This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

12888 

Vol. 87, No. 45 

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 

POSTAL SERVICE 

5 CFR Part 7001 

RIN 3209–AA51 

Supplemental Standards of Ethical 

Conduct for Employees of the United 

States Postal Service 

AGENCY: Postal Service. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The United States Postal 

Service (Postal Service), with the 

concurrence of the United States Office 

of Government Ethics (OGE), proposes 

to amend the Supplemental Standards 

of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the 

United States Postal Service by updating 

and refining outside employment and 

activity provisions (including prior 

approval requirements and 

prohibitions), by adding new 

requirements applicable to Postal 

Service Office of Inspector General 

(OIG) employees and Postal Service 

Governors, and by making limited 

technical and ministerial changes. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

May 9, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed 

or delivered to Jessica BrewsterJohnson, Senior Ethics Counsel, United 

States Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant Plaza 

SW, Washington, DC 20260–1101; or 

submitted to supplemental.standards@

usps.gov. Faxed comments will not be 

accepted. 

All written comments may be 

inspected and photocopied, by 

appointment only, at Postal Service 

Headquarters Library, 475 L’Enfant 

Plaza SW, 11th Floor North, 

Washington, DC. These records will be 

available for review Monday through 

Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m., by calling 202– 

268–2906. All submitted comments and 

attachments are part of the public record 

and subject to disclosure. Do not 

enclose any material in your comments 

that you consider to be confidential or 

inappropriate for public disclosure. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessica Brewster-Johnson, Senior Ethics 

Counsel, United States Postal Service, 

475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 

20260–1101, 202–268–6936. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Pursuant to the Ethics in Government 

Act of 1978, as amended, and other legal 

authority, OGE published new 

Standards of Ethical Conduct for 

Employees of the Executive Branch 

(Standards) on August 7, 1992, which 

were codified in 5 CFR part 2635. See 

57 FR 35006–35067, as corrected at 57 

FR 48557 and 52583, with additional 

grace-period extensions at 59 FR 4779– 

4780 and 60 FR 6390–6391. The 

Standards, which became effective on 

February 3, 1993, set uniform ethical 

conduct standards applicable to all 

executive branch personnel. 

Under 5 CFR 2635.105, agencies may 

issue, with OGE’s concurrence, agencyspecific regulations that supplement the 

Standards when the agency determines 

that such supplemental regulations are 

necessary and appropriate, in view of its 

programs and operations, to fulfill the 

purposes of the Standards. Under 5 CFR 

2635.802(a), agencies are authorized to 

issue supplemental regulations 

prohibiting employees from engaging in 

outside employment or other outside 

activities that conflict with their official 

duties. Under 5 CFR 2635.803, agencies 

are authorized to issue supplemental 

regulations requiring employees to 

obtain prior approval before they engage 

in outside employment or other outside 

activities. 

On September 11, 1995, the Postal 

Service issued, with OGE’s concurrence, 

the Supplemental Standards of Ethical 

Conduct for Employees of the United 

States Postal Service (Supplemental 

Standards), which were codified in 5 

CFR part 7001. See 60 FR 47240–47241. 

The Supplemental Standards prohibit 

employees from engaging in certain 

outside employment or business 

activities and require prior approval for 

employees to engage in other outside 

employment or business activities. 

The Postal Service has now 

determined that amendment of the 

Supplemental Standards is needed for 

the reasons explained below. 

II. Explanation of Changes 

A. Amendment of § 7001.102(a)(1) To 

Modify the Restrictions on Employees’ 

Outside Employment or Business 

Activities With or for Manufacturers of 

Uniforms or Other Postal-Required 

Products 

Section 7001.102(a)(1)(i) of the 

Supplemental Standards currently 

prohibits employees from engaging in 

outside employment or business 

activities with or for persons, including 

the employees themselves, engaged in 

the manufacture of any uniform, or 

other product required by the Postal 

Service for use by its employees or 

customers (‘‘other postal-required 

products’’). The Postal Service proposes 

to eliminate this prohibition. 

In connection with the issuance of the 

Supplemental Standards, the Postal 

Service discussed the reason for the 

current prohibition in 

§ 7001.102(a)(1)(i). See 60 FR 15700. 

The Postal Service explained that the 

involvement of employees in the 

outside employment and business 

activities covered by that provision 

could cause members of the public to 

question the impartiality and objectivity 

with which postal programs are 

administered because it could create the 

appearance that the employees, or 

persons they represent or with whom 

they are otherwise affiliated, are in a 

position to benefit from knowledge or 

influence gained by the employees 

through their official positions. 

The Postal Service has now 

concluded that the prohibition in 

§ 7001.102(a)(1)(i) is unduly restrictive. 

The Postal Service has determined that 

the impartiality and objectivity concerns 

raised in connection with the initial 

issuance of the Supplemental Standards 

may adequately be addressed without 

outright prohibiting the sizeable postal 

workforce (many of whom are part-time 

employees) from engaging in the outside 

employment or business activities 

covered by § 7001.102(a)(1)(i). In 

making this determination, the Postal 

Service has considered that its 

experience since the initial issuance of 

the Supplemental Standards has been 

that employees’ outside employment or 

business activities with or for 

manufacturers of uniforms or other 

postal-required products would in many 

cases not cause members of the public 

to question the impartiality and 


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objectivity with which postal programs 

are administered. This is because 

uniform programs are administered by a 

discrete postal headquarters 

organization and are not affected by 

employees outside that organization, 

and other postal-required products are 

similarly administered. 

With the elimination of the 

prohibition in § 7001.102(a)(1)(i), 

employees will be required to obtain 

approval from the Postal Service’s 

Ethics Office prior to engaging in 

outside employment or business 

activities with or for manufacturers of 

uniforms or other postal-required 

products in situations covered by the 

existing prior-approval process in 

§ 7001.102(b), as revised in these 

amendments of the Supplemental 

Standards. Those situations include the 

following ones in which impartiality 

and objectivity concerns are most likely 

to arise in the Postal Service’s 

experience: 

(1) The employee has official dealings 

with the manufacturer on behalf of the 

Postal Service (§ 7001.102(b)(1)(i)); or 

(2) the manufacturer has interests that 

are substantially dependent upon 

providing goods or services to, or for use 

in connection with, the Postal Service 

(§ 7001.102(b)(1)(ii)(B)). 

These situations requiring prior 

approval would encompass those 

employees working in the discrete 

organizations responsible for uniform 

programs and other postal-required 

products for whom impartiality and 

objectivity concerns might be 

heightened. The review by the Postal 

Service’s Ethics Office under the priorapproval process can be expected to 

identify and address those employment 

or business relationships that would 

present ethical conduct concerns under 

5 CFR part 2635 because of the 

employee’s official duties and the 

manufacturer’s interests. 

However, regardless of the priorapproval process described above, 

postal employees will continue to be 

prohibited from acting as agent, with or 

without compensation, for any postal 

contractor for uniforms or other postalrequired products, or person offering to 

become such a contractor. The criminal 

statute codified at 18 U.S.C. 440 makes 

it unlawful for postal employees to act 

as agent, with or without compensation, 

for any contractor or person offering to 

become a contractor in any business 

before the Postal Service. This provision 

is currently incorporated in § 7001.103 

of the Supplemental Standards. 

