A state employee engaged in secondary employment during hours he was officially on state duty, the Ohio Inspector General’s Office has found.
According to the finding, Matthew L. Westerman, a deputy legal counsel for the Department of Natural Resources, also held a secondary consulting role with MCS & Associates.
Investigators discovered that he continued working as a legal consultant while on active state duty. The probe found that this conduct violated state policies meant to prevent conflicts of interest and misuse of public resources.
The report said that Westerman “used state‑issued email, computer equipment and OneDrive storage to perform work-related activities for his private employer,” constituting clear violations of ODNR’s secondary‑employment policy. That policy explicitly prohibits any work for outside companies on state time or using state technology, even if the secondary job is approved.
Investigators found that while Westerman had initially filed a secondary‑employment application in March 2022 and received approval in July, there is no evidence he re-submitted the form for 2023 or 2024 as required.
“Employees must re‑submit the application whenever there is any change in classification,” and “approved applications are valid for one year and must be renewed annually.” Without current approval, any continued outside work was automatically in violation.
Further scrutiny of Westerman’s state‑issued laptop, OneDrive, and email logs revealed several instances of non‑state work. In one particularly notable example, he used his ODNR-issued email to solicit project information from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission related to a contract being handled by the Ohio Attorney General’s office, though ODNR was not involved in that project. Investigators flagged this as a misuse of state resources.
Inspector General officials emphasized that the policy is clear: “No employee shall perform any work related to the secondary employer while on state premises.” The policy goes on to prohibit even remote work using state equipment or during state work hours.
The Inspector General’s report did not include any direct statements or response from Westerman. However, agency officials involved in the investigation noted that Westerman had been counseled in a June 16, 2022, meeting.
As ODNR Legal Division Chief Damian Sikora recounted, Westerman was told: “you need to pull yourself away when you’re doing secondary employment. It needs to be separate”.
Despite this warning, investigators found ongoing work for Westerman’s private employer using state resources. The extent of that ongoing work remains unclear.
The Inspector General’s office is expected to recommend disciplinary measures consistent with state ethics law, which could include termination. The report will also be forwarded to other state oversight bodies, including the Ohio Ethics Commission.
Meanwhile, DODD and ODNR are reviewing internal controls and training procedures. According to the report, ODNR planned to roll out reminder communications to all staff highlighting secondary employment deadlines and compliance procedures.
Under Ohio Revised Code §102.03(D), public employees may hold outside jobs so long as they do not use public time, resources, or influence for personal gain. ODNR policies echo this: employees may not use state facilities or equipment in secondary roles, nor may they solicit clients using their state position or title.
