Austin approves new moonlighting policy for city workers

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Austin has finalized a new moonlighting policy that will tighten rules for city workers who have second jobs.
The policy, which will take effect March 1, will require city workers to notify their supervisors if they have a second job and will require city departments to list such workers’ second jobs in their personnel files, the Austin American-Statesman reported. It will still be difficult for Austin to monitor potential conflicts of interest on a widespread scale since the new policy doesn’t call for a centralized record of employees’ second jobs.
City auditors started cracking down on employees using city resources for second jobs a couple of years ago.
DeShawn Scott, a former Public Works employee, resigned last week after auditors found evidence that he had been using his work computer for his shaved ice and ice cream food truck businesses. Scott acknowledged to auditors that he sometimes used his city-owned computer to check on matters relating to his food trucks, but he said he didn’t spend much on-the-clock time doing so, according to the ethics complaint.
The newspaper couldn’t reach Scott for comment on Friday.
Other investigations into potential conflict-of-interest issues include an Austin Energy worker who approved electric service plans for companies that he worked with in his side job as a consultant. City auditors also looked into an Austin Water spokesman accused of giving a marketing contract to a company that built him a website for free.
The city started working to revise its moonlighting policy in 2017, around the same time that the newspaper found only 12 of 36 city departments required the disclosure of second jobs. The American-Statesman determined that only seven departments were making the information accessible for review at the time.