Postal employees will also continue to 

be prohibited from engaging in certain 

specified outside employment or 

business activities with postal 

contractors for uniforms or other postalrequired products. As explained in 

further detail below, renumbered 

§ 7001.102(a)(1) of the Supplemental 

Standards prohibits employees from 

engaging in outside employment or 

business activities that involve 

providing consultation, advice, or any 

subcontracting service, with respect to 

postal operations, programs, or 

procedures, to any person who has a 

contract with the Postal Service or who 

the employee has reason to believe will 

compete for such a contract. 

B. Amendment of § 7001.102(a)(1) and 

(b)(1) To Modify the Restrictions on 

Employees’ Outside Employment or 

Business Activities With or for HCR 

Contractors 

The Postal Reorganization Act, as 

amended, codified at 39 U.S.C. 5005, 

authorizes the Postal Service to contract 

for the surface transportation of mail. 

The Postal Service enters into Highway 

Contract Route (HCR) contracts under 

that statute. 

Section 7001.102(a)(1)(ii) of the 

Supplemental Standards currently 

prohibits employees from engaging in 

outside employment or business 

activities with or for persons, including 

the employees themselves, engaged in 

the transportation of mail under Postal 

Service (HCR) contract to or from the 

postal facility at which the employee 

works or to or from a postal facility 

within the delivery area of a post office 

in which the employee works 

(‘‘transportation area criteria’’). The 

Postal Service proposes to eliminate this 

prohibition and replace it with a 

provision requiring employees to obtain 

approval from the Postal Service’s 

Ethics Office prior to engaging in 

outside employment or business 

activities with or for any HCR 

contractor, which will be accomplished 

by amending § 7001.102(b)(1). 

In connection with the issuance of the 

Supplemental Standards, the Postal 

Service discussed the reason for the 

current prohibition in 

§ 7001.102(a)(1)(ii). See 60 FR 15700– 

15701. The Postal Service explained 

that any outside employment involving 

the delivery of mail at or near an 

employee’s workplace, without regard 

to the nature of the employee’s duties, 

might lead reasonable persons to be 

concerned that the employee’s outside 

employer was receiving preferential 

treatment from the Postal Service. Id. 

The Postal Service has now concluded 

that the prohibition in 

§ 7001.102(a)(1)(ii) is both unduly 

restrictive and too narrowly focused to 

address conflicts and impartiality 

concerns adequately. Specifically, the 

Postal Service has determined that 

preferential treatment concerns 

regarding employees engaging in 

outside employment or business 

activities with or for persons engaged in 

the transportation of mail under HCR 

contract could occur whether or not 

such outside employment or business 

activities meet the transportation area 

criteria described in the current 

§ 7001.102(a)(1)(ii). These concerns, 

however, may be sufficiently addressed 

through a prior-approval process 

without outright prohibiting the sizeable 

postal workforce (many of whom are 

part-time employees) from engaging in 

such outside employment or business 

activities. 

Section 7001.102(b) of the 

Supplemental Standards currently 

governs the requirements for employees 

to obtain prior approval to engage in 

outside employment or business 

activities with or for certain categories 

of persons. The Postal Service proposes 

to amend § 7001.102(b)(1) to add a 

provision at § 7001.102(b)(1)(iii) 

requiring employees to obtain prior 

approval from the Postal Service’s 

Ethics Office to engage in outside 

employment or business activities with 

or for any HCR contractor. This priorapproval requirement is not limited to 

situations covered by the existing priorapproval process in § 7001.102(b), as 

revised in these amendments of the 

Supplemental Standards, which is the 

case when employees wish to engage in 

outside employment or business 

activities with or for manufacturers of 

uniforms or other postal-required 

products as discussed above. Rather, 

this prior approval requirement applies 

in any circumstance in which 

employees desire to engage in outside 

employment or business activities with 

or for any HCR contractor. This 

difference is due to the greater impact 

on the Postal Service of its many HCR 

contracts nationwide as compared to 

uniform programs or programs for other 

postal-required products. The procedure 

for requesting, and the standard for 

granting, approval to engage in outside 

employment or business activities with 

or for an HCR contractor will be the 

same as that which exists for requesting 

and granting approval for other types of 

outside employment and business 

activities for which prior approval is 

required under § 7001.102(b). The 

review by the Postal Service’s Ethics 

Office under this prior-approval process 

can be expected to identify and address 

those employment or business 

relationships that would present ethical 

conduct concerns under 5 CFR part 

2635 because of the employee’s official 


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duties and the HCR contractor’s 

interests. 

As discussed above in the context of 

outside employment and business 

activities with or for certain 

manufacturers, other provisions of the 

Supplemental Standards will continue 

to restrict certain activities with respect 

to HCR contractors. Specifically, 

renumbered § 7001.102(a)(1) will 

continue to prohibit employee outside 

activities that involve providing 

consultation, advice, or any 

subcontracting service to a HCR 

contractor or person offering to become 

such a contractor, and 18 U.S.C. 440, as 

incorporated in § 7001.103 of the 

Supplemental Standards, continues to 

prohibit employees from acting as 

agents for any HCR contractor, or person 

offering to become such a contractor. 

C. Amendments to § 7001.102(a) 

Relating to Outside Employment or 

Business Activities 

The removal of current 

§ 7001.102(a)(1)(i) and (ii), described 

above, will result in the renumbering of 

the restrictions found at current 

§ 7001.102(a)(1)(iii) and (iv). To provide 

additional clarity, the Postal Service 

proposes to revise the language of these 

remaining restrictions. First, the Postal 

Service is modifying the language of 

current § 7001.102(a)(1)(iii), which 

prohibits employees from ‘‘engag[ing] in 

outside employment or business 

activities with or for persons, including 

oneself, engaged in: Providing 

consultation, advice, or any 

subcontracting service, with respect to 

the operations, programs or procedures 

of the Postal Service, to any person who 

has a contract with the Postal Service or 

who the employee has reason to believe 

will compete for such a contract.’’ The 

Postal Service stated that its original 

intent with this provision was to 

prohibit employees from providing 

‘‘consultation, advice, or any 

subcontracting service,’’ but also noted 

that ‘‘an employee would not be 

prohibited from consulting with a 

business that happens to hold a Postal 

Service contract when the employee’s 

consulting work is not related to that 

contract and does not have any other 

postal connection.’’ 60 FR 15701. In 

other words, the prohibition is focused 

on, and has been consistently applied 

by the Postal Service to, the outside 

activity of the employee, not the activity 

of the outside employer. As currently 

written, the § 7001.102(a)(1)(iii) 

prohibition could be read to cover both 

the employee and the outside employer 

because of the introductory phrasing 

‘‘with or for a person, including 

oneself.’’ In order to more clearly state 

that the prohibition is tied to the type 

of work the employee will do for an 

outside employer or on their own, the 

Postal Service proposes to modify this 

language in the restriction, found at 

renumbered § 7001.102(a)(1), to state 

that an employee cannot engage in 

outside employment or business 

activities ‘‘that involve providing’’ 

certain consultation, advice, or 

subcontracting services. 

Second, the Postal Service has revised 

current § 7001.102(a)(1)(iv) by 

separating the two distinct prohibitions 

contained therein: (1) The operation of 

a commercial mail receiving agency and 

(2) the delivery outside the mails of any 

type of mailable matter, except daily 

newspapers. These prohibitions, now at 

renumbered § 7001.102(a)(2), include 

revised language to more clearly state 

that an employee is prohibited from 

engaging in outside employment or 

business activities ‘‘with, for, or as a 

person engaged in’’ the activity; for 

consistency, related language in the 

prior approval section at 

§ 7001.102(b)(1)(ii) has similarly been 

updated. No substantive change is 

intended. 

