Mark Segraves, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – Nearly 100 District government employees have refused to take an ethics oath mandated by Mayor Vincent Gray and are now facing discipline for insubordination.
In the wake of multiple federal corruption investigations, including a recent flurry of subpoenas issued to several councilmembers, Gray is requiring District employees to sign a sworn statement that they will adhere to a new ethics manual.
WTOP/ABC 7 has learned 85 employees have so far refused to agree to the pledge, which includes a ban on birthday gifts and the sale of Girl Scout cookies in the workplace.
Last month, the District’s Department of Human Resources distributed an order instructing employees to read and agree to a new 150-page ethics manual.
According to Alex McCray, a spokesperson for DHR, almost 10,000 employees have read and agreed to the new pledge, which the attorney general calls an oath.
In a letter provided by Attorney General Irvin Nathan’s office, he wrote that the requirement for all employees to read and agree to the pledge is within the mayor’s authority.
“The pledge itself is a form of oath that the mayor is explicitly authorized to require of, and administer to, District government employees,” Nathan writes.
Nathan says employees who do not read and agree to the oath can be disciplined.
“If, then, an employee disagrees with and refuses to sign the pledge, that refusal may be considered insubordination and subject the employee to disciplinary action,” Nathan writes.
A spokesperson for the attorney general declined to say whether an employee can be fired for not signing the pledge, but sources in the executive branch say it is very unlikely anyone would be terminated for that alone.
One group of employees will not have to worry about the pledge. According to the OAG, councilmembers and their staff are not required to take the pledge.
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