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HomeMy WebLinkAbout25-531 Mohr - MoorePHONE: 717-783-1610 TOLL FREE: 1-800-932-0936 STATE ETHICS COMMISSION FINANCE BUILDING 613 NORTH STREET, ROOM 309 HARRISBURG, PA 17120-0400 ADVICE OF COUNSEL August 8, 2025 To the Requesters: Tara Mohr James Moore Dear Ms. Mohr and Mr. Moore: FACSIMILE: 717-787-0806 WEBSITE: www.ethics.pa.gov 25-531 This responds to your letter received July 28, 2025, by which you requested an advisory from the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission ("Commission"), seeking guidance as to the issue presented below: Issue: Whether an individual employed as an Oracle Developer or an individual employed as an Oracle Database Administrator with the City of Philadelphia ("City") Office of Integrated Data for Evidence and Action is a "public employee" subject to the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ("Ethics Act"), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et sec.., and the Regulations of the State Ethics Commission, 51 Pa. Code § 11.1 et sec.., and particularly, the requirements for filing Statements of Financial Interests. Brief Answer: NO. Upon review of the submitted facts, neither an individual employed as an Oracle Developer nor an individual employed as an Oracle Database Administrator with the City Office of Integrated Data for Evidence and Action is a "public employee" subject to the provisions of the Ethics Act. Consequently, an individual employed in either of the aforesaid capacities is not required to file Statements of Financial Interests pursuant to the Ethics Act. Facts: You request an advisory from the Commission on behalf of three individuals employed with the City Office of Integrated Data for Evidence and Action. Two of the individuals are employed in the position of Oracle Developer and the third individual is employed in the position of Oracle Database Administrator. You seek guidance as to whether these individuals are "public employees" subject to the Ethics Act and the Regulations of the State Ethics Commission, and in particular, the requirements for filing Statements of Financial Interests. Mohr/Moore, 25-531 August 8, 2025 Page 2 You have submitted copies of job descriptions for the positions of Oracle Developer and Oracle Database Administrator, which documents are incorporated herein by reference. Per the job descriptions, the City Office of Integrated Data for Evidence and Action is responsible for developing and maintaining the City’s integrated data system, which brings together, links, and securely stores data from City agencies to inform the delivery of services to City residents. City agencies use this information for analytics, research, case coordination, development, and direct client outreach to benefit City clients. In order to manage the integrated data system, the City Office of Integrated Data for Evidence and Action employs individuals whose skills include database administration, data querying, data use/visualization, and research methods. Per the Oracle Developer job description, an employee in this position assists the Senior Oracle Developer with the following activities: (1) maintenance of existing source feeds; (2) onboarding of new data source feeds; (3) data quality assurance and analysis of issues during the loading phase; (4) querying and data extraction; (5) system and process documentation; and (6) system updates and optimization in coordination with the Oracle Database Administrator. The essential functions of an Oracle Developer include: Conducting code reviews and participating in technical design; Analyzing complex business problems, tracking down required information, documenting requirements, and developing technical solutions; Establishing and enforcing quality, security, and compliance requirements; Supporting business customers by providing insight into data warehouse structures; Leading and participating in highly complex projects with the IDEA team, business users and analysts; Resolving complex hardware/software compatibility and interface design considerations; Designing, developing, coding, testing, and debugging in an effort to properly load, store, and extract data; and Performing annual data reconciliations with source systems. Oracle Developer Job Description, at 2. Per the Oracle Database Administrator job description, an employee in this position installs and maintains database software, creates storage structures, sets up user accounts, debugs malfunctioning programs, creates backups, and regularly maintains the database security. The essential functions of an Oracle Database Administrator include: Coordinating and planning with the Oracle Data Manager on data expansion, routine system maintenance, and system enhancements; Identifying and installing tools and methods to ensure optimal warehouse processes, monitoring system performance, and implementing tuning processes; Defining, implementing, maintaining, and optimizing processes for request/release management and change control; Altering storage structures to meet the evolving needs of the integrated data environment; Mohr/Moore, 25-531 August 8, 2025 Page 3 Installing and maintaining the Oracle database software; Regularly applying Oracle and Linux patches; Implementing, auditing, and ensuring database security and encryption; Regularly updating the database security protocols; Setting up database user accounts; Establishing, maintaining, and monitoring warehouse data security and