18-09-03 

SYSTEM NAME: 

Employee Conduct—Government Ethics. 

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: 

None. 

SYSTEM LOCATION: 

Ethics Counsel Division, Office of the General 

Counsel, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, 

SW., Room 6E231, Washington, DC 20202. 

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM: 

This system contains information about current and 

past Department employees (1) who have requested and/or 

received advice or guidance in subject matter areas 

relating to employee conduct, or (2) who are required to 

attend ethics training. 

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: 

This system contains documents and records not covered 

by two government-wide executive branch Privacy Act systems 

of records of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE): 

OGE/GOVT– 1 and OGE/GOVT–2. These documents and records may 

include, but are not limited to, information relating to 

acceptance or offer of gifts, entertainment and favors, or 

outside employment; financial interests; use of government 

funds, property, or official information; partisan 
political activity; compliance with ethics training 

requirements; or other matters relating to employee 

conduct. 

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM: 

Pub. L. 95–521, Ethics in Government Act of 1978; Pub. 

L. 101–194, Ethics Reform Act of 1989, as amended; and 

Executive Orders 12674, 12565, and 11222, as amended. 

PURPOSE(S): 

The records in this system are maintained in order for 

the Office of the General Counsel to provide advice and 

guidance in subject matter areas relating to employee 

conduct and to ensure that employees comply with ethics 

requirements. 

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING 

CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES: 

The Department of Education (Department) may disclose 

information contained in a record in this system of records 

under the routine uses listed in this system of records 

without the consent of the individual if the disclosure is 

compatible with the purposes for which the record was 

collected. These disclosures may be made on a case-by-case 

basis or, if the Department has complied with the computer 

matching requirements of the Act, under a computer matching 

agreement. 
(1) Disclosure for Use by Other Law Enforcement 

Agencies. May disclose information to any Federal, State, 

local, or foreign agency or other public authority 

responsible for enforcing, investigating, or prosecuting 

violations of administrative, civil, or criminal law or 

regulation if that information is relevant to any 

enforcement, regulatory, investigative, or prosecutive 

responsibility within the receiving entity’s jurisdiction.

(2) Enforcement Disclosure. In the event that 

information in this system of records indicates, either on 

its face or in connection with other information, a 

violation or potential violation of any applicable statute, 

regulation, or order of a competent authority, the 

Department may disclose the relevant records to the 

appropriate agency, whether foreign, Federal, State, 

Tribal, or local, charged with the responsibility of 

investigating or prosecuting that violation or charged with 

enforcing or implementing the statute, executive order, 

rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto.

(3) Employment, Benefit, and Contracting Disclosure.

(a) For Decisions by the Department. The Department 

may disclose a record to a Federal, State, or local agency 

maintaining civil, criminal, or other relevant enforcement 

or other pertinent records, or to another public authority 
or professional organization, if necessary to obtain 

information relevant to a Department decision concerning 

the hiring or retention of an employee or other personnel 

action, the issuance of a security clearance, the letting 

of a contract, or the issuance of a license, grant, or 

other benefit.

(b) For Decisions by Other Public Agencies and 

Professional Organizations. The Department may disclose a 

record to a Federal, State, local, or foreign agency or 

other public authority or professional organization, in 

connection with the hiring or retention of an employee or 

other personnel action, the issuance of a security 

clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an

employee, the letting of a contract, or the issuance of a 

license, grant, or other benefit, to the extent that the 

record is relevant and necessary to the receiving entity’s 

decision on the matter.

(4) Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution 

(ADR) Disclosures.

(a) Introduction. In the event that one of the parties 

listed below is involved in litigation or ADR, or has an 

interest in litigation ADR, the Department may disclose

certain records to the parties described in paragraphs (b), 
(c) and (d) of this routine use under the conditions 

specified in those paragraphs:

(i) The Department of Education, or any component of 

the Department; or

(ii) Any Department employee in his or her official 

capacity; or

(iii) Any Department employee in his or her individual 

capacity if the Department of Justice (DOJ) has agreed to 

provide or arrange for representation for the employee;

(iv) Any Department employee in his or her individual 

capacity where the agency has agreed to represent the 

employee; or

(v) The United States where the Department determines 

that the litigation is likely to affect the Department or 

any of its components.

(b) Disclosure to the DOJ. If the Department 

determines that disclosure of certain records to the DOJ is 

relevant and necessary to litigation or ADR, the Department 

may disclose those records as a routine use to the DOJ.

(c) Administrative Disclosures. If the Department 

determines that disclosure of certain records to an 

adjudicative body before which the Department is authorized 

to appear, an individual or entity designated by the 

Department or otherwise empowered to resolve or mediate 
disputes is relevant and necessary to the administrative 

litigation, the Department may disclose those records as a 

routine use to the adjudicative body, individual, or 

entity.

(d) Parties, counsels, representatives and witnesses. 

If the Department determines that disclosure of certain

records to a party, counsel, representative or witness in 

an administrative proceeding is relevant and necessary to 

the litigation, the Department may disclose those records 

as a routine use to the party, counsel, representative or 

witness.

(5) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advice

Disclosure. The Department may disclose records to the 

Department of Justice and the Office of Management and 

Budget if the Department concludes that disclosure is 

desirable or necessary in determining whether particular 

records are required to be disclosed under the FOIA.

(6) Congressional Member Disclosure. The Department 

may disclose records to a member of Congress from the 

record of an individual in response to an inquiry from the 

member made at the written request of that individual. The 

member’s right to the information is no greater than the 

right of the individual who requested it.
(7) Office of Government Ethics Disclosure. The 

Department may disclose records to the Office of Government 

Ethics if the disclosure is relevant to the Office of 

Government Ethics’ review of the Department’s ethics 

program or if the Department seeks the advice of the Office 

of Government Ethics on matters relating to the 

Department’s ethics program, including, but not limited to, 

the program’s structure and staffing, education and 

training, counseling or advice, public financial 

disclosures, confidential financial disclosures, outside 

employment and activities, or post employment.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, 

RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: 

STORAGE: 

Paper records are kept in legal size files in filing 

cabinets; electronic records are kept in a database 

maintained and managed by the Ethics Division of the Office 

of the General Counsel. 

RETRIEVABILITY: 

These records are retrievable by name in most cases. 

SAFEGUARDS: 

These records are only accessible to staff of the 

Ethics Division of the Office of General Counsel. Paper 

records are kept in filing cabinets that are locked after 
the close of the business day, and electronic records are 

kept only on authorized users’ computers, which are 

password-protected. 

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL: 

The records in this system will be retained and 

disposed of in accordance with the National Archives and 

Records Administration’s General Records Schedule (GRS) 25 

for Ethics Program Records. 

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS: 

Assistant General Counsel, Ethics Division, Office of 

the General Counsel, U.S. Department of Education, 400 

Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 6E231, Washington, DC 20202. 

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE: 

If you wish to determine whether a record exists 

regarding you in the system of records, contact the system 

manager. Your request must meet the requirements of the 

Department of Education’s Privacy Act regulations at 34 CFR 

5b.5, including proof of identity. 

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES: 

If you wish to gain access to a record regarding you 

in the system of records, contact the system manager. Your 

request must meet the requirements of the regulations at 34 

CFR 5b.5, including proof of identity. 

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES: 
If you wish to contest the content of a record 

regarding you in the system of records, contact the system 

manager. Your request must meet the requirements of the 

regulations at 34 CFR 5b.7. 

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES: 

Information is obtained from individuals who request 

advice and from employees and other Department records in 

connection with the administration of the ethics training 

program. 

SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT: 

None.