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Office of The Assistant General Counsel for Administration
Employment and Labor Law Division | Ethics Law and Programs Division | General Law Division
Welcome to the Ethics Law and Programs Division
The Ethics Law and Programs Division staff of the Office of the Assistant General Counsel
for Administration is responsible for providing advice to Department of
Commerce employees regarding conflict of interest statutes, ethics regulations,
and related laws, including those concerning restrictions on engaging
in some political activities and on gifts to the Department and to Commerce
agencies. To ensure that advisory services are readily available, an attorney
is assigned each day to answer telephone questions and e-mail inquiries
to the Ethics Law and Programs Division.
The Division is also responsible for operating the Department’s financial disclosure program, through which reports are collected from employees and reviewed to identify potential conflicts of interest, and ethics training program, under which briefings are provided to employees on ethics statutes, regulations, and policies.
Statutes and Regulations
Department of Commerce employees are subject to conflict of interest
statutes, 18 U.S.C. §§ 201-203, 205, 207-209, and the Standards
of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, 5 C.F.R. Part
2635. Subjects covered by these rules include financial conflicts of interest,
appearance problems created by personal relationships, gifts, non-Federal
employment and outside activities, misuse of Government resources, and
post-employment restrictions. Employees are also subject to a statute,
the Hatch Act, regarding restrictions on engaging in certain political
activities.
Financial Disclosure Reports
Employees in senior positions, including procurement officials,
are required to file a financial disclosure report, in which the employee
provides information regarding financial interests, sources of income,
liabilities, gifts received, and non-Federal positions held. Some reports
are available to the public (SF 278s); others are confidential (OGE Form
450). All are reviewed by the Ethics Law and Programs Division staff to identify potential
conflicts and to advise employees on corrective measures.
Links
On the right side of the page are a series of links to ethics forms (and
instructions) and to ethics rules.
There are links to the most commonly used forms, including those for
satisfying the public (SF 278) and the confidential (OGE Form 450 and OGE
Form 450-A) financial disclosure requirements, as well as instructions for
completing those forms properly. In
addition to those instructions, you may also seek guidance on how to complete
a form from a member of the Ethics Law and Programs Division staff at
202-482-5384 or by sending an e-mail to ethicsdivision@doc.gov. There are also links to the forms used to
record official gifts and gifts from foreign governments – CD 210 (used
for all official gifts except those from foreign governments
), SF 326 (used in addition to the CD 210 for travel gifts), and CD
342 (used for official and personal gifts from foreign governments)–and
forms for seeking guidance regarding travel gifts and to document supervisory
approval for accepting invitations to widely-attended events. Prior to seeking such approval, employees
should obtain a determination from the Ethics Law and Programs Division that
a particular event qualifies as widely-attended.
The series of links to ethics rules include both general summaries of Federal ethics statutes and regulations (Standards of Conduct and Summary of Ethics Rules) as well as guidance for specific types of employee who are subject to different or additional ethics rules (Fishery Management Council members, Fishery Management Council staff, International Trade Administration (ITA) locally-hired employees overseas, and ITA Commercial Service officers overseas) or who are subject to a different application of ethics rules (Special Government Employees). There also are links to summaries that focus on ethics rules related to specific topics, such as gifts, political activities, and seeking employment and post-employment activities. These summaries are intended to provide general guidance and cover common questions. They do not cover all potential situations or questions that may arise with respect to these topics. The Ethics Law and Programs Division staff welcomes your questions to the telephone number or e-mail address listed above about the application of these and other ethics rules to specific situations.
