Enforcement
The Board is responsible for enforcing New York City's:
- Conflicts of Interest Law (Chapter 68 of the New York City Charter)
- Lobbyist Gift Law (Section 3-211 and Sections 3-224 through 3-228 of the New York City Administrative Code)
- Affiliated Not-for-Profits Law (Sections 3-901 through 3-907 of the New York City Administrative Code)
- Legal Defense Trusts Law (Sections 3-1101 through 3-1107 of the New York City Administrative Code)
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The Board has enforcement authority over:
- Current and former public servants.
- Lobbyists registered with the City.
- Not-for-profit organizations affiliated with elected officials or the agents of elected officials.
- Legal defense trusts with at least one public servant as a beneficiary and the trustees and beneficiaries of such trusts.
- Anyone can make a complaint.
- Complaints can be made anonymously.
- Complaints must be made in writing; to file a complaint, click here.
Investigations into potential violations are conducted for the Board by the New York City Department of Investigation.
- The Board begins an enforcement action by sending a Notice of Initial Determination of Probable Cause to the individual or organization that the Board believes likely committed a violation. That individual or organization is called the “respondent.”
- The respondent may be represented by an attorney or some other representative.
- The respondent has twenty days to respond in writing to the Notice unless the respondent asks for more time.
- The Board’s procedural rules for enforcement actions are available here.
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- The respondent may resolve the enforcement action by settlement agreement, either a public disposition or a public warning letter.
- In most cases, the Board will offer to settle with a public disposition, which must include an admission of the relevant facts, an acknowledgment of the violation, and a penalty that addresses the conduct.
- This penalty usually involves paying a fine to the Board. In deciding the appropriate fine amount, the Board considers various factors, including:
- The fine or other penalty imposed in prior cases involving similar conduct.
- Any agency-imposed disciplinary penalty for the same conduct.
- Whether the respondent is still a City employee.
- The respondent’s City position, such as whether the respondent is an attorney or a high-level employee
- The impact of the respondent’s conduct.
- Under limited circumstances, the Board may offer to settle with a public warning letter, which does not include a penalty but must include a statement of relevant facts and a description of each violation. These circumstances could include a relatively limited violation or that the respondent acted quickly to report and remedy the violation.
- Prior settlement agreements and their summaries are available here.
- If, after reviewing the respondent’s written response, the Board still believes it is likely that the respondent committed a violation and settlement cannot be reached, the case will proceed to a hearing at the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (“OATH”) where the Board’s enforcement attorney and the respondent will have the opportunity to present evidence. OATH’s procedural rules are available here.
- After the hearing, the OATH Administrative Law Judge will issue a confidential, non-binding Report and Recommendation.
- Each party will have the opportunity to submit a comment to the Board and a response to the opposing party’s comment about the OATH Report and Recommendation.
- The Board will make a final decision about whether the respondent committed a violation based in its review of the OATH Report and Recommendation, the evidence from the hearing, and any comments and responses to comments.
- If the Board decides a violation occurred, it issues an order stating its findings of fact and conclusions of law and, if appropriate, imposing a penalty. The order is a public document and typically includes a copy of the OATH Report and Recommendation.
- If the Board decides no violations occurred, it sends the respondent a confidential written decision that dismisses the enforcement action.
- Prior Board orders are available here.
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- The Board can impose civil fines of up to $25,000 per violation.
- The Board can order a respondent to pay to the City any financial gain obtained as a result of his or her violation.
- The Board can join settlements with a respondent and the respondent’s employing City agency in which the agency imposes other penalties, including loss of City employment, suspension, and the forfeiture of annual leave.
- The Board can impose civil fines of:
- Between $2,500 and $5,000 for a first violation.
- Between $5,000 and $15,000 for a second violation.
- Between $15,000 and $30,000 for additional violations.
- For failing to follow the reporting and donor disclosure requirements, the Board can impose civil fines of up to $10,000 per violation.
- For accepting prohibited donations, the Board can impose civil fines of:
- Up to $5,000 for a first violation.
- Up to $15,000 for a second violation.
- Up to $30,000 for all additional violations.
- For failing to obtain the required submission from a donor regarding the donor’s City business dealings, the Board can impose civil fines of:
- Up to $1,000 for a first violation.
- Up to $10,000 for all additional violations.
- For beneficiaries who fail to file the required statement of organization, the Board can impose civil fines of between $250 and $10,000.
- For accepting prohibited donations or improperly requesting donations, the Board can:
- Require return of the impermissible donations.
- Impose civil fines of:
- Up to $5,000 for a first violation.
- Up to $15,000 for a second violation.
- Up to $30,000 for all additional violations.
- For making prohibited expenditures, the Board can impose civil fines of:
- Up to $1,000 for a first violation.
- Up to $10,000 for all additional violations.
- For failing to follow the reporting and donor disclosure requirements, the Board can impose civil fines of between $250 and $10,000.
- For failing to follow the trust dissolution requirements, the Board can impose civil fines of between $250 and $10,000.