A former UMass Amherst associate provost was fined $10,000 for hiring her brother to a temporary position in violation of state conflict of interest law, the State Ethics Commission announced Wednesday.
“A public employee’s unlawful participation in the hiring and compensation of their family member erodes public confidence in the fairness of public employee hiring and pay,” said State Ethics Commission Executive Director David Wilson.
Heather Sharpes-Smith, a former Associate Provost for Instructional Design and Technology at UMass Amherst, admitted in a Disposition Agreement to participating in her brother’s hiring to a position in her department and waived her right to a public hearing, the commission said.
In May 2023, Sharpes-Smith emailed her department’s Human Resources Department and others in charge of hiring, asking whether an unnamed “guy could be hired temporarily to a learning management system position until a permanent employee could take over.
“Sharpes-Smith did not disclose that the ‘guy’ was her brother,” the Ethics Commission said.
Sharpes-Smith was told she could make the temporary hire, and then informed Human Resources she had her brother in mind. The department informed her he could be hired but she could not supervise him, the commission said.
The associate provost did not inform her appointing authority or the State Ethics Commission about her intention to hire a family member, the commission said. She did recommend her brother for the temporary position, approved the offer letter and verified him for a background check.
After her brother was hired, the commission said, Sharpes-Smith did approve his timesheets and authorize his pay.
In August 2023, the permanent position was authorized to be filled. Sharpes-Smith designated an employee to oversee a hiring committee, the commission said, but did participate in reviewing over 100 candidates resumes.
The hiring committee recommended Sharpes-Smith’s brother for the permanent position, “based, in part, on his experience in the temporary position” after the interview process, the commission stated. After she authorized the recommendation, he was hired in November 2023 with a salary of $68,000.
The Massachusetts conflict of interest law “prohibits state employees from participating in matters in which they know they or members of their immediate family have a financial interest.”
They are only allowed to do so after first submitting a “written disclosure of the matter and the financial interest to their appointing authority” and having the authority submits a public determination that the financial interest is “not so substantial as to be likely to affect the integrity of their services to the Commonwealth.” The documents are filed with the Ethics Commission and available to the public.
“When a public employee fails to follow the proper process before participating and doesn’t disclose relevant facts to their appointing authority, and their appointing authority doesn’t make the determination allowing their participation, the employee violates the conflict of interest law,” said Wilson.
The commission urged any public employees with questions regarding the conflict of interest law to reach out to their Legal Division for free advice.