D. Amendment of § 7001.102 Relating to 

Outside Employment or Business 

Activities With Certain Subsidiaries 

As described above, current 

§ 7001.102(a)(1)(iv) (renumbered as 

§ 7001.102(a)(2)) prohibits employees 

from engaging in outside employment or 

business activities with, for, or as 

persons engaged in certain categories of 

activities. The Supplemental Standards 

do not currently include a definition of 

‘‘person.’’ Therefore, the definition of 

that term set forth in the Standards (5 

CFR 2635.102(k)) applies to the 

Supplemental Standards. That 

definition provides that a ‘‘person’’ 

includes, among others, a corporation 

and each subsidiary it controls 

(‘‘corporate subsidiary provision’’). 

Consequently, when a corporation is 

engaged in an activity covered by 

renumbered § 7001.102(a)(2), employees 

are not only currently prohibited from 

engaging in outside employment or 

business activities with or for the 

corporation, but also with or for a 

subsidiary, regardless of whether the 

subsidiary is also engaged in a covered 

activity. For the reasons discussed 

below, the Postal Service proposes to 

add a provision to § 7001.102(b) that 

would permit an employee to request 

approval to engage in outside 

employment or business activities with 

certain subsidiaries of entities engaged 

in activities covered by renumbered 

§ 7001.102(a)(2). 

In connection with the initial 

issuance of the Supplemental 

Standards, the Postal Service discussed 

the reasons for the outside activity 

prohibitions in § 7001.102(a). See 60 FR 

15700–15702. The Postal Service 

explained that reasons for the 

prohibitions included that covered 

outside employment and business 

activities could lead members of the 

public to be concerned that the 

employees were using knowledge or 

influence gained through their official 

positions to benefit their outside 

employers or business associates, or 

might lead members of the public to 

question the employees’ loyalty to the 

Postal Service, thereby undermining 

public confidence in the integrity of 

postal operations. 

The Postal Service has now 

concluded that application of the 

corporate subsidiary provision to the 

proposed amended § 7001.102(a)(2) 

would be unduly restrictive in 

circumstances in which a corporation is 

engaged in a covered activity, but a 

subsidiary with which an employee 

desires to engage in employment or 

business activities is not. The Postal 

Service has determined that the 

concerns raised in connection with the 

initial issuance of the Supplemental 

Standards are oftentimes not present 

when an employee would like to engage 

in business activities with or for a 

company that is not engaged in any of 

the activities outlined in 

§ 7001.102(a)(2), but happens to be the 

subsidiary of a company engaged in 

such activities. In making this 

determination, the Postal Service no 

longer considers there to be a divided 

loyalty question with an employee who 

would like to work for a subsidiary that 

is not engaged in the activities outlined 

in § 7001.102(a)(2), even though the 

parent corporation is engaged in such 

activities. This is because the focus of 

§ 7001.102(a)(2) is on the business 

activities of the subsidiary itself. When 

a subsidiary engages in a wholly 

separate line of trade than its parent 

corporation, the Postal Service is not 

concerned with the subsidiary’s line of 

trade if that line of trade does not fall 

under the ambit of § 7001.102(a)(2). 

In order to mitigate the undue 

restrictiveness of renumbered 

§ 7001.102(a)(2), the Postal Service 

proposes to add a subsection, 

§ 7001.102(b)(2), that provides an 

exception for certain subsidiaries. This 

provision provides that an employee 

who wishes to engage in outside 

employment or activities with an entity 

that does not itself engage in the 

activities outlined in § 7001.102(a)(2), 

but is the subsidiary of an entity that 


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engages in those activities, should 

follow the prior approval process laid 

out in § 7001.102(b)(3). Approval would 

allow the employee to engage in outside 

employment or activity with a 

subsidiary that would otherwise be 

restricted by renumbered 

§ 7001.102(a)(2) because of the corporate 

subsidiary provision. For example, 

Employee A would like to get a second 

job as a delivery driver for Amazon 

Logistics. Employee B would like to 

earn money on the video streaming 

website Twitch. Both Amazon Logistics 

and Twitch are subsidiaries of Amazon. 

Employee A is prohibited from working 

for Amazon Logistics because that 

subsidiary delivers mailable matter 

outside of the mail, and § 7001.102(b)(2) 

does not contemplate that approval can 

be granted for this type of subsidiary 

employment. However, Employee B 

may request prior approval to earn 

money on the website Twitch because 

that subsidiary is engaged in creating 

digital media content, which is not 

prohibited under § 7001.102(a)(2). An 

example has been added to this 

subsection identifying a scenario in 

which an employee may request prior 

approval for outside employment with a 

subsidiary. 

E. Amendment of § 7001.102(a)(2) To 

Modify the Activities in Which 

Employees Are Prohibited From 

Engaging While on Duty, in Uniform, at 

Any Postal Facility, or Using Postal 

Equipment 

Section 7001.102(a)(2) of the 

Supplemental Standards currently 

prohibits employees from engaging in 

any sales activity, including the 

solicitation of business or the receipt of 

orders, for themselves or any other 

persons while on duty or in uniform, or 

at any postal facility. The Postal Service 

proposes to amend this provision, now 

at renumbered § 7001.102(a)(3), to add a 

prohibition on using postal equipment 

to engage in such sales activity. The 

Postal Service additionally proposes to 

amend this provision to also prohibit 

employees from engaging in fundraising 

(as defined in the Standards) or forprofit business activities for themselves 

or any other persons while on duty, in 

uniform, at any postal facility, or using 

any postal equipment (but not including 

fundraising at a postal facility as 

permitted in connection with the 

Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) 

under 5 CFR part 950). The added 

reference to fundraising is intended to 

highlight an existing restriction in the 

Standards (see 5 CFR 2635.808), and to 

improve clarity and reduce confusion 

for employees. It is not intended to 

create a separate, new restriction. 

Examples have been added to 

§ 7001.102(a)(3) demonstrating these 

prohibitions. 

The Postal Service often encounters 

situations in which employees who are 

involved in outside sales activities 

engage in those activities while on duty, 

in uniform, on postal property, and/or 

using postal equipment. The Postal 

Service has routinely found that by 

engaging in those activities while on 

duty, in uniform, on postal property, 

and/or using postal equipment, the 

employees violate the misuse of public 

office for private gain, misuse of 

Government property, and/or misuse of 

official time provisions of the Standards 

(5 CFR part 2635, subpart G). 

The Standards define ‘‘fundraising’’ to 

include, among other things, the raising 

of funds for a nonprofit organization, 

other than a political organization as 

defined in 26 U.S.C. 527(e), through the 

solicitation of funds or sale of items. See 

5 CFR 2635.808(a)(1)(i). The Postal 

Service often encounters situations in 

which employees who are involved in 

outside fundraising as defined in the 

Standards or for-profit business 

activities engage in those activities 

while on duty, in uniform, on postal 

property, and/or using postal 

equipment. The Postal Service has 

routinely found that by engaging in 

those activities while on duty, in 

uniform, on postal property, and/or 

using postal equipment, the employees 

violate the misuse of public office for 

private gain, misuse of Government 

property, and/or misuse of official time 

provisions of the Standards (5 CFR part 

2635, subpart G). 

