NRC INSPECTION MANUAL IRIB

INSPECTION MANUAL CHAPTER 1201

CONDUCT OF EMPLOYEES

Effective Date: 07/29/2016
Issue Date: 07/29/16 i 1201

Table of Contents

1201-01 PURPOSE .........................................................................................................1

1201-02 OBJECTIVE.......................................................................................................1

1201-03 APPLICABILITY.................................................................................................1

1201-04 RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITIES ........................................................1

1201-05 BACKGROUND AND GENERAL POLICY ........................................................2

1201-06 ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS, ENTERTAINMENT, AND FAVORS.......................2

1201-07 PERSONAL CONDUCT.....................................................................................2

1201-08 ACTIVITIES AT THE PLANT AND OTHER LICENSEE FACILITIES................4

1201-09 NRC EMPLOYEES RESIDING NEAR LICENSED POWER REACTOR 

FACILITIES........................................................................................................5

1201-10 NRC RESIDENT STAFF....................................................................................7

1201-11 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................7
Issue Date: 07/29/16 1 1201

1201-01 PURPOSE

To provide a standard of conduct that must be followed by Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

(NRC) employees who are involved in the inspection program.

1201-02 OBJECTIVE

To advise agency employees of NRC management policies regarding conduct of employees.

1201-03 APPLICABILITY

This instruction applies to NRC employees who are involved in inspections. Involvement in 

inspections includes all aspects of inspection and all activities in direct support or supervision 

of inspection, including the activities of administrative and clerical personnel directly interacting 

with a licensee.

1201-04 RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITIES

04.01 Regional Administrators and Office Directors

a. Implement the policies contained in this manual chapter. 

b. Grant waivers from the policies contained in this manual chapter when justified by the 

facts of a particular case or situation, but only to the extent that such waivers are 

consistent with government-wide standards of conduct regulations (5 CFR 2635 and 

Management Directive 7.9).

c. Document any waivers from policies made pursuant to 04.01.b, above. 

04.02 Employees Involved in the Inspection Process

a. Be familiar with the policies contained in this manual chapter and comply with the 

policies. 

b. Consult with their supervisor, the Regional Counsel, or an Office of the General 

Counsel (OGC) Deputy Ethics Counsel regarding any questions or problems related to 

situations or activities involving conduct of employees or conflict of interest as 

described in this manual chapter.
Issue Date: 07/29/16 2 1201

1201-05 BACKGROUND AND GENERAL POLICY

Government-wide standards of conduct regulations issued by the Office of Government Ethics 

(OGE) set forth standards governing receipt of gifts and favors, outside employment, 

conflicting financial interests, the use of government property, future employment, the misuse 

of information, indebtedness, and other matters. Every NRC employee is responsible for 

knowing and understanding the Federal and NRC ethics rules. These rules which include the 

government-wide Standards of Conduct regulations (5 CFR 2635), the criminal statutes 

(18 USC 201-209, 216), the Hatch Act (5 USC 7321), and the NRC supplemental regulations 

(5 CFR 5801). These laws and regulations can be found on the internal NRC Ethics Website 

along with management directives on ethics, financial disclosure reports, ethics training 

materials, and informational articles (http://drupal.nrc.gov/ogc/nrc-ethics). A detailed summary 

of the Standards of Conduct regulations was issued by OGC as a Yellow Announcement

(http://www.internal.nrc.gov/announcements/yellow/2009/2009-129.html). The public NRC 

Website contains a summary of the ethics rules (http://drupal.nrc.gov/ogc/nrc-ethics). OGC 

Ethics Counselors and the Regional Counsels provide advice, assistance, and counseling on 

matters and issued covered by these rules. Employees are urged to contact

(http://drupal.nrc.gov/ogc/nrc-ethics) an Ethics Counselor or the Regional Counsel to discuss 

questions and concerns regarding these requirements.

Employees must be attentive to the high standards of integrity expected in all their activities, 

personal or official, and conduct themselves in a manner to create and maintain public respect 

for the NRC and the U. S. Government. Accordingly, this instruction establishes management 

policies for situations which are not specifically addressed in the standards of conduct 

regulations. All cases of actual or potential conflicts of interest or situations which might lead 

to the appearance of a conflict of interest must be discussed with the employee's immediate 

supervisor.

1201-06 ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS, ENTERTAINMENT, AND FAVORS

The standards of conduct regulations contained in 5 CFR 2635 provide detailed guidance to 

agency employees on the acceptance of gifts, entertainment, and favors from outside sources. 

A summary of the ethics rules on gifts can be found in Yellow Announcement No. 129, issued 

on December 18, 2009.

