ANNOTATION

• Sources: Act of June 24, 1939, P.L. 872, Section 682; Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article XX, Section 3; A Model State Civil Service Law, Section 19.

• Purposes:
  1. Ethical standards of conduct preclude one who is a City officer from soliciting in a private capacity or personally profiting or being interested, directly or indirectly, in contracts with the City whose officer he is. See Act of June 24, 1939, P.L. 872, Section 682.
  2. An effective civil service regime and principles of employment on merit preclude a legislator from soliciting or recommending the appointment of any person to a civil service position. Councilmen appropriate funds to City agencies and are in a position to affect in that manner and in other ways administrative operations. Officers of such agencies must remain completely free from pressures of legislators, direct or indirect, in staffing their offices with civil service personnel. If a Councilman were permitted to solicit or recommend an appointment, an administrative officer might assume such pressure and might be influenced by it as a matter of protecting the interest of his agency and position, regardless of the motives, integrity and intentions of the Councilman.
  3. For comparable reasons, Councilmen are empathetically prohibited from interfering with the performance of the duties of any employees in the executive and administrative branch of the City government. An employee should perform his duties as required by law and by his superiors and not because of a fear of legislative retaliation, whether or not such fear is in fact warranted.
  4. For penalties for violating this section, see Section 10-109.

ANNOTATION

• Sources: No specific source.

• Purposes:
  1. Any officer or employee who is paid from the City Treasury (e.g. City and County officers and employees and Councilmen) may not, directly or indirectly, be a broker or agent profiting from the bonding of City officers or employees. See Annotation to Section 10-100. Past experience indicates the desirability of this prohibition.
  2. For penalties for violating this section, see Section 10-109.

ANNOTATION

• Sources: See Section 10-100.

• Purposes: See Annotation to Section 10-100.

ANNOTATION

• Sources: No specific source.

• Purposes:
  1. Requests from persons politically influential to the end that law violators shall not be apprehended and prosecuted, are not to be permitted to be bought to bear upon law enforcement agencies and the Fire Department (concerned with the enforcement of fire prevention laws). See Annotation to Section 10-100.
  2. For penalties for violating this section, see Section 10-109.

ANNOTATION

• Sources: Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article IV, Section 7.

• Purposes:
  1. The section continues existing law.
  2. For penalties for violating this section, see Section 10-109.

ANNOTATION

• Sources: No specific source.

• Purposes:
  1. Public officers and employees are compensated with public funds to perform the task for which they were elected, appointed or employed. Their holding office or employment presupposes their faithful discharge of all their duties without more. An exception is recognized and permitted in instances of a special reward authorized by the head of an agency for special accomplishments, such as the apprehension of a criminal, acts of particular courage and bravery, the devising of new methods or inventions to effect economies in the expenditure of City funds, and the like. Otherwise, however, no public official or employee should do that which he ought to do or not do that which he is not supposed to do because of the inducement of receiving directly or indirectly any benefit in addition to that which is the lawful incident of his position. The solicitation or acceptance of any such benefit by any City officer or employee of the executive or legislative branch or by any County or other governmental employee whose compensation is paid from the City Treasury is prohibited.
  2. For penalties for violating this section, see Section 10-109.

ANNOTATION

• Sources: See the Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article V, Section 5.

• Purposes: Provisions of the Charter of 1919 are broadened to include all officers and employees of the City, an extension necessary for protecting the City and members of the public.

1. No person shall seek or attempt to use any political endorsement in connection with any appointment to a position in the civil service.

2. No person shall, for the purpose of influencing the vote or political action of any person, or for any consideration, use or promise to use, directly or indirectly, any official authority or influence, whether possessed or anticipated, to secure or attempt to secure for any person an appointment or advantage in appointment to a position in the civil service, or an increase in pay or other advantage in employment in any such position.

3. No officer or employee of the City and no officer or employee of any governmental agency whose compensation is paid from the City Treasury shall, from any person, and no officer or member of a committee of any political party or club shall, from any civil service employee, directly or indirectly demand, solicit, collect or receive, or be in any manner concerned in demanding, soliciting, collecting or receiving, any assessment, subscription or contribution, whether voluntary or involuntary, intended for any political purpose whatever. No officer or member of the Philadelphia Police or of the Fire Department shall pay or give any money or valuable thing or make any subscription or contribution, whether voluntary or involuntary, for any political purpose whatever.

4. No appointed officer or employee of the City shall be a member of any national, state or local committee of a political party, or an officer or member of a committee of a partisan political club, or take any part in the management or affairs of any political party or in any political campaign, except to exercise his right as a citizen privately to express his opinion and to cast his vote.

5. No officer or employee of the City, except elected officers running for re-election, shall be a candidate for nomination or election to any public office unless he shall have first resigned from his then office or employment.

6. Any officer or employee of the City who violates any of the foregoing provisions of this section shall, in addition to any penalties provided for hereafter, be ineligible for one year for any office or position under the City.

ANNOTATION

• Sources: A Model State Civil Service Law, Section 19; Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article XIX, Section 23.

