The following are ways staff may fulfill their annual ethics training requirement for 2009:
New Employees
(This includes a former employee who returns to House employment after a gap of more than 60 consecutive calendar days, as well as interns who are paid for more than 60 days.)
- ALL new employees must attend training within the first 60 days of House employment.
New employees who work in the Capitol Hill offices must attend a live ethics training briefing. (Click here to view the calendar of upcoming training sessions.)
Note: Detailees, fellows, unpaid interns, or any individuals who are employed by the House and paid for less than 60 days are not required to attend ethics training in 2009.
Existing employees – All existing employees who are not "new" employees must take one hour of ethics training during calendar year 2009. There are three options for fulfilling this training requirement:
- Attending a live training session on "gifts" or other general ethics topics (Click here to view the calendar of upcoming events);
- Watching a training video on HouseNet regarding on Gifts and Travel, Campaign Activity, or other general ethics topics; or
- Completing one of the training modules on HouseNet, which are interactive quizzes on topics such as gifts and travel or general ethics rules.
Senior Staff – "Senior staff" refers to any employee paid at the senior staff level, which is $117,787 or more for calendar year 2009. In general, senior staff employees are required to complete two ethics trainings in order to satisfy the Committee's training requirement.
- Watching the "senior staff" training video available on HouseNet; or
- Attending a live "senior staff" or "financial disclosure" training session. (View the calendar.)
Note: Senior staff employees who completed a second hour of specialized "senior staff" training during the 110th Congress are required to take an additional hour of specialized "senior staff" training before the end of the 111th Congress.
Documenting Your Training Attendance
For live training sessions: (1) Sign-in at the start of the training; and (2) remain for the entire session. Any employee who attends a live training session but fails to sign-in on the attendance sheet or leaves before the hour is completed will not be given credit towards the ethics training requirement. No additional paperwork or forms are required for individual attendance to certify attendance at live sessions.
For online ethics programs: (1) Fill-out the certificate of completion available after completing the online video or training module; (2) have it signed by your staff supervisor (e.g., chief of staff or district director); and (3) fax it to the Standards Committee at (202) 225-7392 as soon as possible following completion of the training. Shared staff (i.e., individuals who work for more than one House Member or committee) should indicate on their form each office for which they work, but only one supervisor's signature is required.
The calendar of upcoming live training sessions for 2009 is available here.
Questions about any aspect of the ethics training requirement should be directed to the Committee staff at (202) 225-7103.
Forms to Certify Ethics Training
New District Staff Ethics Training Certification
New Senior Staff Ethics Training Certification
Existing Staff 2009 Ethics Training Video Certification Form
Once completed, fax all forms to the Standards Committee at (202) 225-7392. |