conflict of interest – Dual employment in local governement
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
conflict of interest – Dual employment in local governement
is there a conflict of interest if a tax assessor is employed by 2 separate
townships in Michigan? this person holds only 8hrs/week office hours, is
classified exempt Salary with full time pay, 4 weeks vacation, holiday pay and
medical reimbursement in 1 township, unsure of the other. This has been going
on for some time.
Asked on April 11, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Michigan
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
A legal conflict of interest only arises if the person's familial, personal, economic, or professional interests clash with their duties; an example would be if your lawyer or CPA was also the tax assessor, since--in regards to property taxes--he could not honestly and fully represent either you or the town, since he is being paid by both sides.
But people, including government employees, can certainly have more than one job or employer (I do, for example: I am a practicing attorney and also the editor of two legal journals) without there being any conflict, so long as the two jobs do not come into conflict (as mine do not--I edit journals about areas of the law I do not practice in, and none of my clients are every featured in the journals).
In the case you describe, the only time there would seem to be a conflict would be if there was a property that straddled both towns, so that he had to decide how much tax revenue from it each received; there, his duties to each employer could clash.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.