In addition, the Postal Service’s 

Conduct on Postal Property (COPP) 

regulations prohibit, with some 

exceptions, any person entering in or on 

property under the charge and control of 

the Postal Service from soliciting alms 

or contributions, or soliciting or vending 

for commercial purposes. See 39 CFR 

232.1(a), (h)(1). The Postal Service has 

also routinely found that by engaging in 

outside sales activities, outside 

fundraising as defined in the Standards, 

or for-profit business activities on postal 

property, employees violate those COPP 

regulations. 

In consideration of all these factors, 

the Postal Service wishes to explicitly 

incorporate in the Supplemental 

Standards a restriction on engaging in 

these activities. 

F. Amendment of § 7001.102 To Provide 

for the Requirements for OIG Employees 

To Report and/or Obtain Prior Approval 

To Engage in Outside Employment or 

Business Activities 

The Postal Service proposes to amend 

§ 7001.102 to add a provision at 

§ 7001.102(c) providing for the 

requirements for when OIG employees 

must report or obtain prior approval to 

engage in outside employment or 

business activities. The amendment of 

§ 7001.102 will result in the current 

definitions located at § 7001.102(c) 

being renumbered to § 7001.102(d). 

The proposed amendment requires all 

OIG employees to provide notice to, and 

OIG Special Agents and Criminal 

Investigators to obtain approval from, 

the OIG’s Office of General Counsel 

before engaging in compensated or 

uncompensated outside employment or 

business activities, including: 

(1) Any knowing sale or lease of real 

estate to the Postal Service or to a Postal 

Service employee or contractor, 

regardless of the frequency of such sales 

or leases or whether the sale or lease is 

at fair market value; 

(2) any ownership or control of a 

publicly-accessible online or physical 

storefront; and 

(3) volunteer activities, if they 

regularly exceed 20 hours per week or 

when the employee holds an officer 

position in the organization. 

Employees’ outside employment or 

business activities may not interfere 

with their ability or availability to 

perform OIG duties. The OIG’s Office of 

General Counsel will analyze the reports 

of employees engaged in outside 

employment or business activities to 

ensure that they are warned of potential 

conflicts of interest or loss of 

impartiality. Reporting these types of 

outside activities is necessary for OIG 

employees (as opposed to regular Postal 

Service employees) due to the nature of 

the OIG’s work and the OIG’s desire to 

avoid even the appearance of 

impropriety. As an oversight entity, the 

OIG strives to maintain an elevated 

standard of conduct that serves as an 

example to its Postal Service colleagues. 

The OIG’s reputation is of paramount 

importance in its relationship with the 

Postal Service, Congress, and other 

stakeholders. Accordingly, outside 

financial entanglements that could 

impact the impartiality of OIG agents 

and auditors are of particular concern, 

including the following: 

1. Real Estate 

Employees must report the knowing 

sale or lease of real estate to the Postal 

Service or to a Postal Service employee 


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or contractor due to the high risk of a 

conflict of interest or loss of impartiality 

inherent in such a large (in the case of 

a sale) or ongoing (in the case of a lease) 

financial transaction. For example, an 

audit manager who leases land to the 

entity he or she is auditing is likely to 

have actual or apparent independence 

concerns that would interfere with his 

or her duties. 

2. Commercial Business 

Because virtual businesses can be 

accessed at any time, including during 

employees’ official work hours, 

employees who have ownership or 

control of publicly-accessible online 

storefronts will be advised that they are 

prohibited from using Government 

resources, including property, or time to 

conduct their outside businesses. The 

Postal Service has no de minimis 

exception for using Government 

resources or time to conduct outside 

employment or business activities. In 

the case of ownership or control of 

physical storefronts, the same 

prohibition on using Government 

resources or time applies. 

3. Volunteer Activities 

Limited volunteer activities seldom 

pose a significant risk of violating 18 

U.S.C. 208 or 5 CFR 2635.502. However, 

regular volunteer work of more than 20 

hours per week or holding an officer 

position within an outside organization 

must be reported to ensure that 

employees’ close relationships to the 

outside entities would not cause a 

reasonable person to question the 

employees’ impartiality. Accordingly, 

employees who engage in volunteer 

work may not use Government 

resources or time, including—per Postal 

Service policy—sick leave, to engage in 

their volunteer work and may not 

participate personally and substantially 

in OIG particular matters that would 

directly and predictably affect the 

organization with which they volunteer. 

USPS OIG believes that an OIG 

employee’s participation in those 

matters would cause a reasonable 

person to question the OIG employee’s 

impartiality in the matter. See 5 CFR 

2635.502. Two examples have been 

provided in § 7001.102(c)(1) regarding 

the reporting of volunteer activities. 

Employees may submit questions about 

reporting of volunteer activities to the 

OIG’s Office of General Counsel. 

4. Law Enforcement Officer Approval 

Requirement 

Law Enforcement Officer involvement 

in outside employment or business 

activities can pose additional challenges 

that must be coordinated with OIG 

management and legal counsel to ensure 

that the Law Enforcement Availability 

Pay (LEAP) requirements of 5 U.S.C. 

5545a and 5 CFR 550.181 through 

550.186 can be balanced against the 

outside activity. The Postal Service 

proposes to add new § 7001.102(c)(2) to 

require that such individuals in the 

OIG—Special Investigators and Criminal 

Investigators—obtain prior approval for 

the outside activities enumerated in 

§ 7001.102(c)(1). For these employees, 

their outside employment and business 

activities often draw upon their OIG law 

enforcement training and experience, 

requiring them to carry firearms, which 

creates liability and safety concerns. In 

addition, the OIG must ensure that 

Special Agents and Criminal 

Investigators are available to carry out 

their law enforcement duties during 

exigent circumstances. Special Agents 

receive LEAP and are required to be 

available 50 hours per week. A conflict 

of interest review must be conducted to 

ensure that Special Agents are aware of 

these potential liability issues and duty 

requirements that are particular to their 

law enforcement profession. Noninvestigators do not have LEAP 

requirements or potential firearm 

liability issues because they are not 

required to carry firearms as part of their 

OIG duties. Accordingly, the proposed 

amendment imposes the additional 

requirement that Special Agents and 

Criminal Investigators request and 

obtain written approval prior to 

engaging in outside employment or 

business activities which they are 

required to report under the proposed 

amendment. 

G. Amendment of § 7001.102 To Revise 

and Add Definitions 

Section 7001.102(c) of the 

Supplemental Standards, which will be 

renumbered to § 7001.102(d), currently 

provides definitions of certain terms 

used in § 7001.102. The Postal Service 

proposes to amend this section as 

follows to include new definitions, 

which will result in the renumbering of 

existing definitions in this section: 

1. Commercial Mail Receiving Agency 

Current § 7001.102(a)(1), proposed to 

be renumbered to § 7001.102(a)(2)(i), 

prohibits employees from engaging in 

outside employment or business 

activities with or for persons engaged in 

the operation of a commercial mail 

receiving agency registered with the 

Postal Service. The Supplemental 

Standards do not currently include a 

definition of a ‘‘commercial mail 

receiving agency.’’ The Postal Service 

proposes to amend the definitions 

section of § 7001.102 to define a 

‘‘commercial mail receiving agency’’ as 

a private business that acts as the mail 

receiving agent for specific clients, and 

explain that the business must be 

registered with the post office 

responsible for delivery to the 

commercial mail receiving agency. 

