Ethics Commission to announce new training soon

The State Ethics Commission said it will soon announce a new online training program designed to keep municipal employees up-to-date in their understanding of the state’s conflict-of-interest law.

The Ethics Reform Act of 2009 mandates that public employees complete an online training program related to the conflict-of-interest law every other year.

All public employees were required to complete the online training program for the first two-year cycle by April 2, 2010. As of late March, a deadline for 2012 had yet to be set, according to David Gianotti, head of the Ethics Commission’s Public Education and Communications Division.

Cities and towns will be notified once a deadline is established, he said.

Employees who already have satisfied their online training requirement this year by using the program currently on the Ethics Commission website (www.mass.gov/ethics) will not have to complete the new online training program this year.

The Ethics Commission is partnering with the Human Resources Division to make the training program available on the state’s Performance and Career Enhancement’s Learning Management System. The PACE system is an electronic means of maintaining records of employee compliance.

For more information, contact Gianotti at (617) 371-9505 or dgiannotti@eth.state.ma.us.