All Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignees, whether on assignment to the Department of Energy (DOE) from non-Federal entities (incoming IPA assignees) or on assignment from DOE (outgoing IPA assignees), are subject to the same conflict-of-interest statutes and regulations as are other DOE employees. All incoming assignees must sign a “Conflict of Interest Certification,” which discusses these provisions.
- FINANCIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. Title 18, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 208(a), prohibits employees from participating personally and substantially in any particular matter in which the employee has a financial interest. For purpose of this statute, the interests of any of the following are attributed to the employee: the employee’s spouse, minor child, or general partner; any organization in which the employee is serving as officer, director, trustee, general partner, or employee; or any person or organization with whom the employee is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective employment.
- OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT. DOE regulations (Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 3301) provide that an employee who intends to engage in outside employment must obtain prior written approval of his or her immediate supervisor and the counselor (i.e., for headquarters employees, the Office of the Assistant General Counsel for General Law; for field employees, the field counsel).
Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (5 CFR 2635) restrict an employee’s outside activities. Subpart G prohibits the use of public office for private gain of friends, relatives, or persons (including nonprofit organizations) with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity, and prohibits the use of official time other than in an honest effort to perform official duties. Subpart H prohibits an employee from engaging in outside employment or any other outside activity that conflicts with his or her official duties and, with limited exceptions, prohibits any employee from receiving compensation from any source other than the Government for teaching, speaking, or writing that relates to the employee’s official duties. - REPRESENTING OTHERS TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. There are criminal statutes applicable Government wide that also affect DOE employees’ outside activities. Title 18 U.S.C. 203 and 205 prohibit an employee from representing, with or without compensation, any party other than the United States before any court, department, agency, or officer of the United States, in connection with any particular matter in which the United States is a party or has a direct and substantial interest. Therefore, employees are prohibited from contacting, discussing, or attending meetings with the Government on behalf of another where there is an adversarial context; that is, no contacts may be made about a matter in which the Government and the party on whose behalf the employee is acting have inconsistent or potentially inconsistent interests.
- POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. All employees are subject to criminal restrictions on soliciting political contributions. In addition, all employees, including DOE employees taking an IPA assignment outside of the Department, are prohibited from conducting political activity on Government property or during official time, using their official authority to interfere with or affect the result of an election, being a partisan candidate for public office, coercing fellow employees to engage in any political activity, and seeking to influence the political activity of persons doing business with the Department. Incoming assignees should seek additional guidance from the Office of the Assistant General Counsel for General Law before actively engaging in partisan political activity.
- POST-EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS. A criminal statute places a lifetime bar on anyone acting as another’s representative to the Government with respect to a particular matter involving a specific party in which he or she participated personally and substantially as a Government employee [18 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1)]. Other post-employment restrictions may apply, including procurement integrity restrictions, depending on the position, duties, and amount of compensation of the IPA assignee.
- FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS. All outgoing assignees are required to continue to file financial disclosure reports as they normally would in their Department position. All incoming assignees are required to file a Financial Disclosure Report prior to approval of the Assignment Agreement. All incoming IPA assignees are also required to file a Financial Disclosure Report during each year of the IPA assignments and prior to the approval of any extension of an incoming IPA assignment.
Those incoming IPA employees who are required to file a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) file a Report prior to the approval of the Assignment Agreement and any extension; and by February 15 of each year of the IPA assignment.
Those incoming IPA employees who are required to file a Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278) file a Report prior to the approval of the Assignment Agreement and any extension of the IPA assignment; by May 15 of each year of the IPA assignment; and within 30 days after termination of the IPA assignment.