N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 22 § 7400.1

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 51, December 18, 2024

Section 7400.1 - Requesting exemptions from filing financial disclosure statements

(a) Definitions.

(1) Annual compensation shall mean the basic annual salary which an individual receives to perform the duties of the position in which he or she serves. Annual salary shall not include location pay, payment of overtime, retroactive salary benefits, uniform or clothing allowance, reimbursements, or any one-time payment, bonus or award.

(2) Commission shall mean the Ethics Commission for the Unified Court System.

(3) Employee shall mean a State-paid judge, justice, officer or employee of the Unified Court System.

(4) Employee organization shall mean an employee organization that is recognized or certified pursuant to section 204 of the Civil Service Law to represent public employees of a public employer.

(5) File shall mean to make delivery to the offices of the commission personally, electronically or by mail. The filing date shall be the date the document filed is received in the offices of the commission.

(6) Financial disclosure statement shall mean the annual statement approved by the Chief Judge pursuant to subdivision 4 of section 211 of the Judiciary Law.

(7) Job title shall mean the title of the position to which an employee has been elected or appointed.

(8) Rule shall mean Part 40 of the Rules of the Chief Judge of the State of New York (22 NYCRR).

(b) Scope. Pursuant to section 40.1(i)(8) of the rule, the commission shall permit an employee who is not a policy maker pursuant to section 40.2 of the rule, and who is required to file a financial disclosure statement, to request an exemption from filing. This request will be granted if, in the discretion of the commission, the public interest does not require disclosure and the employee's duties do not involve any of the duties set forth in section 40.1(i)(8) of the rule.

(c) Procedure.

(1) An employee individually, or an employee organization on behalf of persons who share the same job title, may request an exemption from filing a financial disclosure statement by filing a written request with the commission on or before:

(i) March 1st of the year in which the exemption is requested if he or she is employed by the Unified Court System on January 1st, or commences employment from January 2nd through April 15th, of that year; or

(ii) 15 days from the date that the employee commences employment (which includes a change to a new job title that requires him or her to file) if he or she commences employment with the Unified Court System from April 16th through December 31st of the year in which the exemption is requested.

(2) The request for the exemption shall include:

(i) the name, work address, home address, work telephone number and job title of the employee if the request is on an individual basis, or the name of the employee organization, and name, address and telephone number of its authorized representative filing on behalf of persons who share the same job title;

(ii) the job title for which an exemption is requested where the request is by an employee organization;

(iii) a copy of the title specifications of the job title for which an exemption is requested; and

(iv) a statement in support of the claim of the filing employee or employee organization that the public interest does not require disclosure and that the job title for which the exemption is requested does not involve any of the duties set forth in section 40.1(i)(8) of the rule, giving specific reasons and justifications therefor. Documentation supporting this statement may be annexed to the request.

(3) The request for an exemption must be signed by the employee, if requesting an individual exemption, or by the authorized representative of the employee organization requesting an exemption on behalf of persons who share the same job title.

(d) Commission action.

(1) Upon receipt of a request for an exemption from filing a financial disclosure statement, the commission shall review the material filed to determine whether the public interest requires disclosure and whether the duties of the job title include any of the duties set forth in section 40.1(i)(8) of the rule.

(2) If the commission determines that additional information would be useful, it may obtain such information from the Office of Court Administration, from the individual employee requesting an exemption, from the employee organization requesting an exemption on behalf of persons who share the same job title, or from any source deemed appropriate by the commission. The commission, in its discretion, may request a meeting with the individual employee or the representative of an employee organization to discuss the exemption request.

(3) If the commission requests additional information from an individual employee or an employee organization, such additional information must be filed with the commission within the time limit set forth in the commission's written request. If the commission does not receive such information within the said time limit, it may render a decision on the information available.

(4) Unless the commission decides that the public interest does not require disclosure and that a job title does not involve the duties set forth in section 40.1(i)(8) of the rule, the commission shall deny the request for an exemption from filing a financial disclosure statement. In applying the public interest standard, the commission considers the duties the employee may be called upon to perform. The commission weighs the strong public interest in disclosure against the employee's privacy rights. In this weighing process, the commission considers the employee's role in the judicial, administrative or managerial process of the Unified Court System. The commission also considers the potential for conflict of interest and use of public office for personal gain in the performance of the employee's actual or potential job duties. Judiciary Law, section 211(4) and Part 40 of this Title establish a strong public policy favoring disclosure. Thus employees otherwise required to file, who have requested an exemption from filing, must demonstrate that an individual exception to this policy is warranted.

(5) The commission shall give written notification of this decision to the employee and/or the employee organization, as appropriate, and to the Chief Administrator of the Courts.

(6) Once an exemption has been granted for a job title, an employee, as long as he or she holds that job title, will not be required to file a financial disclosure statement in any subsequent year for which one would otherwise be required unless:

(i) the duties of the job title change; or

(ii) it is determined that the employee holds a policymaking position by: the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, as to personnel of that Court; the Presiding Justice of each Appellate Division, as to personnel of that Court; or the Chief Administrator of the Courts, as to all other state-paid personnel of the Unified Court System; or

(iii) the commission, upon review of its decision to grant such exemption, determines the exemption is no longer appropriate.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 22 § 7400.1