• Purposes:
  1. Merit principles of governmental employment require the divorcement of politics from such employment. They presuppose employment upon merit and not because of political connections, powers and pressures. They also presuppose that governmental employment will not serve as a means for political tribute to maintain political parties and regimes. The prohibition of this section are intended to sustain these basic principles and precepts subject to certain qualifications which political necessities require to be made at certain levels of employment and office-holding. Absolutism in this area is neither necessary nor practicable for the fact is that political parties are essential parts of the democratic form of government in the United States. This section attempts to balance the public interest involved.
  2. All City officers, elected or appointed, and all City employees, civil service or non-civil service, and all officers and all employees of governmental agencies compensated with City funds, such as County officers and employees, are prohibited from demanding, soliciting, collecting or receiving from any person assessments, subscriptions or contributions for political purposes.
  3. Members of a political party or clubs are prohibited from demanding, soliciting, collecting or receiving from any civil service employee such assessments, subscriptions or contributions. This prohibition does not apply to elected and appointed officers and non-civil service employees because political realism and democratic traditions require that a line be drawn here.
  4. Voluntary contributions for political purposes are permitted to be made by civil service employees except that, because of the nature of their duties, policemen and firemen may not under any circumstances make any contributions for political purposes.
  5. Officers and employees, except officers running for re-election, must resign before becoming candidates for nomination or election to public office. This requirement is imposed because an officer or employee who is a candidate for elective office is in a position to influence unduly and to intimidate employees under his supervision and because he may neglect his official duties in the interest of his candidacy.
  6. The prohibitions of this section are phrased so that they may not be evaded by any indirect means whatsoever. Thus it is unlawful for a member of a political party to solicit advertisements from a civil service employee for a program or magazine the profits of which will inure to the benefit of a political party. It is likewise unlawful to sell tickets to a civil service employee for a dance or show benefiting a political party.
  7. Any person violating this section is subject to penalties of imprisonment, fine and, if he is an officer or employee, to removal from office or dismissal (Section 10-109) and ineligibility for a period of one year to holding office or any position under the City.

1. No person shall make any false statement, certificate, mark, rating or report with regard to any test, certification or appointment made under the civil service regulations or in any manner commit or attempt to commit any fraud preventing the impartial execution of such regulations.

2. No person shall, directly or indirectly, give, render, pay, offer, solicit or accept any money, service or other valuable consideration for or on account of any appointment, proposed appointment, promotion or proposed promotion to, or any advantage in, a position in the civil service.

3. No employee in the office of the Personnel Director, and no examiner, or other person shall defeat, deceive or obstruct any person in his right to examination, eligibility, certification or appointment under the civil service regulations or furnish to any person any special or secret information for the purpose of affecting the rights or prospects of any person with respect to employment in the civil service.

4. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section shall upon conviction, in addition to any penalties and punishment provided for hereafter, for a period of five years be ineligible for appointment to or employment in any position under the City.

ANNOTATION

• Sources: A Model State Civil Service Law, Section 20.

• Purposes: Civil service procedures are protected from fraudulent and dishonest practices by subjecting those who participate in such practices to penalties of fines and imprisonment (Section 10-109) and ineligibility for a period of five years for appointment to or employment in any City position.

ANNOTATION

• Sources: See Act of April 21, 1949, P.L. 665, Section 17.

• Purposes: The maximum penalties that can be imposed under the enabling legislation (see Act of April 21, 1949, P.L. 665, Section 17) are made applicable in cases of violation of Sections 10-100 to 10-108 inclusive because of the gravity of such offenses. In addition, if a violator is an elective or appointive officer of the City, he is to be immediately dismissed from his position and in certain instances he becomes ineligible for appointment to or employment in any City position. See Sections 10-107 and 10-108.

ANNOTATION

• Sources: Cf. Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Article III, Section 32, Article VII, Section 1. A Model State Civil Service Law, Section 18.

• Purposes: Neither the holding of a City office nor City employment are constitutionally guaranteed rights; they constitute privileges in return for which the City may exact reasonable obligations such as loyalty, trust and confidence. It would be incongruous to permit one holding a City office or position to obstruct any official inquiry, investigation or examination relating to the affairs of the City government or to the conduct of any City officer or employee on the ground of his personal right against self-incrimination. Under such circumstances the City cannot compel him to waive his constitutionally protected right but it may refuse him the privilege of holding office or employment under it.

1. No person shall be appointed or promoted to, or demoted or dismissed from, any position in the civil service, or in any way favored or discriminated against with respect to employment in the civil service because of his race, color, religion, national origin, political opinions or labor union activity lawful for municipal employees.
2. No officer or employee and no department, board or commission of the City shall in the exercise of his or its powers and the performance of his or its duties or in the granting of the use of City property discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion or national origin but this paragraph shall not prohibit the use of City property by any fraternal, religious or sectarian organization.

ANNOTATION

• Sources: As to subsection (1), A Model State Civil Service Law, Section 19(a).

• Purposes:
  1. The tradition and heritage of the United States, morally if not legally, preclude practices by governments or their officials of discrimination against any person because of his race, color, religion or national origin.
  2. As to discriminatory practices in the civil service, see Annotations to Sections 4-700 and 7-201.
  3. Consonant with the above policies, officers, employees and agencies of the City are prohibited from using their powers or performing their duties in such a manner as will discriminate against any person because of his race, color, religion or national origin. Thus, the injunction of this section prohibits any form of discrimination practices on City recreational facilities or in City hospitals and other institutions, in police practices, in inspection and licensing practices, and in the grant of or the refusal to grant the use of City property. An exception in the latter respect is necessarily made in the case of fraternal, religious or sectarian organizations. These examples illustrate the scope of the section and do not by any means constitute an exhaustive list of the types of discriminatory practices prohibited.
  4. See Sections 4-700 and 4-701 and Annotations thereto.