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Show Thursday, January 31, 2008 HERALD DAILY A10 Study finds ethics lapses in government Christopher Lee THE WASHINGTON Government Behaving Badly POST havior across corporate ica, but a new survey shows that government agencies are not free of such behavior. Mora state and local government Fraud as common in government as in business employees than federal observe misconduct GOVERNMENT Amer- The study, released this week by the nonprofit Ethics Resource Center, found that nearly 60 percent of government employees at all levels had federal, state and local witnessed violations of ethical standards, policy or laws in their workplaces within the last year. Observed misconduct was lowest at the federal level, with 52 percent of federal workers surveyed saying they had witnessed problems such as conflicts of interest, abusive behavior, alterations of documents and financial records and lying to employees, vendors or the public within the last year. "Since Enron, policymakers have given a great deal of attention and emphasis to the need for the business sector to address their ethics issues," said Patricia Harned, president of the group. "But in reality, government has their own issues to address, as well." What is at stake is govern- ment's ability to keep the public trust, Harned said. The group analyzed data taken from a telephone survey conducted last summer that included 3,452 employees in the business, government and nonprofit sectors. Analysts culled responses from 774 government employees but Alteration Federal government State government Local 52 documents 57 Alteration ,. Lying to customers, 14 vendors or the public Lying to customers, vendors or the public 14 Misreporting hours of Misreporting hours 17 to 20 Lying 8 17 to Lying 24 employees UTAH- - A new free report has recently been released that reveals how break The 52 percent of federal government employees observed at least one type of misconduct. Of that 52 percent. 70 percent observed Abusive behavior Observed by 2 3 percent of federal government employees Safety violations: Observed by 2 1 percent of federal government employees Lying to employees: Observed by 20 percent of federal government employees Putting one's own interests ahead of the organization's (conflicts of interest): Observed by 20 percent of federal government employees more than one type of misconduct. Ethics Research Center nttWASHWGTONPOST did not identify participants by agency. The survey's margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percent. Among the findings: Thirty percent of federal workers and 14 percent of state and local government workers believe their organizations have ethics and compliance programs. I The misconduct most frequently observed by federal employees was abusive behavior (witnessed by 23 percent), safety violations (21 percent), lying to employees (20 percent) and putting one's own interests ahead of the organization's ( 20 percent). I Fifty-eigpercent of all government workers who saw misconduct did not report it because they did not believe managers would take action, and 30 percent of all workers feared they would face retalia-- , tion if they reported what they saw. One percent used anonymous hot lines. Not all of the survey find-- , ings were discouraging. The group found that, compared with a previous survey in 2000, there were declines in several overtly illegal types of misconduct, including stealing, bribes, sexual harassment and discrimination. Moreover, the survey found that in government organizations ethics with programs and strong ethical culture, misconduct fell by 60 percent, and the reporting of bad behavior increased by 40 percent. But the data showed that fraud occurred as frequently w-cab ustom, Quality iSe- -J J0 bilitating back pain including sciatica and multiple herniated discs. It looks like this medical Large Selection of Colors & Styles 725 South 900 East Provo, Utah - 374 0580 and listen to the e 24 hr recorded message for all the details or go to www.911backpaininfo.com. These free reports are avail- li' III l toll-fre- 0 able for a limited time. Maple Ridge Spinal Pain Center Paul Beck, D I Townhomes In Salem IS '' "it " - moving to other states: Pennsylvania, Virginia." With undercover agents targeting drivers, cabbies say it is likely more will turn to other jobs or will leave New York to find work. "There's enough stress already in this business. It's sort of like us against them," said driver Frank Mestey , 52, whose friend left the business recently after 14 years to operate a news stand. "People will say, you know, 'Do I really need this? Why should I be in a cab with everything against me?'" The taxi commission says the sting operation is needed to address the number of complaints it has received from riders who say drivers are not following the rules especially by ignoring the credit-car- d payment option. Last week, the New York Daily News sent a reporter on a dozen rides and found that five cabbies talked on their phones and two refused to take a credit card, fee. citing the "The bottom line is that drivers will never know whether their passenger is a Secret Rider," taxi Commissioner Matthew Daussaid, "So the .. sooner they get their priorities v' ; in order, the better," Mahamed Zakout said fief !: understood why the commission was enforcing its rules so stringently. Some cab drivers, he said, cheat the system by putting fake numbers in the GPS that records their fares, so it doesn't keep track of how much money they earned during the year. Then they scheme against the federal tax and social welfare systems, he said, by lying about their incomes. Zakout, 31, says he abides by the law but has had enough of the increasing stresses that come with driving a cab. "I used to make $1,000 a week," he said. "Right now, I don't make more than $600. It's not fair. I drive seven days a week, 12 hours a day." One day last week, he went home after one shift with $80 in his pocket. , tory taxi credit card payment machines and automatic mapping systems. Since then, he e said, his payments have increased because of the $3,000 machine installation costs; he also is losing money credit card fee on the (50 cents is taken from every $10 paid to the driver). "We pay from our pocket," "This is my last six months. he said. "This year the econThat's it," he said. "I'm not drivomy is terrible. ... People are ing a cab no more. That's it." car-leas- Monuments call drivers to make sure they adhere to the rules. If they don't, they face fines of up to $350 for one violation. Many cabbies say the undercover observation is the latest burden in an industry that is becoming more strenuous and less lucrative. "It's totally annoying," Hossain said after hanging up his cell phone to answer a reporter's questions. "We don't think it's fair." A father of two, the has driven a cab for a decade. Last year, he and fellow drivers went on strike twice to protest the city's new manda- . nology" spinal surgical has decompression high success rate for treating de- breakthrough in government as in the private sector, with comparable rates of alteration of documents, misreporting of hours worked and lying to customers, the public and workers. For 30 years, the federal government has had an agency, the Office of Government Ethics, that provides political appointees and employees with advisory opinions and training materials, It ensures that each agency has an ethics officer and helps resolve conflicts of interest. Ethical issues have become increasingly important, "if for no other reason than the fact that the (federal) government has become increasingly reliant on contracting and grants to independent suppliers, who are providing the government with an increasing range of goods and services," said Kenneth Ryder, a project director at the National Academy of Public Administration. "That puts a premium on having an effective ethics program." non-surg- i- offering surgery free new hope for disc pain suffer- in head set. ted on his If this had been a test, Hossain would have ended up with a $200 fine. Driving a cab while talking on a cell phone is not allowed in New York; neither is honking excessively, treating customers rudely, not speaking English or refusing to allow customers to pay with credit cards, according to the city's ' newly revised Taxicab Rider Bill of Rights. But it's not hard to find a driver here who doesn't commit some, or all, of the above infractions. That is why the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, which regulates the industry and its workers, announced last week that it would send out as many as 100 undercover agents daily to monitor cab drivers in a sting they are calling Operation Secret Rider. Posing as customers, the agents will monitor the city's 13,100 yello- four types of government misconduct observed most frequently by federal government employees: Government misconduct Breakthrough in TechMedical proven that FDA non approved passenger across from the Empire State Building as its driver, Mahbub Hossain, chatcell-pho- employees has lead to the most promising cal disc treatment today. For your free report entitled, "New is ers. Research has The yellow NEW YORK cab pulled over to pick up a technology medi- cal technology LOS ANGELES TIMES 5 documents 5 of SOURCE: of Alteration of financial documents of not going out to eat; people are not going to the theater. 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