§ 2-6-112. Retaliation and harassment prohibited.*

(a)

It shall be a violation of this article for any public servant, contractor, or vendor to retaliate against any individual who files a complaint with the board of ethics on the basis that the individual has filed the complaint.

(b)

It shall be a violation of this article for an individual to use this article to harass a public servant, contractor, or vendor by filing a complaint with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for its truth of falsity.

(Ord. No. 22-00, § 1, 8-2-00; Ord. No. 18-12, § 1, 7-31-12)

  *Commentary— Section 2-6-112(a) arises out of the recognition that the entire public as well as all public servants, contractors, and vendors must be vigilant in promoting and safeguarding ethical practices in the conduct of government business. As a mechanism for the enforcement of the article's provisions, Section 2-6-111 allows any person or member of the public as well as any public servant to file a complaint with the board of ethics where the person believes that a public servant, contractor, or vendor has violated this article. Not only will the availability of the complaint procedure serve as a vehicle for enforcement of the article's code of conduct, but it is also intended to serve as a substantial deterrent to conduct or practices which violate the article. In furtherance of this policy, and the fundamental goal of integrity in government, individuals must be immune from fear of retaliation for filing of legitimate complaints asserting violation of the article. Accordingly, section 2-6-112(a) prohibits retaliation against an individual who files a complaint against a public servant, contractor, or vendor with the board of ethics.

Section 2-6-112(b) arises out of the parallel recognition that, despite the salutary objectives of the article, some individuals may nevertheless attempt to misuse and abuse its enforcement provisions for improper or bad faith motivations that have as their goal the infliction of harm or damage upon other public servants, and contractors, and vendors and their respective reputations. Accordingly, section 2-6-112(b) prohibits use of the article's complaint procedure for the purpose of harassment of another public servant, or contractor, or vendor. For purposes of this article, harassment is defined as the assertion by an individual of a false or frivolous complaint of violation of this article by a public servant, contractor, or vendor where the person making the complaint knows of the falsity of the assertion or makes the false assertion with a reckless disregard for its truth or falsity, that is, has no reasonable basis for believing in the truthfulness of the complaint.