INDIANAPOLIS (AP): A former Indiana Department of Education official took a job with a company involved in a $573,000 agreement he helped broker.

Documents obtained by the Associated Press show that former education department spokesman David Galvin is employed by N2N Services, which worked with AT&T to develop a web app for the state agency.

State employees are required to wait at least a year before working for a company they contract with, but documents show Galvin began working for the company two months after leaving the state job.

The state inspector general’s office informally urged Galvin to seek a formal ethics ruling, but he declined. Galvin says he followed legal guidance sought by Democratic state schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz’s office.

Watchdogs say the situation is an example of Indiana’s lax ethics laws.