Enforcements for Department of Agriculture
| Case | Agency | Violation/Result | Penalty Amount | Laws RCW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-043 | Department of Agriculture |
Violation: A former Commerce Specialist with the Department of Agriculture was found to have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act by using state resources for private benefit or gain. Evidence indicated that they used state resources to continually contact and harass a fellow state employee over Teams. Result: A Final Order of Default was entered on May 10, 2024, imposing a civil penalty of $1,500. |
$1,500 | RCW 42.52.160 | |
| 2023-091 | Department of Agriculture |
Violation: A former Pesticide Regulatory Specialist 1 with the Department of Agriculture was found to have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act by using state resources for non-work-related activities. Evidence indicated that they were working for an outside business while on state time. Result: A Final Order of Default was entered on May 9, 2025, imposing a civil penalty of $7,000. |
$7,000 | RCW 42.52.160 | |
| 2023-006 | Department of Agriculture |
Violation: An Office Assistant 2 Brand Clerk with the Department of Agriculture, agreed that they may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act by using state resources for personal benefit or gain. Evidence indicated that they used their state issued smart phone for personal use and allowed a family member to use the phone while out-of-state for several months. Result: An agreed Stipulation and Order was entered on July 14, 2023, imposing a civil penalty of $2,500. |
$2,500 | RCW 42.52.160 | |
| 2023-035 | Department of Agriculture |
Violation: A Brand Inspector 1 with the Department of Agriculture, agreed that they may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act by using state resources for personal benefit. Evidence indicated that they used their state issued MiFi device for personal use, resulting in a high amount of data used. Result: An agreed Stipulation and Order was entered on March 8, 2024, imposing a civil penalty of $3,000 with $1,000 suspended. |
$3,000 | RCW 42.52.160 | |
| 2022-035 | Department of Agriculture |
Violation: A Brand Inspector 2 with the Department of Agriculture, agreed that they may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act by using state resources for personal benefit or gain. Evidence indicated that they connected multiple personal devices to their agency hotspot, used their agency issued IPad to stream movies and used a state issued cell phone for personal use. Result: An agreed Stipulation and Order was entered on May 12, 2023, imposing a civil penalty of $5,000 with $1,250 suspended. |
$5,000 | RCW 42.52.160 | |
| 2018-036 | Department of Agriculture |
Violation: A former employee of the Department of Agriculture may have violated the Ethics in Public Service Act when they used their position to receive a special privilege and conducted activities incompatible with their official duties by using WSDA employees to complete inappropriate brand inspections on their personal livestock and by purchasing cattle from a person they regulate. Result: An agreed Stipulation was entered on July 12, 2019 imposing a civil penalty of $2,000. |
$2,000 | RCW 42.52.020, RCW 42.52.070 |