access; Identifying and resolving system malfunctions and bugs to ensure database integrity and high availability of data; Managing database backups and schedules of backups; and Documenting key process for the Oracle database, including policy for user access, procedures for routine system monitoring, procedures for routine compliance monitoring, and procedures for disaster recovery. Oracle Database Administrator Job Description, at 3. You state that the individuals employed in the above positions do not complete any administrative functions, have any role in the review or approval of contracts, make any financial decisions for the City, oversee other employees, or interface with the public in their positions. Discussion: It is initially noted that pursuant to Sections 1107(10) and 1107(11) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. §§ 1107(10), (11), advisories are issued to the requester based upon the facts that the requester has submitted. In issuing the advisory based upon the facts that the requester has submitted, the Commission does not engage in an independent investigation of the facts, nor does it speculate as to facts that have not been submitted. It is the burden of the requester to truthfully disclose all of the material facts relevant to the inquiry. 65 Pa.C.S. §§ 1107(10), (11). An advisory only affords a defense to the extent the requester has truthfully disclosed all of the material facts. The Ethics Act defines the term “public employee” as follows: § 1102. Definitions “Public employee.”Any individual employed by the Commonwealth or a political subdivision who is responsible for taking or recommending official action of a nonministerial nature with regard to: (1) contracting or procurement; (2) administering or monitoring grants or subsidies; (3) planning or zoning; (4) inspecting, licensing, regulating or auditing any person; or (5) any other activity where the official action has an economic impact of greater than a de minimis nature on the interests of any person. Mohr/Moore,25-531 August 8, 2025 Page 4 The term shall not include individuals who are employed by this Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof in teaching as distinguished from administrative duties. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1102. The Regulations of the State Ethics Commission similarly define the term “public employee” and set forth the following additional criteria: (ii) The following criteria will be used, in part, to determine whether an individual is within the definition of “public employe”: (A) The individual normally performs his responsibility in the field without onsite supervision. (B) The individual is the immediate supervisor of a person who normally performs his responsibility in the field without onsite supervision. (C) The individual is the supervisor of a highest level field office. (D) The individual has the authority to make final decisions. (E) The individual has the authority to forward or stop recommendations from being sent to the person or body with the authority to make final decisions. (F) The individual prepares or supervises the preparation of final recommendations. (G) The individual makes final technical recommendations. (H) The individual’s recommendations or actions are an inherent and recurring part of his position. (I) The individual’s recommendations or actions affect organizations other than his own organization. (iii) The term does not include individuals who are employed by the Commonwealth or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth in teaching as distinguished from administrative duties. (iv) Persons in the following positions are generally considered public employes: Mohr/Moore,25-531 August 8, 2025 Page 5 (A) Executive and special directors or assistants reporting directly to the agency head or governing body. (B)Commonwealth bureau directors, division chiefs or heads of equivalent organization elements and other governmental body department heads. (C) Staff attorneys engaged in representing the department, agency or other governmental bodies. (D) Engineers, managers and secretary-treasurers acting as managers, police chiefs, chief clerks, chief purchasing agents, grant and contract managers, administrative officers, housing and building inspectors, investigators, auditors, sewer enforcement officers and zoning officers in all governmental bodies. (E) Court administrators, assistants for fiscal affairs and deputies for the minor judiciary. (F) School superintendents, assistant superintendents, school business managers and principals. (G) Persons who report directly to heads of executive, legislative and independent agencies, boards and commissions except clerical personnel. (v) Persons in the following positions are generally not considered public employes: (A) City clerks, other clerical staff, road masters, secretaries, police officers, maintenance workers, construction workers, equipment operators and recreation directors. (B)Law clerks, court criers, court reporters, probation officers, security guards and writ servers. (C) School teachers and clerks of the schools. 51 Pa. Code § 11.1. The following terms are relevant to your inquiry and are defined in the Ethics Act as follows: § 1102. Definitions Mohr/Moore, 25-531 August 8, 2025 Page 6 “Ministerial action.” An action that a person performs in a prescribed manner in obedience to the mandate of legal authority, without regard to or the exercise of the person’s own judgment as to the desirability of the action being taken. “Nonministerial actions.”An action in which the person exercises his own judgment as to the desirability of the action taken. