How we differ from the Ethics Commission

Mayor's Office of Ethics and Integrity

The City of San Diego Mayor's Office of Ethics and Integrity ("OEI") is tasked to provide a program for all employees who work in departments under the Mayor. This program includes ethics training which provides information to employees concerning relevant ethics related state/local law/regulations/policies and procedures, such as the Code of Ethics (PDF), Conflict of Interest and Employee Conduct (PDF), to name a few. Included training is values based training designed to improve each employee's understanding of ethics with the purpose of strengthening his/her ethical decision-making skills.

OEI also maintains the Employee Ethics Hotline where any employee may confidentially report unethical behavior, in addition to waste, fraud, and abuse 24 hours a day. OEI reviews, refers (including to the Ethics Commission where appropriate), and monitors each complaint until its resolution/disposition. It is responsible for developing ethics educational/informational resources, such as a comprehensive Employee Code of Conduct Handbook, for all City employees (unclassified and classified) who work in departments under the Office of the Mayor.

Ethics Commission

The City of San Diego Ethics Commission has the responsibility of monitoring, administering and enforcing the City's governmental ethics laws, proposing governmental ethics law reforms, conducting audits and investigations, referring violations to appropriate law enforcement agencies, and advising and educating City officials and the public about governmental ethics laws. Governmental ethics laws include the Ethics Ordinance (PDF), as well as the Election Campaign Control Ordinance (PDF) and the Municipal Lobbying Ordinance (PDF). The Commission accepts complaints regarding alleged violations of laws within its jurisdiction, and protects individuals from retaliation for reporting violations.

The Ethics Commission has no jurisdiction over classified City employees nor do the provisions of the Ethics Ordinance regulate the activities of classified City employees.

The Ethics Commission currently provides mandatory training on the Ethics Ordinance for elected officials and their staffs, members of City boards and commissions, and all unclassified City managers. This training is not offered to employees in the classified service because the provisions of the Ethics Ordinance do not apply to these employees.