U.S. Office Government Ethics
1201 New York Ave., NW
Suite 500
Washington, DC  20005-3917




                                   June 3, 2002
                                   DO-02-014


MEMORANDUM

TO:       Designated Agency Ethics Officials

FROM:     Marilyn L. Glynn
          General Counsel

SUBJECT:  Commencement of Officer or Employee Status for Purposes
          of Conflict of Interest Requirements


     This is to notify you of a recent opinion issued by the Office
of Legal Counsel (OLC), Department of Justice, concerning the issue
of when an individual becomes an officer or employee subject to the
Federal conflict of interest laws and regulations.  See Memorandum
of M. Edward Whelan III, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney
General, for Marilyn L. Glynn, General Counsel, Office of
Government Ethics, "Application of Conflict-of-Interest Rules To
Appointees Who Have Not Begun Service," May 8, 2002 (available on
OGE website under the "Other Ethics Guidance" category in the "Laws
and Regulations" section, at www.usoge.gov).

     The OLC opinion deals specifically with the question of
whether an individual becomes an officer or employee, for purposes
of the conflict of interest restrictions, upon appointment by the
President (after Senate confirmation).  OLC concluded that "the
conflict of interest rules do not apply by virtue of the
appointment alone but instead apply only after the appointee has
begun the duties of his office."  Id. at 1.  The opinion does not
specify how to determine when a given official has begun the duties
of his or her office, but states that such determinations "are
identical to . . . the routine determination of the time when the
official begins to accrue his salary."  Id. at 8.

_________________________________________________________

The OLC Opinion can be found at:

http://www.usoge.gov/pages/laws_regs_fedreg_stats/lrfs_files/othr_gdnc/olc_05_08_02.txt