Principles for Public Safety Employment

2. F INANCIAL D ISCLOSURE Under the Acts, an officer or firefighter cannot be required or requested for purposes of job assignment or other personnel action to disclose any item of his or her property, income, assets, source of income, debts, or personal or domestic expenditures, including those of any member of his or her family or household, unless that information is otherwise required to be furnished under state law or obtained pursuant to court order. 170 3. L IE D ETECTOR T ESTS The POBR and FBOR prohibit an agency from compelling a peace officer or firefighter to take a lie detector test. 171 No disciplinary action can be imposed against an officer or firefighter for refusing to submit to a lie detector test. 172 Similarly, no comment shall be entered into an investigator’s notes or anywhere else that the employee refused to take, or did not take, a lie detector test. 173 Finally, there can be no testimony or evidence to the effect that an employee refused to take, or was subjected to, a lie detector test at a subsequent hearing, trial, or proceeding, judicial or administrative. 174 But if an officer or firefighter voluntarily takes a lie detector test, the agency may be able to use evidence of who took the lie detector test at an administrative hearing. 4. P OLITICAL A CTIVITY The Acts provide that, except whenever on duty or in uniform, no officer or firefighter shall be prohibited from engaging, or be coerced or required to engage, in political activity. 175 The POBR and FBOR also provide that an officer or firefighter shall not be prohibited from seeking election to, or serving as a member of, the governing board of a school district, or any local agency where the officer or firefighter is not employed. 176 I. T HE I NVESTIGATION R EPORT 1. C ONTENTS OF THE R EPORT The investigation report sets forth in writing the investigator’s evaluation, findings of fact, and conclusions. There are a number of ways to prepare a written report. LCW recommends the following outline/organization for the written report:  Introduction.  Methodology and Persons Interviewed- an overview of the steps taken in conducting the investigation.  Allegations- a description of the allegations being investigated, including the rules, regulations, and statutes at issue.  Chronology- a sequential description of events relevant to the investigation.  Findings of Fact- a specific description of material facts.

Principles for Public Safety Employment ©2022 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 61