2. A Person Engaged in the Delivery 

Outside the Mails of Any Type of 

Mailable Matter 

Section 7001.102(a)(1), proposed to be 

renumbered to § 7001.102(a)(2)(ii), 

currently prohibits employees from 

engaging in outside employment or 

business activities with or for persons 

engaged in the delivery outside the 

mails of any type of mailable matter, 

except daily newspapers. The 

Supplemental Standards do not 

currently include a definition of ‘‘a 

person engaged in the delivery outside 

the mails of mailable matter.’’ The 

Postal Service has found that employees 

are at times uncertain as to which of the 

different types of non-postal delivery 

services current § 7001.102(a)(1) 

applies. 

The Postal Service proposes to amend 

the definitions section of § 7001.102 to 

define ‘‘a person engaged in the delivery 

outside the mails of any type of mailable 

matter’’ as a person who is engaged in 

the delivery outside the mails of any 

letter, card, flat, or parcel eligible to be 

accepted for delivery by the Postal 

Service. An example has been added to 

renumbered § 7001.102(a)(2)(ii) 

identifying four global companies that 

currently qualify as ‘‘a person engaged 

in the delivery outside the mails of any 

type of mailable matter, except daily 

newspapers’’ (i.e., United Parcel Service 

(UPS), Federal Express (FedEx), 

Amazon, and DHL). Other businesses 

exist that qualify as such a person, 

including but not limited to, regional 

companies that deliver mailable matter 

that is not daily newspapers. 

3. A Person Having Interests 

Substantially Dependent Upon, or 

Potentially Affected to a Significant 

Degree by, Postal Rates, Fees, or 

Classifications 

Section 7001.102(b) currently requires 

employees to obtain prior approval to 

engage in outside employment or 

business activities with or for persons 

whose interests are substantially 

dependent upon, or potentially affected 

to a significant degree by, postal rates, 

fees, or classifications. The definitions 

section of § 7001.102 currently defines 

‘‘a person having interests substantially 

dependent upon, or potentially affected 

to a significant degree by, postal rates, 

fees, or classifications’’ to include, 

among other persons, a person who is 


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engaged in a business that depends 

substantially upon the mails for the 

solicitation or receipt of orders for, or 

the delivery of, goods or services. 

The Postal Service proposes to amend 

this definition to clarify the employees 

who qualify in the current e-commerce 

environment as a person engaged in a 

business that depends substantially 

upon the mails for the delivery of goods 

or services (‘‘a person engaged in a mail 

delivery-dependent business’’). Since 

the initial issuance of the Supplemental 

Standards in 1995, the internet has 

come to provide a new avenue for the 

sale of goods and services to the public, 

including by persons who did not 

previously engage in sales activity, with 

many of those items shipped to 

purchasers using the Postal Service. The 

Postal Service does not intend that 

employees will qualify as a person 

engaged in a mail delivery-dependent 

business unless they operate a 

commercial business that utilizes the 

Postal Service as its primary shipper 

and can be expected to earn gross 

revenue exceeding $10,000 from 

utilizing the mails in its current fiscal 

year. 

The Postal Service proposes to 

remove the reference in this definition 

to ‘‘a person who is engaged in a 

business that depends substantially 

upon the mails for the solicitation or 

receipt of orders for, or the delivery of, 

goods or services’’ and replace it with 

reference to a person who is engaged in 

a commercial business that: 

(1) Primarily utilizes the mails for the 

solicitation or receipt of orders for, or 

the delivery of, goods or services; and 

(2) can be expected to earn gross 

revenue exceeding $10,000 from 

utilizing the mails during the business’s 

current fiscal year. 

If it was reasonable to have expected 

that a business would not exceed the 

$10,000 threshold during its fiscal year, 

a person will not meet the proposed 

definition if the business in fact exceeds 

the threshold at the end of the fiscal 

year. However, this fact must be taken 

into account when determining whether 

the business can be expected to exceed 

the threshold in its subsequent fiscal 

year. 

In addition, examples have been 

added to this definition of persons who 

are and are not engaged in a mail 

delivery-dependent business in the ecommerce environment. 

4. Second-Class Rates of Postage 

Reference and Postal Rate Commission 

Reference 

The Postal Service also proposes to 

amend the definition of ‘‘a person 

having interests substantially dependent 

upon, or potentially affected to a 

significant degree by, postal rates, fees, 

or classifications’’ in § 7001.102 to 

change the reference in that provision 

from ‘‘a publication mailed at secondclass rates of postage’’ to ‘‘a publication 

mailed at Periodicals rates of postage.’’ 

As part of revisions to the Domestic 

Mail Classification Schedule (the 

predecessor to the current Mail 

Classification Schedule), second-class 

mail was renamed Periodicals. See 61 

FR 10068, 10114, 10123–24. In addition, 

the Postal Service proposes to amend 

the definition of ‘‘a person having 

interests substantially dependent upon, 

or potentially affected to a significant 

degree by, postal rates, fees, or 

classifications’’ in § 7001.102 to change 

the reference in that provision from 

‘‘Postal Rate Commission’’ to ‘‘Postal 

Regulatory Commission.’’ The Postal 

Enhancement and Accountability Act 

redesignated the Postal Rate 

Commission as the Postal Regulatory 

Commission. See Public Law 109–435, 

Title VI, § 604, 120 Stat. 3198, 3241–42 

(2006). 

5. A Person Having Interests 

Substantially Dependent Upon 

Providing Goods or Services to, or for 

Use in Connection With, the Postal 

Service 

Section 7001.102(b) currently requires 

employees to obtain prior approval to 

engage in outside employment or 

business activities with or for persons 

whose interests are substantially 

dependent upon providing goods or 

services to, or for use in connection 

with, the Postal Service. The definitions 

section of § 7001.102 currently defines 

‘‘a person having interests substantially 

dependent upon providing goods or 

services to, or for use in connection 

with, the Postal Service’’ to include, 

among other persons, a person who 

provides goods or services under 

contract with the Postal Service that: 

(1) Can be expected to provide 

revenue exceeding $100,000 over the 

term of the contract; and 

(2) provides 5% or more of the 

person’s gross income for the person’s 

current fiscal year. 

The Postal Service proposes to amend 

this definition to clarify that a person 

who holds more than one contract with 

the Postal Service to provide goods or 

services to, or for use in connection 

with, the Postal Service meets the 

‘‘revenue exceeding $100,000’’ criteria 

in paragraph (1) above if the person’s 

contracts in total can be expected to 

provide revenue exceeding $100,000 

over the terms of the contracts. 

The Postal Service additionally 

proposes to amend this definition to 

remove the ‘‘5% of gross income’’ 

criteria in paragraph (2) above. The 

Postal Service’s experience has been 

that in many cases it does not have 

access to information that would 

indicate whether a contract to provide 

goods or services to, or for use in 

connection with, the Postal Service 

provides 5% or more of the contractor’s 

gross income for the contractor’s current 

fiscal year. 

Section 7001.102 also currently 

defines ‘‘a person having interests 

substantially dependent upon providing 

goods or services to, or for use in 

connection with, the Postal Service’’ to 

include a person substantially engaged 

in the business of preparing items for 

others for mailing through the Postal 

Service. An example has been added to 

renumbered § 7001.102(d)(5) of such a 

person. 

