Advisory Opinion 1084
Medical Examiner Division/Conflict of Interest

ISSUE: WHETHER IT WOULD BE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST FOR AN EMPLOYEE WHO HAS ACCESS TO PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION TO SERVE AS A DIRECTOR FOR A NON-PROFIT CORPORATION WITH AN INTEREST IN THAT INFORMATION?

Opinion: In this particular instance there is a real perception of a conflict of interest because a County employee is serving on the board of directors for an organization which seeks to do business with the County. Such a relationship could be perceived as providing the organization with a competitive advantage over others. On this basis, the Board finds that non-profit board membership for organizations which do, or seek to do, business with the County may be incompatible with an individual's official responsibilities when this membership could interfere with the exercise of independent judgement or action.

Statement of Circumstances: The Medical Examiner Division investigates sudden, unexpected, violent, and suspicious deaths within King County and performs death scene investigations and postmortem examinations, including complete forensic autopsies. A corollary to this work is the harvest of tissue from donors who come under the division's jurisdiction. The division also maintains confidential records regarding a person's death and is responsible for establishing direct contact with the decedent's next of kin. The division currently coordinates tissue donation through the Northwest Tissue Center. However, another tissue procurement agency, the Washington State Tissue Service, is seeking access to information on potential donors so that it, too, may harvest tissue from the division. A full-time employee in the division has access to personal and confidential information which would be valuable for obtaining tissue. This employee is also a director for the Washington State Tissue Service. The division would like the Board of Ethics to determine whether the employee would incur a conflict of interest if the Washington State Tissue Service were allowed access to tissue from the Medical Examiner Division.

Analysis: In Advisory Opinion 1005, the Board of Ethics established three criteria for accepting membership on a non-profit board membership for organizations who do, or seek to do, business with the County:

• Board membership can involve no compensation or benefits as defined by section 3.04.030(C) and which includes travel expense, service, information, gifts, or things of value.
• County employees must disclose their membership on a non-profit board to their immediate supervisor.
• And, the employee must recuse himself or herself from any participation in any County action which affects the funding of the organization of which the individual is a member.

Although the employee in this instance has met the criteria established for non-profit board membership, this issue also involves other considerations. The primary purpose of the Washington State Tissue Service is to procure and harvest human tissue for transplantation and research. As an employee in the Medical Examiner Division, the individual in question exercises independent judgement as to whether human tissue is suitable for donation. This judgement results from the employee's evaluation of factors relating to the victim's physiological condition prior to death and circumstances surrounding the manner of death. In addition, the employee has complete access to personal and confidential information about prospective donors and their next of kin who give permission for tissue harvest. Section 3.04.030(I) of the Code of Ethics provides that an employee could incur a conflict of interest if that employee:

Engages in or accepts compensation, employment or renders services for any person or a governmental entity other than King County when such employment or service is incom- patible with the proper discharge of official duties or would impair independence of judgement or action in the performance of official duties.

The employee's ability to exercise independent judgement in evaluating the suitability of tissue for donation and his access to confidential information raise questions as to whether he would be able to separate his official responsibilities as a County employee from his outside responsibilities as a board member for the Washington State Tissue Service. Another concern in this request stems from the perception that the Washington State Tissue Service may be attempting to influence County policy, and that the employee's access to vital information could be valuable to the organization. These factors, when combined with the interests of the non-profit corporation, could create a situation in which a conflict of interest might occur. Therefore, the Board advises that the employee resign his directorship at the Washington State Tissue Service.

References: King County Code of Ethics, sections 3.04.030(H) and (I); Advisory Opinion 1005.

ISSUED THIS ___________ DAY OF ___________________, 199__.

Signed for the Board: Dr. J. Patrick Dobel, Chair

Members:

Dr. J. Patrick Dobel, Chair
Timothy Edwards, Esq.
Rev. Paul Pruitt

JPD/mag

cc:

Gary Locke, King County Executive
Metropolitan King County Council Members
Susan Baugh, Director-Ombudsman, Office of Citizen Complaints
Robert I. Stier, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Counsel to the Board of Ethics
David Lurie, Director, Department of Public Health
Donald T. Reay, M.D., Chief Medical Examiner, Medical Examiner Division
Anthony Pittenger, Pathologist's Assistant, Medical Examiner Division
Peter C. Fierro, Director and CEO, Washington State Tissue Service
William J. Pleas, LPN, Vice President for Research and Development, Washington State Tissue Service