1201-07 PERSONAL CONDUCT

07.01 Policy. NRC employees shall maintain high standards of integrity in all their activities, 

personal and official, and conduct themselves in a manner to create and maintain public

respect for the NRC and the U.S. Government.
Issue Date: 07/29/16 3 1201

 Alcohol and Illegal Drugs. Employees must control their off-hours activities so that their 

ability to perform assigned duties is not impaired during duty hours.

1. Illegal drugs shall not be used, possessed, or transported.

2. In order to ensure that employees are not impaired to perform their duties, alcohol 

will not be consumed during working hours or within 5 hours preceding any 

scheduled working hours at licensee or other non-NRC facilities when the employee 

expects to be involved in any direct official contact with a licensee representative. 

This includes lunch or other times when return to the facility is expected after a 

short time.

3. Individuals are not to enter any licensee's protected area or other facility if there are 

any lingering effects of alcohol consumption.

4. While at a licensee site or facility, employees must comply with any additional 

policies of the licensee that restrict the use, storage, or transportation of alcohol. In 

some cases, possession of alcohol at an on-site parking lot, even if locked in the 

trunk of a car, would be a violation of licensee policies.

 Official Business and Personal Relationships. Employees shall not conduct any 

business activity or perform official travel that is primarily a means to continue a 

friendship or social activity.

 Business Partnerships with Licensees. Employees are prohibited from entering into or 

maintaining any partnerships or shared ownership arrangements with an employee of a 

licensee or its contractors in any vacation property, pleasure boats, aircraft, or any 

other recreation or business activity. Where such arrangements were entered into 

before one of the involved individuals became an employee of a licensee or its 

contractors or the NRC, the NRC employee must discuss the matter in detail with his or 

her supervisor.

 Work Habits and Professional Demeanor. It is imperative that NRC employees conduct 

themselves in a professional manner. Employees must demonstrate, by their actions 

and demeanor, that as Federal employees they are committed to give the public full 

value of their services by putting in a full day. In addition, employees are to be aware 

that inappropriate behavior, both during and outside of working hours, can discredit 

both the individual and the NRC.

 Avoidance of Appearances of Loss of Impartiality. The standards of conduct 

regulations provide that employees take appropriate steps to avoid even an 

appearance of loss of impartiality in the performance of their official duties. Employees 

concerned that certain circumstances would raise a question of their impartiality will 

use the process described in 5 CFR 2635.502 to determine whether they should 

participate in a particular matter. Pursuant to this regulation:
Issue Date: 07/29/16 4 1201

1. Employees are to inform their immediate supervisor of a friendship with a licensee 

employee who is authorized to speak for licensee management. Friends may 

include former NRC employees, classmates, or acquaintances. The supervisor 

shall determine whether the friendship warrants initiating the process in 

5 CFR 2635.502 to determine whether the employee is to be disqualified from 

participating in inspections or other matters that could directly and predictably affect 

the financial interest of the licensee.

2. Although 5 CFR 2635.502 does not specifically address dating, the NRC policy is 

that NRC employees shall not date employees of those licensees or their 

contractors for which the employee has inspection responsibilities. The employee's 

Office Director or Regional Administrator may waive this prohibition upon a 

determination a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts would not 

question the NRC employee's impartiality.

3. Employees are to inform their immediate supervisor of any longstanding close 

social or familial relationships that could create an appearance of loss of 

impartiality. The supervisor shall determine whether the relationship warrants 

initiating the process in 5 CFR 2635.502 to determine whether the employee should 

be disqualified from participating in inspections or other matters that could directly 

and predictably affect the financial interest of the individual with whom the 

employee has such a relationship or the employer of that individual. However, it 

should be emphasized that management policies are not intended to prohibit the 

continuation of pre-existing friendships.

07.02 Guidance. The following employee activities could result in a loss of impartiality in the 

performance of official duties under certain circumstances or a violation of the standards of 

conduct regulations, which prohibit employee acceptance of gifts from prohibited sources that 

exceed $20 in value per occasion or $50 in value during a calendar year:

a. Accepting transportation from a licensee.

b. Attending in-plant parties or neighborhood social functions where attendance is 

essentially limited to licensee or contractor employees.

c. Participating in licensee or contractor sponsored activities, such as dances, ski clubs, 

travel clubs, licensee-sponsored team sports, and other employee association 

functions.

