Filing Officer Guide for Completing Designated Filer Position Worksheet

Effective January 1, 2022, employees occupying designated positions (“designed filers”) identified in Sections 3.1-103(d) and 3.1-108 of the City’s Conflict of Interest Code will be required to file their Statement of Economic (Form 700) in electronic format. Beginning with that launch, all designated filers will use the internet-based Netfile e-filing system to submit statements. This is the same online system that has been used by Department Heads, elected officials, and board and commission members to file their statements since 2014. The current paper-based filing process will be eliminated, making it easier for filers to submit filings online, increase filing efficiency for departments, and improve public access to reportable information once the filer’s disclosure statement is submitted.

To transition all positions currently identified in departmental Conflict of Interest Codes into the Commission’s Netfile e-filing system and match them with departments’ Form 700 filers as indicated in the City’s People & Pay system, the Ethics Commission is reaching out to all departments to confirm the names of the positions designated to file as they appear in the Code and to confirm the names of the individuals who occupy those positions and are therefore required to file a Form 700 under the law.

In preparation for this transition the Ethics Commission partnered with the Controller’s Office and Department of Human Resources to obtain an initial list of each department’s Form 700 filers as shown in the City’s People & Pay system. Department Filing Officers have been provided a worksheet containing their department’s listed Form 700 filers. Once confirmed by departments and returned to the Ethics Commission, the Commission transition that filer information by way of a “bulk” import of filers into the e-filing system. This approach is designed to ease the administrative burden on Filing Officers during the initial transition process by avoiding the need to have each Filing Officer manually enter that information into the e-filing system. After this initial import, Filing Officers will need to maintain a list of active filers in the system as employees assume or leave office.

To ensure the accurate migration of all designated filers into the new system can be completed as necessary for the January launch, the Ethics Commission is asking each Department to confirm their Form 700 Filers no later than September 15, 2021.

General Reminders

Departments that do not complete this filer confirmation process by September 15th will be unable to take advantage of the bulk import of filer data and instead will need to manually enter each of their designated filers directly into the Netfile system after that time.
Department Heads and Filing Officers may wish to consult with their departmental HR staff and/or City Attorney with any questions about positions or disclosure categories designated in their department’s Conflict of Interests Code listings.
For questions and support requests Departments are encouraged to contact the Ethics Commission’s Form 700 e-filing team by completing the support request that appears at the end of this Guide.

Worksheet Review Instructions

When you first open the Excel Worksheet, you are presented with the instructions sheet, which contains a brief summary of this guide. The Excel worksheet is comprised of two tabs that need to be reviewed/completed – one to provide contact information and a second that lists designated filers to be reviewed and confirmed by the Department.

Tab: Contact Info

Section I requests contact information for the person completing the Worksheet. This information will be used by Ethics Commission staff in case there are any follow up questions.
Section II asks for departmental information. The information requested here will be used as the default information in the e-filing system for the department’s designated filers.

Tab: Filer List

How to Review Your Filer List

Columns A and B: The list of individuals listed on your departmental Filer List worksheet are those who are identified in People & Pay system as occupying a position that is designated in your department’s Conflict of Interest Code list of designated filers.

Columns C and D: These columns identify the sfgov.org email address and Disaster Service Work (DSW) number assigned in People & Pay to each individual listed.

How to Identify Filer Positions

For many departments, the name of the employee’s job classification in People & Pay does not necessarily match the employee’s working title as may be designated in the City’s Conflict of Interest (COI) code. On the Filer List spreadsheet, you will need to match the employee with the correct position as it is titled in the COI. Once matched with the correct title, the spreadsheet will automatically determine the employee’s correct disclosure category.

Column E: From the dropdown options in this column, select the name of the position for each filer as it appears in the COI Code for your department.
Column F: The worksheet will automatically look up the disclosure category associated with the position selected in Column E and fill this column.

How to Make Corrections for Filers

If you need to make any corrections for a filer, indicate the type of correction in the dropdown menu options of column G and then provide notes for the corrections in column H.

Instructions for specific corrections:

Name or Email corrections – If a filer’s name and/or email is incorrect, provide the updated information in the appropriate columns A to C.
New title with Same Job Duties – This case applies when a filer’s position name has changed and their new position is not titled correctly in the COI code, but the filer is performing the same job duties as in their previous position. In this case, pick the filer’s original position name in Column E, then note the new position name in Column H.
Position name not in COI code – If a filer’s position name is not in the dropdown menu options and the previous scenario does not apply, pick this correction and move on to the next filer. Filers with Positions not appearing in the COI code will not be imported into the e-filing system until after those positions are added in the code during the next biennial code review.
Other corrections – Provide a brief note of the correction if none of the above applies. Some example of other corrections may be filer has left the position/department, or if you do not recognize the filer.

Adding missing filers

The list of designated filers for a department is obtained from the People & Pay system, which may not be up to date. If you need to add missing filers from your roster, add them in the extra rows provided under the list of identified filers. You must fill out columns A to E for each new filer added. If the missing filers are not added to this list, they will need to be manually entered into the e-filing system once that system is live.

FAQs

What is the source of the list of filers in the spreadsheet?

On August 5, 2019, DHR sent a directive to all departmental personnel officers that DHR would now require departments to flag positions that are designated Form 700 filers in the People and Pay system. Existing positions were required to be flagged no later than August 23, 2019. Employees in flagged positions will appear in the spreadsheet provided to departments. Employees that are required to file Form 700 that are in positions that were not flagged in People & Pay will need to be added to the spreadsheet.

What if a filer’s title in the code needs to be corrected?

You should only provide a title correction if the filer performs the same duties as the title specified in the code under that new title. See instructions above for New title with Same Job Duties.

Employees with positions that are not specified in the COI code are not required to e-file until their positions are added to the Code. A Biennial Code Review process is required under state law every two years and will take place next in 2022. Departments should plan to update their Codes accordingly through that process, which will follow the April 2022 Annual Form 700 Filing process. See instructions above for Position name not in COI code.

What if a filer is in an acting position?

If a filer is in an acting position, pick the position title in the COI code that matches the title of the permanent position.

What if my department has multiple Filing Officers? Who should complete this worksheet for my department?

The individual with primary responsibility for your department’s day to day Filing Officer duties should complete and return this worksheet to the Ethics Commission. While a department may have multiple individuals handling their department’s internal review of a subset or division of filers, the Netfile import process must group Form 700 filers by their department codes, so the information provided to Ethics should reflect a single consolidated set of departmental data. For departments with sub-departments as identified in the COI code, the Ethics Commission will accept partially completed worksheets from each sub-department.

What do I do if my list does not have any employees?

If you receive a spreadsheet with no pre-filled filers, you belong to one of the departments with no identified employees within the People & Pay system, but has designated positions as outlined in the Conflict of Interest code. Please provide the full list of filers in your record along with their position names by following the “Adding Missing Filers” instructions above.

What do I do if a filer needs to be added after the spreadsheet is finalized?

Completing this spreadsheet is a one-time opportunity for departments to import current designated filers into Netfile’s database. After the import is finalized, filing officers will have to add the new filers directly on Netfile when the Form 700 system is live. Further instructions for adding filers to Netfile will be provided to filing officers after the initial import is complete.

What is the purpose of the information in columns I to P?

Those columns appear for reference only and will not be imported into the e-filing system. They are shown only to potentially help you identify filers. You are not required to update those columns or fill them out for added filers.

What do I do if I need assistance with completing the spreadsheet for my department?

Use the link below or click here to open a support ticket. Ethics Commission staff will reach out to you to assist you with this process.