State contractor fined $10K for misusing confidential info

This from the Office of State Ethics:

“Former Department of Social Services (DSS) contractor Craig J. Lubitski Consulting, LLC (CJLC) of East Hartford paid a penalty of $10,000 to resolve allegations that CJLC used confidential information gained from its work as a contractor for DSS for its own financial gain after the contract concluded.  Section 1-86e (b) prevents a state contractor from using confidential information gained in the performance of the contract for its own financial gain.

 

CJLC worked as a contractor for DSS from 2001 to July, 2013.  Part of DSS’ statutory mission is to establish rates of reimbursement for nursing homes and residential care facilities.  As a contractor, CJLC provided analyses that were used by DSS to establish rates of reimbursement. When the contract ended, CJLC began representing entities for which it had provided analyses to DSS by filing appeals with DSS challenging rates of reimbursement that it had helped establish while employed as a contractor.

 

The complaint alleged that CJLC, in challenging the reimbursements, used confidential information, such as internal notes, proprietary coding and data, and oral information received from its interactions with the state.

 

CJLC did not contest that it had acquired and had access to the state’s confidential information.  However, CJLC claimed it did not use any of the information in representing its private clients.

 

As part of the settlement, CJLC agreed to an injunction preventing it from challenging any of the rates it helped to establish, irrespective of whether it uses confidential information.”

 

“Confidential information that belongs to the state can’t be used by state contractors or by state employees, for that matter, for personal gain,” said Executive Director Carol Carson.