INDIANAPOLIS– Indiana ethics law seeks to stop the revolving door between state workers and companies that benefit from state contracts – unless you get a waiver.
Post-employment waivers can be granted by the head of an agency – or the governor himself – in order to avoid a one-year cooling-off period.
Twenty such waivers were granted in 2013 and eight so far this year.
“Post-employment waivers are being used judiciously – with about 100 given over the nearly 10 years since they were included in the state’s ethics law. That pace continues to be about the same in the Pence administration,” said Christy Denault, spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Pence. “Post-employment waivers allow agency heads to waive a one-year restriction for employees when it is in the public interest to do so.”
During that time, tens of thousands of state workers have left state employment.
Waivers must be filed with the Indiana Ethics Commission, though that board can’t block them.
Inspector General David Thomas – the state’s watchdog on ethics, waste and fraud – said he thinks the current law is good for two reasons.
“First, the agency is in the better position to know the detailed extent of their employee’s involvement and whether the ‘public interest’ is served with the waiver. Second, I think the law is sufficient in that the waiver must be in writing and remain a public document,” he said.
Thomas said having waivers helps defend against a future attack like in Ohio, when the entire post-employment rule was struck down as unconstitutionally strict.