Summary

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Ethics Program to determine whether the program complied with statutory requirements and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regulations.

GAO found that: (1) although the program generally complied with Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requirements, DOJ did not periodically evaluate it or provide training for all of its departments; (2) program implementation procedures varied because DOJ gave each department considerable discretion in administering the program; and (3) DOJ developed standards of conduct for current and former employees and disciplinary measures for unethical conduct. GAO also found that DOJ: (1) did not implement a requirement that it maintain status reports on all employees required to file public financial disclosure reports; (2) was the only agency that did not require its employees to file confidential financial reports because it believed that it lacked legal authority to require such reports; (3) seldom identified conflicts of interest requiring remedial actions from its reviews of disclosure statements; and (4) failed to require departmentwide ethics training for its employees.