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1102. Status as a “public employee” subject to the Ethics Act is determined by an objective test. The objective test applies the Ethics Act’s definition of the term “public employee” and the related regulatory criteria to the powers and duties of the position itself. Typically, the powers and duties of the position are established by objective sources that define the position, such as the job description, job classification specifications, and organizational chart. The objective test considers what an individual has the authority to do in a given position based upon these objective sources, rather than the variable functions that the individual may actually perform in the position. See, Phillips v. State Ethics Commission, 470 A.2d 659 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1984); Eiben, Opinion 04-002; Shienvold, Opinion 04-001; Shearer, Opinion 03-011. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has specifically considered and approved this Commission’s objective test and has directed that coverage under the Ethics Act be construed broadly and that exclusions under the Ethics Act be construed narrowly. 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); Phillips, supra. The first portion of the statutory definition of “public employee” includes individuals with authority to take or recommend official action of a nonministerial nature. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1102. Likewise, the regulatory criteria for determining status as a public employee, as set forth in 51 Pa. Code § 11.1 (“public employee”)(ii), include not only individuals with authority to make final decisions but also individuals with authority to forward or stop recommendations from being sent to final decision-makers; individuals who prepare or supervise the preparation of final recommendations; individuals who make final technical recommendations; and individuals whose recommendations are an inherent and recurring part of their positions. See,e.g., Reese/Gilliland, Opinion 05-005. Conclusion: In applying the definition of "public employee" and the related regulatory criteria to the submitted facts as to the duties of the City positions at issue, the necessary conclusion is that neither an individual employed as an Oracle Developer nor an individual employed as an Oracle Database Administratorwith the City Office of Integrated Data for Evidence and Action is a "public employee" as that term is defined in the Ethics Act. Based upon an objective review of thejob descriptions and the essential functions of the positions set forth therein, neither an Oracle Developer nor an Oracle Database Administrator is responsible for taking or recommending official action of a non-ministerial nature with regard to any of the five categories set forth in the Ethics Act’s definition of the term “public employee.”Consequently, the three individuals on whose behalf you have inquired, two of whom are employed in the position of Oracle Developer Mohr/Moore, 25-531 August 8, 2025 Page 7 and one of whom is employed in the position of Oracle Database Administrator, are not required to file Statements of Financial Interests pursuant to the Ethics Act. The only provision of the Ethics Act that applies to these three individuals is Section 1103(b), which applies to everyone. For your information, Sections 1103(b) and 1103(c) of the Ethics Act provide in part that no person shall offer or give to a public official/public employee anything of monetary value and no public official/public employee shall solicit or accept anything of monetary value based upon the understanding that the vote, official action, or judgment of the public official/public employee would be influenced thereby. Reference is made to these provisions of the law not to imply that there has been or will be any transgression thereof but merely to provide a complete response to the question presented. This matter has been addressed only under the Ethics Act; the applicability of any other statute, code, ordinance, regulation or code of conduct has not been considered in that they would not involve an interpretation of the Ethics Act. Pursuant to Section 1107(11) of the Ethics Act, an Advice is a complete defense in any enforcement proceeding initiated by the Commission, and evidence of good faith conduct in any other civil or criminal proceeding, provided the requester has disclosed truthfully all the material facts and committed the acts complained of in reliance on the Advice given. This letter is a public record and will be made available as such. Finally, if you disagree with this Advice or if you have any reason to challenge same, you may appeal the Advice to the full Commission. A personal appearance before the Commission will be scheduled and a formal Opinion will be issued by the Commission. Any such appeal must be in writing and must be actually receivedat the Commission within thirty (30) days of the date of this Advice pursuant to 51 Pa. Code § 13.2(h). The appeal may be received at the Commission by hand delivery, United States mail, delivery service, or by FAX transmission (717-787-0806). Failure to file such an appeal at the Commission within thirty (30) days may result in the dismissal of the appeal. Respectfully, Bridget K. Guilfoyle Chief Counsel