1201-08 ACTIVITIES AT THE PLANT AND OTHER LICENSEE FACILITIES

08.01 Policy

a. Coffee Clubs. Employees may join informal coffee clubs at the plant.
Issue Date: 07/29/16 5 1201

b. Cafeterias. Employees may utilize a facility cafeteria not reserved for management 

personnel provided they pay the normally charged prices.

c. Credit Unions. Employees and their families may join a credit union associated with a 

licensee or a contractor.

1201-09 NRC EMPLOYEES RESIDING NEAR LICENSED POWER REACTOR 

FACILITIES

09.01 Applicability. This section, 1201-09, applies to NRC employees who have involvement 

in the inspection program of a power reactor licensee and also live near a licensed power 

reactor operated or being constructed by that licensee.

09.02 Policy.

a. Property. NRC employees shall not buy, lease, or rent property from, or sell property 

to, a licensee or a licensee contractor. This restriction is not intended to exclude the 

purchase, lease, or rental of property from an individual employee of a licensee or its 

contractors nor the sale of property to such an employee. Such property must be 

available for general sale at a fair market value and purchased or sold through normal 

means, such as through a real estate agency or through newspaper advertising.

b. Neighborhood Relationships

1. Carpooling to provide transportation for neighborhood children to Scouts, Little 

League events, church or social youth group meetings, and similar activities is 

permissible. When licensee or contractor families are involved, NRC employees 

and their families are encouraged to provide their fair share of the transportation.

2. An NRC inspector may have occasion to inspect a neighbor's activities at the 

reactor site. This is acceptable for routine items. However, if it involves critical 

evaluations or allegations, the inspector is to inform his or her supervisor.

c. Community Activities

1. NRC employees and their families may be involved in normal charitable 

solicitations such as American Cancer Society, Red Cross, etc. within their 

neighborhoods. They may solicit contributions from local residents who may be 

employees of the licensee and its contractors provided that the solicitation is not 

targeted at licensee employees and there is no mention of affiliation with the NRC. 

They shall not solicit contributions on licensee property and shall not directly solicit 

contributions from the licensee or a licensee contractor as a corporate entity.
Issue Date: 07/29/16 6 1201

2. NRC employees and their families can join community or social clubs provided that 

such organizations are not limited to licensee or contractor employees, and 

provided that the NRC employees and their families obtain admission through 

normal channels, are not sponsored by licensee or licensee contractor employees, 

and pay their own way if there is an entry fee or dues.

3. Church and church-sponsored spiritual activities are not restricted regardless of 

the extent of participation of licensee or contractor employees and their families.

4. NRC employees and their families may participate in political activities to the 

extent permitted by the Hatch Act (5 USC 7321). Agency policy on political 

activities can be found in Management Directive 7.10.

d. Employment by Spouse and Children. As a general rule, spouses and dependent 

children of NRC employees having involvement in the inspection program of the 

licensee shall not accept employment with the licensee, its contractors, or on-site 

subcontractors at the same facility where the NRC employee has duties related to the 

inspection program.

As a general rule, the resident inspection office shall not hire an individual whose 

spouse is employed at the same facility by the licensee, one of its contractors, or an 

on-site subcontractor.

Under 1201-04.01, the Regional Administrator is authorized to grant waivers from these 

policies.

The more common situations involve licensee employment of the spouse of an 

individual whom the resident inspection office wishes to hire as an office resident 

assistant. In such cases, the duties of both the NRC employee and the spouse must 

be considered to ensure that potential conflicts of interest are minimized. It might be 

necessary, for example, to restrict the activities of an office resident assistant so that 

the employee is not permitted to type inspection reports or inspection plans involving 

work within the scope of the spouse's employment.

A much more difficult situation can arise if the spouse of the resident inspector wishes 

to accept employment with the licensee, one of its contractors, or an on-site 

subcontractor. Depending on the position to be held by the spouse, there could be an 

apparent or real conflict of interest. For example, there is a significant difference 

between a spouse being employed as a plant cafeteria worker and one being employed 

as a secretary to the plant manager. The issue is whether a resident inspector might 

consciously or subconsciously color his or her findings to ensure that the spouse would 

continue employment and, consequently, continue to add to family income. The 

Regional Administrator must use great care in resolving such cases.
Issue Date: 07/29/16 7 1201

1201-10 NRC RESIDENT STAFF

10.01 Applicability. This section, 1201-10, applies to NRC resident inspectors assigned to 

power reactor and fuel enrichment facilities.

