§ 4-06 Procedures to Appeal a Designation as a Required Filer of a Financial Disclosure Report.
RCNY § 4-06
(a)Applicability. Any employee designated as a required filer by his or her agency may appeal the determination that he or she is required to file a financial disclosure report with the Conflicts of Interest Board ("the Board") pursuant to New York City Administrative Code § 12-110, first to his or her agency head and then to the Board.
(b)Appeal to the Agency Head.
(1)Any employee seeking to appeal the determination that he or she is required to file a financial disclosure report shall complete a "Notice of Appeal to Agency Head," on such form as the Board shall adopt and make available on the Board's website. The completed form shall include the employee's name, employee identification number ("EIN") or agency identifier, agency name, agency code, civil service title, office title, and a brief statement of the grounds for the appeal.
(2)An employee seeking to appeal such agency determination shall file, in the manner designated by the agency, the completed Notice of Appeal form with his or her agency financial disclosure liaison prior to the deadline for filing his or her financial disclosure report but in any event the employee shall have no fewer than twenty-one days within which to file such Notice of Appeal after receiving the notification by the agency that he or she must file a financial disclosure report. Failure to file the Notice of Appeal by the later of twenty-one days after such notification or the deadline for filing, as the case may be, shall constitute a waiver of the right to appeal and the employee will be required to file a financial disclosure report.
(3)Upon receipt of the completed Notice of Appeal, the agency financial disclosure liaison shall: (i) Time and date stamp the Notice of Appeal form; (ii) Provide the employee with a copy of such time and date-stamped form as a receipt; (iii) Transmit the Notice of Appeal form forthwith to the agency head or his or her designee; and (iv) Within five days of the receipt of the Notice of Appeal, notify the Board by e-mail of the pendency of the appeal and the date that the appeal was received by the agency. Such notice to the Board shall contain the employee's name, agency, EIN (or agency identifier), and the date that the appeal was filed.
(4)No later than fourteen days after filing the Notice of Appeal, the employee shall submit to his or her agency head or such agency head's designee a written statement and any documentation in support thereof setting forth the reasons that such employee believes he or she should not be designated as a required filer of a financial disclosure report. Failure to submit such written statement within such fourteen-day period shall constitute a waiver of the right to appeal.
(5)Within fourteen days of the agency's receipt of the employee's written statement, the agency head or his or her designee shall advise in writing or by email the employee, his or her employee's collective bargaining representative, attorney or other representative, if any, and the Board of the agency's decision as to whether or not the employee is required to file. If the agency head or the agency head's designee fails to meet such fourteen-day deadline, the appeal shall be deemed granted upon default.
(6)A decision of the agency head or his or her designee that denies an appeal shall set forth the reasons for and evidence relied upon in reaching such decision. Such denial shall be predicated on a showing that the employee meets the requirements of at least one of the filing categories set forth in New York City Administrative Code § 12-110(b)(3)(a)(3)-(4) and 53 RCNY §§ 1-02, 1-14, and 1-15. If the agency denies the appeal, the notice to the Board shall state the manner by which the employee was notified and the date of such notification.
(7)The agency head or his or her designee may consult with the Board prior to rendering its decision.
(c)Procedure Upon Agency's Grant of Appeal. If the agency grants the employee's appeal, the employee's name shall be removed from the Board's list of required filers and the employee will not be required to file a financial disclosure report for that filing year or in future years until or unless the employee's title, position, duties, or responsibilities change in such a way that he or she would be required to file pursuant to the criteria set forth in New York City Administrative Code § 12-110(b).
(d)Procedure Upon Agency's Denial of Appeal.
(8)If the Board grants the appeal, the employee's name shall be removed from the Board's list of required filers and the employee will not be required to file a financial disclosure report for that filing year or in future years until or unless the employee's title, position, duties, or responsibilities change such that he or she would be required to file pursuant to the criteria set forth in New York City Administrative Code § 12-110(b).
(9)If the appeal is denied, the employee shall either: (i) file a financial disclosure report for that filing year within thirty days after service of the denial of the appeal by the Board, and shall file for future years until or unless the employee's title, position, duties, or responsibilities change such that he or she would not be required to file pursuant to the criteria set forth in Administrative Code § 12-110(b); or (ii) commence, within the time provided by law, an Article 78 proceeding to review the Board's decision.
(e)General Provisions.