H. Amendment of Part 7001 To Prohibit 

the Governors From Having or 

Controlling Certain Financial Interests 

The Postal Service’s organizational 

structure includes nine Governors, who 

are appointed by the President and 

confirmed by the Senate. See 39 U.S.C. 

202(a). The nine Governors, along with 

the Postmaster General and Deputy 

Postmaster General, constitute the Board 

of Governors. See 39 U.S.C. 202(a), (c), 

(d). The Board of Governors directs the 

exercise of the powers of the Postal 

Service, directs and controls postal 

expenditures, reviews postal practices 

and policies, and performs other 

functions and duties as prescribed by 

the Postal Reorganization Act, as 

amended, codified in 39 U.S.C. See 39 

U.S.C. 202(a), 205(a). In addition, 

certain matters are reserved for decision 

by the nine Governors. See 39 CFR 3.4. 

On occasion, Postal Service Governors 

may be called upon to act upon postal 

matters that would have a direct and 

predictable effect on the financial 

interests of a postal competitor or postal 

lessor. In those cases, such involvement 

would be prohibited by the criminal 

conflict of laws (18 U.S.C. 208) to the 

extent that a Governor (or a person or 

entity whose interests are imputed to 

the Governor) has a financial interest in 

the postal competitor or postal lessor. 

Recognizing that this is not the case for 

all postal matters, the Postal Service 

proposes to amend Part 7001 to 

nevertheless prohibit Governors, their 

spouses, and minor children from 

directly or indirectly holding financial 

interests in postal competitors or 

publicly-traded postal lessors, and 

Governors from actively controlling the 

acquisition or holding of financial 

interests in postal competitors or 

publicly-traded postal lessors on behalf 


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of any entity, because doing so would 

cause an appearance of a lack of 

impartiality or objectivity with which 

postal programs are administered. 

The Postal Service proposes to amend 

Part 7001 of the Supplemental 

Standards to include new § 7001.104 

regarding prohibited financial interests 

of the Governors as follows: 

1. Financial Interest in a Postal 

Competitor 

The Postal Service proposes to add a 

provision at § 7001.104(a)(1)(i) 

prohibiting Postal Service Governors, 

their spouses, and minor children from 

directly or indirectly acquiring or 

holding any financial interest in a 

person engaged in the delivery outside 

the mails of any type of mailable matter, 

except daily newspapers (‘‘postal 

competitor’’), with some exceptions. 

Pursuant to § 7001.104(a)(2), Postal 

Service Governors also would be 

prohibited from actively controlling the 

acquisition of or the holding of any 

financial interest in a postal competitor 

on behalf of an entity whose financial 

interests are imputed to the Governor 

under 18 U.S.C. 208. A Governor 

actively controls the acquisition or 

holding of financial interests on behalf 

of an entity if he or she selects or 

dictates the entity’s investments, such 

as stocks, bonds, commodities, or funds. 

A Governor does not actively control the 

acquisition or holding of financial 

interests on behalf of an entity if he or 

she merely directs the investment 

strategy of the entity, hires the entity’s 

financial manager(s) who selects the 

entity’s investments, or designates 

another employee of the entity to select 

the entity’s investments. A Governor 

may have such investment authority 

when serving as an officer, director, 

trustee, general partner, or employee of 

an entity. Examples have been provided 

of when a Governor does and does not 

actively control the acquisition or 

holding of financial interests on behalf 

of an entity. 

While the Postal Service is an 

independent establishment of the 

executive branch of the Government of 

the United States, its mission includes 

the provision to the public for a fee of 

services for which it has private sector 

competitors, i.e., private businesses 

engaged in the delivery outside the 

mails of mailable matter, including but 

not limited to, United Parcel Service 

(UPS), Federal Express (FedEx), 

Amazon, and DHL. This definition of ‘‘a 

person engaged in the delivery outside 

the mails of any type of mailable 

matter’’ is the same definition of that 

term that is included in the definitions 

section of § 7001.102 applicable to the 

prohibition on employees engaging in 

outside employment or business 

activities with or for such persons. 

The purpose of the proposed 

amendment is to avoid even the 

appearance of impropriety that may be 

created by a Governor or his or her 

spouse or minor child holding a 

financial interest in a postal competitor, 

or a Governor actively controlling the 

acquisition or holding of a financial 

interest in a postal competitor on behalf 

of an entity whose financial interests are 

imputed to the Governor under the 

criminal conflict of interest laws (18 

U.S.C. 208). A Governor or his or her 

spouse or minor child holding such a 

financial interest might lead members of 

the public to question the Governor’s 

loyalty to the Postal Service, thereby 

undermining public confidence in the 

integrity of postal operations. Likewise, 

members of the public might question 

the Governor’s loyalty to the Postal 

Service if an entity whose financial 

interests are treated as his or her own, 

and for which the Governor actively 

controls investment decisions, has a 

financial interest in a postal competitor. 

These concerns are not presented by a 

Governor or his or her spouse or minor 

child holding a financial interest in a 

private business engaged in the delivery 

of daily newspapers, or a Governor 

actively controlling a financial interest 

in such a private business on behalf of 

an entity, which are not prohibited. 

2. Financial Interest in a PubliclyTraded Postal Lessor 

The Postal Service proposes to add a 

provision at § 7001.104(a)(1)(ii) 

prohibiting Postal Service Governors, 

their spouses, and minor children from 

directly or indirectly acquiring or 

holding any financial interest in a 

publicly-traded entity engaged primarily 

in the business of leasing real property 

to the Postal Service (‘‘postal lessor’’), 

with some exceptions. Pursuant to 

§ 7001.104(a)(2), Postal Service 

Governors also would be prohibited 

from actively controlling the acquisition 

of or the holding of any financial 

interest in a postal lessor on behalf of an 

entity whose financial interests are 

imputed to the Governor under 18 

U.S.C. 208. A Governor actively controls 

the acquisition or holding of financial 

interests on behalf of an entity if he or 

she selects or dictates the entity’s 

investments, such as stocks, bonds, 

commodities, or funds. A Governor does 

not actively control the acquisition or 

holding of financial interests on behalf 

of an entity if he or she merely directs 

the investment strategy of the entity, 

hires the entity’s financial manager(s) 

who selects the entity’s investments, or 

designates another employee of the 

entity to select the entity’s investments. 

A Governor may have such investment 

authority when serving as an officer, 

director, trustee, general partner, or 

employee of an entity. Examples have 

been provided of when a Governor does 

and does not actively control the 

acquisition or holding of financial 

interests on behalf of an entity. 

In order to accomplish its mission of 

providing adequate and efficient postal 

services nationwide, the Postal Service 

maintains retail (i.e., post offices) and 

other facilities across the country. In 

most cases, the Postal Service leases, 

rather than owns, the real property 

where its facilities are located. 

The Postal Service’s lease agreements 

are mainly with non-governmental 

lessors, including, at present, one 

publicly-traded entity engaged primarily 

in the business of leasing real property 

to the Postal Service. While the interests 

of such an entity are at times aligned 

with the Postal Service’s interests, it 

also has interests that do or may conflict 

with the Postal Service’s interests, such 

as the terms of the lease agreement and 

how those terms are implemented. 