10.02 Policy

a. Use of Pagers and/or Cellular Phones. Pagers and or cellular phones are frequently 

made available to RI staff and others who provide site coverage and may be required 

to respond to events. These devices serve as a means to expedite communications 

and potentially minimize response time to an event. Consistent with this purpose, 

carrying pagers and cellular phones does not impose additional responsibility or 

restrictions for the individual. As the current guidance indicates, there should be no 

additional restrictions on personal activity when off duty while carrying a pager or 

phone, except, if called upon by the region, the resident inspector must make 

management aware of any fitness-for-duty limitations and response time capability.

b. Respirators. The region should, as a minimum, maintain the status of inspection, 

radiological, and respirator qualifications for each inspector fulfilling an emergency 

response role. Note that IMC 1245, “Qualification Program for Operating Reactor 

Programs” does not require inspectors to be respirator qualified. However, in rare 

instances of incident response that necessitates respirator qualification, the Regional 

Administrator can require an inspector to shave facial hair in order to fulfill the 

emergency response role.

c. Response Time. Resident inspectors are not required to establish residence within any 

specific distance of a site, nor is there a specific requirement regarding response time 

to a site that would reasonably affect the choice of personal residence within these 

guidelines. "Emergency Response Resource Guide," NUREG 1442, establishes the 

expected time for an NRC representative to arrive on site in response to an emergency 

as 2 to 8 hours. The regions should be cognizant of response capability and 

coordinate appropriately when resident inspectors are away from the site for extended 

periods.

1201-11 REFERENCES

SUMMARY OF STANDARDS OF EMPLOYEE CONDUCT REGULATIONS

5 CFR 2635 (http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/employment/ethics/summary-of-conductregs09.pdf)

Yellow Announcement No. 129, issued on December 18, 2009

IMC 1245, “Qualification Program for Operating Reactor Programs”

NUREG 1442, "Emergency Response Resource Guide"

5 CFR 2635, Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch
Issue Date: 07/29/16 8 1201

5 CFR 5801, Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission

5 USC 7321, Political Activities (Hatch Act)

18 USC 201-209, 216, Selected Provisions of the Conflict of Interest Laws

Management Directive 7.9, “Ethics Approvals and Waivers” 

(http://www.internal.nrc.gov/ADM/DAS/cag/mandirs/mdcat.html)

Management Directive 7.10, “Political Activity”

(http://www.internal.nrc.gov/ADM/DAS/cag/mandirs/mdcat.html)

(http://drupal.nrc.gov/ogc/nrc-ethics)

END
Issue Date: 07/29/16 Att 1 - 1 1201

Attachment 1 – Revision History for IMC 1201

Commitment 

Tracking 

Number

Accession 

Number

Issue Date

Change Notice

Description of Change Description of 

Training Required

and Completion 

Date

Comment and 

Feedback Resolution 

Accession Number

07/23/90 Initial issuance to provide a standard of conduct 

to be followed by employees of NRR, NMSS, 

AEOD, OE, and the Regional offices in their 

relationships with licensees, licensee 

contractors and vendors, and applicants for an 

NRC license or construction permit. The 

instruction contains NRC management policies 

that supplement the standards contained in 10 

CFR Part 0.

01/23/91 Revised to change the statement in Section 

1201-07.01.c.2 from "alcohol shall not be 

consumed." to "alcohol should not be 

consumed.." In addition, an introductory clause 

was added to explain that such action is for the 

purpose of ensuring that employees are not 

impaired to perform their duties

12/27/94 Revised to eliminate many of the restrictions 

contained in the previous manual chapter and 

reflects the standards of conduct issued by the 

office of government ethics (OGE). In addition, 

the manual chapter includes as appendices two 

important employee announcements dealing 

with ethics related matters.
Issue Date: 07/29/16 Att 1 - 2 1201

Commitment 

Tracking 

Number

Accession 

Number

Issue Date

Change Notice

Description of Change Description of 

Training Required

and Completion 

Date

Comment and 

Feedback Resolution 

Accession Number

N/A 06/29/99

CN 99-010

Has been revised to provide clarification of the 

Agency's guidance for the resident inspector 

program as specified in the October 13, 1998 

memorandum from the Deputy Executive 

Director for Regulatory Programs entitled 

"Resolution of Long-Standing Concerns 

Associated with the Resident Inspector 

Program." The areas clarified included the 

resident's use of pager and/or cell phones, 

response time to events at the plant, time in the 

resident program, and resident relocation policy.

N/A

N/A ML111470227

10/28/11

CN 11-023

Deleted Appendix A and B (redundant and 

superseded) - provided link and reference to 

“Summary of Standards of Employee Conduct 

Regulations 5 CFR 2635”. This action resolves 

FF 1201-1593.

N/A ML112140163

ML16211A030

07/29/16

CN 16-019

Is revised as an editorial change to correct 

hyperlinks and formatting.

N/A N/A