United States Office of Government Ethics, Preventing Conflicts of Interest in the Executive Branch

Post-Government Employment

An executive branch employee’s experience and expertise may make the employee attractive to a private sector employer. If the employee is seeking post-Government employment and the employee’s Government work offers the opportunity to benefit a potential employer, the public may be concerned that the employee will do that work in a way that favors the prospective employer. After leaving Government, a former executive branch employee could make unfair use of prior Government employment to influence Government action on behalf of another person or organization. Accordingly:

  • An employee may be disqualified from working on a particular Government matter while seeking post-Government employment; and 
  • A former employee is prohibited from engaging in certain activities after leaving Government service.
Before Leaving Government
In general, an executive branch employee is free to seek post-Government employment, but the employee may need to be disqualified from working on some Government matters while doing so.

After Leaving Government
An executive branch employee may be affected by conflict of interest restrictions after leaving Government service (or after leaving certain high-level positions).