The purpose of the proposed 

amendment is to avoid even the 

appearance of impropriety that may be 

created by a Governor or his or her 

spouse or minor child holding a 

financial interest in a postal lessor, or a 

Governor actively controlling the 

acquisition or holding of a financial 

interest in a postal lessor on behalf of an 

entity whose financial interests are 

imputed to the Governor under the 

criminal conflict of interest laws (18 

U.S.C. 208). A Governor or his or her 

spouse or minor child having such a 

financial interest might lead members of 

the public to question the Governor’s 

loyalty to the Postal Service, thereby 

undermining public confidence in the 

integrity of postal operations, including 

the postal real estate leasing program. 

Likewise, members of the public might 

question the Governor’s loyalty to the 

Postal Service if an entity whose 

financial interests are treated as his or 

her own, and for which the Governor 

actively controls investment decisions, 

has a financial interest in a postal lessor. 

3. Exceptions, Time Limits, 

Disqualifications, and Waivers 

Under an exception to the proposed 

prohibitions at § 7001.104(b), 

Governors, their spouses, and minor 

children are not prohibited from 

directly or indirectly acquiring or 

holding, and Governors are not 

prohibited from actively controlling on 

behalf of any entity, any financial 

interest in any publicly-traded or 


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publicly-available mutual fund (as 

defined in 5 CFR 2640.102(k)) or other 

collective investment fund, including a 

widely-held pension or other retirement 

fund, that includes any financial 

interest in a postal competitor or postal 

lessor described in the proposed 

amendment, so long as certain 

conditions are met. 

The proposed amendment also 

provides in proposed § 7001.104(c) the 

time limit by which any financial 

interest in a postal competitor or postal 

lessor prohibited by the proposed 

amendment generally must be divested, 

as well as the time limits for reporting 

and divesting the following: 

(1) A financial interest directly or 

indirectly held by a Governor or his or 

her spouse or minor child, or a financial 

interest actively controlled by a 

Governor on behalf of any entity, that 

becomes prohibited subsequent to the 

Governor’s confirmation; 

(2) a financial interest in a postal 

competitor or postal lessor described in 

the proposed amendment that was 

acquired by the Governor or his or her 

spouse or minor child without specific 

intent (such as through marriage, 

inheritance, or gift) subsequent to the 

Governor’s confirmation; and 

(3) a financial interest in a postal 

competitor or postal lessor described in 

the proposed amendment that was 

acquired by an entity whose financial 

interests are actively controlled by a 

Governor without specific intent (such 

as through a gift) subsequent to the 

Governor’s confirmation. 

The proposed amendment further 

provides that pending any required 

divestiture of a prohibited financial 

interest provided for in the proposed 

amendment, a Governor must disqualify 

himself or herself from participating in 

particular matters involving or affecting 

the prohibited financial interest, and 

that disqualification is accomplished by 

not participating in the particular 

matter. 

The proposed amendment at 

§ 7001.104(d) additionally authorizes 

the Postal Service’s DAEO, upon good 

cause shown by a Governor, to grant a 

written waiver to the Governor of any 

prohibited financial interest described 

in the proposed amendment, provided 

that the DAEO finds that: 

(1) The waiver is not inconsistent 

with 5 CFR part 2635 or otherwise 

prohibited by law; and 

(2) under the particular 

circumstances, application of the 

prohibition is not necessary to avoid the 

appearance of the Governor’s misuse of 

position or loss of impartiality or 

otherwise to ensure confidence in 

impartiality or objectivity with which 

postal programs are administered. 

The DAEO may impose appropriate 

conditions for granting of the waiver, 

such as requiring the Governor to 

execute a written statement of 

disqualification. 

The waiver is intended, in 

appropriate cases, to lessen the burden 

that the prohibitions on holding or 

controlling the relevant financial 

interests may impose on, as applicable, 

the Governors, their spouses, or minor 

children while ensuring that they do not 

hold or control financial interests that 

may interfere with the objective and 

impartial performance by the Governors 

of their official duties. 

III. Matters of Regulatory Procedure 

Although the Postal Service is 

exempted by 39 U.S.C. 410(a) from the 

advance notice requirements of the 

Administrative Procedure Act regarding 

rulemaking (5 U.S.C. 553(b), (c)), the 

Postal Service invites comments on 

these proposed rules. 

Lists of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 7001 

Conflict of interests, Ethical 

standards, Executive branch standards 

of conduct, Government employees. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the United States Postal 

Service, with the concurrence of the 

United States Office of Government 

Ethics, proposes to amend 5 CFR part 

7001 as follows: 

PART 7001—SUPPLEMENTAL 

STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT 

FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED 

STATES POSTAL SERVICE 

■ 1. The authority citation for 5 CFR 

part 7001 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 7301; 5 U.S.C. App. 

(Ethics in Government Act of 1978); 39 

U.S.C. 401; E.O. 12674, 54 FR 15159; 3 CFR, 

1989 Comp., p. 215, as modified by E.O. 

12731, 55 FR 42547; 3 CFR 1990 Comp., p. 

306; 5 CFR 2635.105, 2635.802, and 

2635.803. 

■ 2. Revise § 7001.102 to read as 

follows: 

§ 7001.102 Restrictions on outside 

employment and business activities. 

(a) Prohibited outside employment 

and business activities. No Postal 

Service employee shall: 

(1) Engage in outside employment or 

business activities that involve 

providing consultation, advice, or any 

subcontracting service, with respect to 

the operations, programs, or procedures 

of the Postal Service, to any person who 

has a contract with the Postal Service or 

who the employee has reason to believe 

will compete for such a contract; 

(2) Except as permitted by paragraph 

(b)(2) of this section, engage in outside 

employment or business activities with, 

for, or as a person engaged in: 

(i) The operation of a commercial mail 

receiving agency registered with the 

Postal Service; or 

(ii) The delivery outside the mails of 

any type of mailable matter, except 

daily newspapers. 

Example to paragraph (a)(2)(ii): 

United Parcel Service (UPS), Federal 

Express (FedEx), Amazon, or DHL offers 

a part-time job to a postal employee. 

Because UPS, FedEx, Amazon and DHL 

are persons engaged in the delivery 

outside the mails of mailable matter (as 

defined in paragraph (c)(2) of this 

section) that is not daily newspapers, 

the employee may not engage in 

employment with UPS, FedEx, Amazon, 

or DHL in any location in any capacity 

while continuing employment with the 

Postal Service in any location in any 

capacity. If the employee chooses to 

work for UPS, FedEx, Amazon, or DHL, 

the employee must end his or her postal 

employment before commencing work 

for that company. 

(3) Engage in any fundraising (as 

defined in 5 CFR 2635.808(a)(1)), forprofit business activity, or sales activity, 

including the solicitation of business or 

the receipt of orders, for oneself or any 

other person, while on duty or in 

uniform, at any postal facility, or using 

any postal equipment. This paragraph 

does not prohibit an employee from 

engaging in fundraising at a postal 

facility as permitted in connection with 

the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) 

under 5 CFR part 950. 

Example 1 to paragraph (a)(3): An 

employee volunteers at a local animal 

shelter (a non-profit organization) which 

is having its annual fundraising drive. 

The employee may not solicit funds or 

sell items to raise funds for the animal 

shelter while on duty, in uniform, at any 

postal facility, or using any postal 

equipment. 

Example 2 to paragraph (a)(3): 

Outside of his postal employment, an 

employee operates a for-profit dogwalking business. The employee may 

not engage in activities relating to the 

operation of his business while on duty, 

in uniform, at any postal facility, or 

using any postal equipment. 

