Isabel Garcia

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County employees soon could have to mind their p's and q's — and not just 9 to 5.

Pima County officials developed a change to the employee code of conduct that would penalize potentially embarrassing actions, even when they occur during private hours.

The proposal comes in the wake of complaints about county Legal Defender Isabel Garcia's actions at a July protest against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Garcia walked around holding the head of a piñata in Arpaio's likeness.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry found Garcia did not violate any county policies but suggested the county develop a policy for off-duty activities similar to those in place at many other local jurisdictions and private businesses.

The proposed policy addition is: Whether on or off duty, an employee shall conduct himself or herself in a manner that will not bring discredit or embarrassment to the county.

While Huckelberry asked that a policy be developed after the complaints about Garcia became public, he said he would not have handled the case any differently if this rule had been in place.

Garcia could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

The Merit Commission, the county's version of a civil service commission, has signed off on the new policy. The Human Resources Department asked for feedback — most of it so far has been neutral — and will send the policy to the Board of Supervisors for approval in the next month or two.

Huckelberry said the policy will be hard to enforce, but it's better to stake a philosophical position than not to.

"I hope it piques the conscience of all our employees," he said. "Our policy was silent on the matter of off-duty conduct. Being silent means you can do anything. But it will be difficult if not impossible to enforce."

Supervisor Ann Day, who called for an investigation into Garcia's actions, said she was pleased with the policy.

"I'm pleased to see it because I think the taxpayers have a certain expectation of public employees," she said. "It doesn't exceed the private sector standards, and it doesn't target anyone in particular."

But Supervisor Richard Elías said he feared the phrasing was so vague that the rule could be abused.

"What we've seen is most of these rules are very nebulous," he said. "I would hate to see that kind of rule applied for political purposes."

And Supervisor Ray Carroll, who has been critical of Garcia, said the definition of "embarrassing" is not always what it should be.

"I was more embarrassed by the navigable waters stuff than anything Isabel Garcia did," Carroll said, referring to an issue this summer in which staff sent letters to federal regulators that appeared to call for fewer protections for the Santa Cruz River. The Board of Supervisors later voted to ask for the highest levels of protection. "Staff behaved in a way that embarrassed the entire board, but (Huckelberry) found they did nothing wrong.

"All men would love to be tyrants, and this gives Chuck the opportunity to be the absolute tyrant."

Service Employees International Union President David Mitchell said he understands the county's concerns that employees be ethical in their private lives, but worries it could be applied to things like a provocative poem performed publicly or a cell-phone video posted without the employees' knowledge.

"It's poorly defined and leaves a lot of room for interpretation and potentially for a political perspective to hold sway," Mitchell said. "It opens the door to infringing on people's creative expression."