Section 1104(a) provides: § 1104. Statement of financial interests required to be filed (a) Public official or public employee. --Each public official of the Commonwealth shall file a statement of financial interests for the preceding calendar year with the commission no later than May 1 of each year that he holds such a position and of the year after he leaves such a position. Each public employee and public official of the Commonwealth shall file a statement of financial interests for the preceding calendar year with the department, agency, body or bureau in which he is employed or to which he is appointed or elected no later than May 1 of each year that he holds such a position and of the year after he leaves such a position. Any other public employee or public official shall file a statement of financial interests with the governing authority of the political subdivision by which he is employed or within which he is appointed or elected no later than May 1 of each year that he holds such a position and of the year after he leaves such a position. Persons who are full-time or part-time solicitors for political subdivisions are required to file under this section. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1104(a). The complete financial disclosure which Sledge as an Income Maintenance Caseworker for the Department of Public Welfare was required to provide in the Statement of Financial Interests form is statutorily mandated in detail at Section 1105 of the Ethics Sledge, 14-024-P Page 4 Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1105. Section 1109(f) of the Ethics Act provides as follows: § 1109. Penalties (f) Civil penalty. -- In addition to any other civil remedy or criminal penalty provided for in this chapter, the commission may, after notice has been served in accordance with section 1107(5) (relating to powers and duties of commission) and upon a majority vote of its members, levy a civil penalty upon any person subject to this chapter who fails to file a statement of financial interests in a timely manner or who files a deficient statement of financial interests, at a rate of not more than $25 for each day such statement remains delinquent or deficient. The maximum penalty payable under this paragraph is $250. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1109(f). Procedurally, in accordance with Section 1107(5) of the Ethics Act, the Investigative Division of the State Ethics Commission sent a Notice of Intent to Commence Civil Penalty Proceedings (Notice letter) dated August 11, 2014, to Sledge, stating that Sledge had failed to file a Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013. The Notice letter provided Sledge an opportunity to avoid the institution of civil penalty proceedings by filing an accurate and complete Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 within twenty (20) days of receipt of the Notice letter. Sledge did not file a Statement of Financial Interests within such 20-day grace period. A Final Notice letter dated October 2, 2014, containing the same substantive information as the first Notice letter, and providing another 20-day grace period for filing the delinquent Statement of Financial Interests, was sent to Sledge. Once again, Sledge did not file a Statement of Financial Interests within the 20-day grace period. The Investigative Division then instituted formal proceedings against Sledge by filing with the State Ethics Commission and serving upon Sledge a Petition for Civil Penalties. On November 24, 2014, Sledge filed a complete and accurate Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 with the State Ethics Commission. On December 1, 2014, the Commission Chair issued an Order to Show Cause, ordering Sledge to show cause why a civil penalty should not be levied against her. Sledge filed an Answer to the Order to Show Cause, asserting that there are mitigating circumstances in this case. Specifically, Sledge asserts that: (1) the filing of her Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 may have been untimely due to personal medical reasons and associated matters; and (2) she currently has a limited income as a result of such personal medical reasons. Sledge subsequently filed with the State Ethics Commission certain verifying information after being afforded an opportunity to do so. The Investigative Division has filed a Position Statement arguing that Sledge should be assessed a civil penalty in the amount of $250.00 for failing to file a Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 with the Department of Public Welfare. Pursuant to Section 1109(f) of the Ethics Act, this Commission could levy a maximum civil penalty against Sledge for the delinquent Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013. However, we may consider mitigating factors when exercising our discretion to levy civil penalty(ies). See, State Ethics Commission Resolution No. 91-002. Sledge, 14-024-P Page 5 It is our view that Sledge has established mitigating circumstances such that a civil penalty should not be levied against her for the delinquent Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013. We find that Sledge, as an Income Maintenance Caseworker for the Department of Public Welfare, failed to comply with Section 1104(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1104(a), when she failed to timely file a Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 with the Department of Public Welfare. Based upon the totality of the circumstances in this case, a civil penalty is not warranted. In that Sledge has now filed a Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013, no further action is required in this case and this case is closed. III. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW: 1. Temisha Sledge (“Sledge”), as an Income Maintenance Caseworker for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, was at all times relevant to these proceedings a “public employee” subject to the provisions of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq. 2. Sledge, as an Income Maintenance Caseworker for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, failed to comply with Section 1104(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1104(a), when she failed to timely file a Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. 3. Notice of the delinquency of Sledge’s Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 was previously served upon her in accordance with Section 1107(5) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1107(5). 4. Based upon the totality of the circumstances in this case, a civil penalty is not warranted. In Re: Temisha Sledge, : File Docket: 14-024-P Respondent : Date Decided: 10/7/15 : Date Mailed: 10/19/15 ORDER NO. 460-S 1. Temisha Sledge (“Sledge”), as an Income Maintenance Caseworker for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, failed to comply with Section 1104(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1104(a), when she failed to timely file a Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013 with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. 2. Based upon the totality of the circumstances in this case, a civil penalty is not warranted. 3. In that Sledge has now filed a Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2013, no further action is required in this case and this case is closed. BY THE COMMISSION, Nicholas A. Colafella, Chair