Complete Home & Office Legal Guide/Complete Home and Office Legal Guide (Chestnut) (1993).ISO/stat/fed/cfr2635b.asc

Text File | 1993-08-01 | 37KB | 751 lines

2635.105 Supplemental agency regulations.

 In addition to the regulations set forth in this part, an
employee shall comply with any supplemental agency regulations
issued by his employing agency under this section.

 (a) An agency that wishes to supplement this part shall
prepare and submit to the Office of Government Ethics, for its
concurrence and joint issuance, any agency regulations that
supplement the regulations contained in this part. Supplemental
agency regulations which the agency determines are necessary and
appropriate, in view of its programs and operations, to fulfill
the purposes of this part shall be:


 (1) In the form of a supplement to the regulations in this
part; and

 (2) In addition to the substantive provisions of this
part.

 (b) After concurrence and co-signature by the Office of
Government Ethics, the agency shall submit its supplemental
agency regulations to the Federal Register for publication and
codification at the expense of the agency in title 5 of the Code
of Federal Regulations. Supplemental agency regulations issued
under this section are effective only after concurrence and
co-signature by the Office of Government Ethics and publication
in the Federal Register.

 (c) This section applies to any supplemental agency
regulations or amendments thereof issued under this part. It does
not apply to:

 (1) A handbook or other issuance intended merely as an
explanation of the standards contained in this part or in
supplemental agency regulations;

 (2) An instruction or other issuance the purpose of which
is to:

 (i) Delegate to an agency designee authority to make any
determination, give any approval or take any other action
required or permitted by this part or by supplemental agency
regulations; or

 (ii) Establish internal agency procedures for documenting
or processing any determination, approval or other action
required or permitted by this part or by supplemental agency
regulations, or for retaining any such documentation; or

 (3) Regulations or instructions that an agency has
authority, independent of this part, to issue, such as
regulations implementing an agency's gift acceptance statute,
protecting categories of nonpublic information or establishing
standards for use of Government vehicles. Where the content of
any such regulations or instructions was included in the agency's
standards of conduct regulations issued pursuant to Executive
Order 11222 and the Office of Government Ethics concurs that they
need not be issued as part of an agency's supplemental agency
regulations, those regulations or instructions may be promulgated
separately from the agency's supplemental agency regulations.

2635.106 Disciplinary and corrective action.

 (a) Except as provided in 2635.107, a violation of this
part or
of supplemental agency regulations may be cause for appropriate
corrective or disciplinary action to be taken under applicable
Governmentwide regulations or agency procedures. Such action may
be in addition to any action or penalty prescribed by law.

 (b) It is the responsibility of the employing agency to
initiate appropriate disciplinary or corrective action in
individual cases. However, corrective action may be ordered or
disciplinary action recommended by the Director of the Office of
Government Ethics under the procedures at part 2638 of this
chapter.

 (c) A violation of this part or of supplemental agency
regulations, as such, does not create any right or benefit,
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any person
against the United States, its agencies, its officers or
employees, or any other person. Thus, for example, an individual
who alleges that an employee has failed to adhere to laws and
regulations that provide equal opportunity regardless of race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or handicap is
required to follow applicable statutory and regulatory
procedures, including those of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission.

2635.107 Ethics advice.

 (a) As required by 2638.201 and 2638.202(b) of this
chapter, each agency has a designated agency ethics official who,
on the agency's behalf, is responsible for coordinating and
managing the agency's ethics program, as well as an alternate.
The designated agency ethics official has authority under
2638.204 of this chapter to delegate certain responsibilities,
including that of providing ethics counseling regarding the
application of this part, to one or more deputy ethics officials.

 (b) Employees who have questions about the application of
this part or any supplemental agency regulations to particular
situations should seek advice from an agency ethics official.
Disciplinary action for violating this part or any supplemental
agency regulations will not be taken against an employee who has
engaged in conduct in good faith reliance upon the advice of an
agency ethics official, provided that the employee, in seeking
such advice, has made full disclosure of all relevant
circumstances. Where the employee's conduct violates a criminal
statute, reliance on the advice of an agency ethics official
cannot ensure that the employee will not be prosecuted under that
statute. However, good faith reliance on the advice of an agency
ethics official is a factor that may be taken into account by the
Department of Justice in the selection of cases for prosecution.
Disclosures made by an employee to an agency ethics official are
not protected by an attorney-client privilege. An agency ethics
official is required by 28 U.S.C. 535 to report any information
he receives relating to a violation of the criminal code, title
18 of the United States Code.

Subpart B -- Gifts From Outside Sources

2635.201 Overview.

 This subpart contains standards that prohibit an employee
from soliciting or accepting any gift from a prohibited source or
given because of the employee's official position unless the item
is excluded from the definition of a gift or falls within one of
the exceptions set forth in this subpart.

2635.202 General standards.

 (a) General prohibitions. Except as provided in this
subpart, an employee shall not, directly or indirectly, solicit
or accept a gift:

 (1) From a prohibited source; or

 (2) Given because of the employee's official position.

 (b) Relationship to illegal gratuities statute. Unless
accepted in violation of paragraph (c)(1) of this section, a gift
accepted under the standards set forth in this subpart shall not
constitute an illegal gratuity otherwise prohibited by 18 U.S.C.
201(c)(1)(B).

 (c) Limitations on use of exceptions. Notwithstanding any
exception provided in this subpart, other than 2635.204(j), an
employee shall not:

 (1) Accept a gift in return for being influenced in the
performance of an official act;

 (2) Solicit or coerce the offering of a gift;

 (3) Accept gifts from the same or different sources on a
basis so frequent that a reasonable person would be led to
believe the employee is using his public office for private gain;

 Example 1: A purchasing agent for a Veterans
Administration hospital routinely deals with representatives of
pharmaceutical manufacturers who provide information about new
company products. Because of his crowded calendar, the purchasing
agent has offered to meet with manufacturer representatives
during his lunch hours Tuesdays through Thursdays and the
representatives routinely arrive at the employee's office
bringing a sandwich and a soft drink for the employee. Even
though the market value of each of the lunches is less than $6
and the aggregate value from any one manufacturer does not exceed
the $50 aggregate limitation in 2635.204(a) on de minimis gifts
of $20 or less, the practice of accepting even these modest gifts
on a recurring basis is improper.

 (4) Accept a gift in violation of any statute. Relevant
statutes applicable to all employees include:

 (