Chester County s new ethics policy bans employees from sharing information - even some records or documents that are a matter of public record - with anyone else outside of government, a move critics call extreme.
The policy states that all information, no matter how acquired during the course of employment with the County, is deemed strictly confidential unless such information has been previously made available to the public, and is not to be disseminated for any reason unless connected with the performance of an employeeâs official duties.
The policy continues: Dissemination includes information provided to family members, friends, and the press.
Good government or ‘gag’ order? In Chesco, new ethics policy muzzles county workers William Bender, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Chester County officials don’t want government workers talking about their jobs to anyone.
Not to friends. Not to family. And not to the press.
Included in the county’s new ethics policy is a strict confidentiality clause for many county employees that would essentially turn almost everything learned on the job into the equivalent of classified information a clampdown that labor-law experts say could infringe on First Amendment rights and whistleblower protections.
Employees are required to sign the policy by March 6. Those who violate it can face disciplinary action, including termination.
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