Example 3 to paragraph (a)(3): 

Outside of her postal employment, an 

employee has a job as a sales associate 

for a cosmetics company. The employee 

may not solicit sales or receive orders 

for the cosmetic company from any 

person while on duty, in uniform, at any 

postal facility, or using any postal 

equipment. 


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(b) Prior approval for outside 

employment and business activities. 

(1) When prior approval required. A 

Postal Service employee shall obtain 

approval from the Postal Service’s 

Ethics Office in accordance with 

paragraph (b)(3) of this section prior to: 

(i) Engaging in outside employment or 

business activities with or for any 

person with whom the employee has 

official dealings on behalf of the Postal 

Service; 

(ii) Engaging in outside employment 

or business activities with, for, or as a 

person who has interests that are: 

(A) Substantially dependent upon, or 

potentially affected to a significant 

degree by, postal rates, fees, or 

classifications; or 

(B) Substantially dependent upon 

providing goods or services to, or for use 

in connection with, the Postal Service; 

or 

(iii) Engaging in outside employment 

or business activities with or for any 

Highway Contract Route (HCR) 

contractor. 

(2) When prior approval may be 

requested for prohibited outside 

employment and activities. If an entity 

with which an employee wishes to 

engage in outside employment or 

business activities is a subsidiary of an 

entity that is engaged in one the 

activities described in (a)(2) of this 

section, but does not itself engage in any 

those activities, the employee may 

request approval from the Postal 

Service’s Ethics Office to engage in such 

activity. The employee’s request should 

follow the procedures of (b)(3) of this 

section, and will be evaluated under the 

standard set forth in (b)(4) of this 

section. 

Example to paragraph (b)(2): A postal 

employee who wishes to engage in 

outside employment with Whole Foods 

Market may submit a request to engage 

in that activity to the Postal Service’s 

Ethics Office. Although Whole Foods 

Market is a subsidiary of Amazon, it is 

engaged in the supermarket business, 

not in the delivery outside the mails of 

mailable matter. 

(3) Submission and contents of 

request for approval. An employee who 

wishes to engage in outside employment 

or business activities for which approval 

is required by paragraph (b)(1) of this 

section shall submit a written request 

for approval to the Postal Service’s 

Ethics Office. The request shall be 

accompanied by a statement from the 

employee’s supervisor briefly 

summarizing the employee’s duties and 

stating any workplace concerns raised 

by the employee’s request for approval. 

The request for approval shall include: 

(i) A brief description of the 

employee’s official duties; 

(ii) The name of the outside employer, 

or a statement that the employee will be 

engaging in employment or business 

activities on his or her own behalf; 

(iii) The type of employment or 

business activities in which the outside 

employer, if any, is engaged; 

(iv) The type of services to be 

performed by the employee in 

connection with the outside 

employment or business activities; 

(v) A description of the employee’s 

official dealings, if any, with the outside 

employer on behalf of the Postal 

Service; and 

(vi) Any additional information 

requested by the Postal Service’s Ethics 

Office that is needed to determine 

whether approval should be granted. 

(4) Standard for approval. The 

approval required by paragraph (b)(1) of 

this section shall be granted only upon 

a determination that the outside 

employment or business activities will 

not involve conduct prohibited by 

statute or federal regulation, including 5 

CFR part 2635, which includes, among 

other provisions, the principle stated at 

5 CFR 2635.101(b)(14) that employees 

shall endeavor to avoid any actions 

creating the appearance that they are 

violating the law or the ethical 

standards set forth in part 2635. 

(c) Special rules for outside 

employment or business activities of 

OIG employees.—(1) When reporting 

required. A Postal Service Office of 

Inspector General (OIG) employee shall 

report compensated and uncompensated 

outside employment or business 

activities to the OIG’s Office of General 

Counsel, including: 

(i) Any knowing sale or lease of real 

estate to the Postal Service or to a Postal 

Service employee or contractor, 

regardless of the frequency of such sales 

or leases or whether the sale or lease is 

at fair market value; 

(ii) Any ownership or control of a 

publicly-accessible online or physical 

storefront; and 

(iii) Volunteer activities, if they 

regularly exceed 20 hours per week or 

when the employee holds an officer 

position in the organization. 

Example 1 to paragraph (c)(1)(iii): An 

OIG employee occasionally volunteers 

with a domestic violence non-profit. 

The employee’s volunteer duties are 

generally limited to 5 hours per week. 

The employee is not an officer of the 

organization. One weekend the 

employee helps to build a new home for 

a family, which takes a combined 22 

hours. The employee is not required to 

report those volunteer activities because 

the employee is not an officer and the 

employee’s volunteer activities do not 

regularly exceed 20 hours per week. 

Example 2 to paragraph (c)(1)(iii): An 

OIG employee is a Scoutmaster for his 

child’s local scouting group. The 

children meet for an hour each week 

and go on 4-hour hikes one weekend per 

month. Though ‘‘Scoutmaster’’ may 

involve leadership, it is not an officer 

position within the non-profit entity 

and need not be reported. 

(2) When prior approval required. A 

Special Agent or Criminal Investigator 

shall also request and obtain written 

approval prior to engaging in outside 

employment or business activities 

which he or she is required to report 

under paragraph (c)(1) of this section. A 

request for approval shall be submitted 

to the OIG’s Office of General Counsel, 

which will be reviewed under the same 

standard stated in paragraph (b)(3) of 

this section. 

(3) Implementation guidance. The 

OIG’s Office of General Counsel may 

issue internal instructions governing the 

submission of requests for approval of 

outside employment, business activities, 

and volunteer activities. The 

instructions may exempt categories of 

employment, business activities, or 

volunteer activities from the reporting 

and prior approval requirements of this 

section based on a determination that 

those activities would generally be 

approved and are not likely to involve 

conduct prohibited by statute or Federal 

regulation, including 5 CFR part 2635. 

The OIG’s Office of General Counsel 

may include in these instructions 

examples of outside activities that are 

permissible or impermissible consistent 

with this part and 5 CFR part 2635. 

(d) Definitions. For purposes of this 

section: 

(1) Outside employment or business 

activity means any form of employment 

or business, whether or not for 

compensation. It includes, but is not 

limited to, the provision of personal 

services as officer, employee, agent, 

attorney, consultant, contractor, trustee, 

teacher, or speaker. It also includes, but 

is not limited to, engagement as 

principal, proprietor, general partner, 

holder of a franchise, operator, manager, 

or director. It does not include equitable 

ownership through the holding of 

publicly-traded shares of a corporation. 

(2) Commercial mail receiving agency 

means a private business that acts as the 

mail receiving agent for specific clients. 

The business must be registered with 

the post office responsible for delivery 

to the commercial mail receiving 

agency. 

(3) A person engaged in the delivery 

outside the mails of any type of mailable 

matter means a person who is engaged 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 8, 2022 / Proposed Rules 12897 

in the delivery outside the mails of any 

letter, card, flat, or parcel eligible to be 

accepted for delivery by the Postal 

Service. 

(4) A person having interests 

substantially dependent upon, or 

potentially affected to a significant 

degree by, postal rates, fees, or 

classifications includes a person: 

(i) Primarily engaged in the business 

of publishing or distributing a 

publication mailed at Periodicals rates 

of postage; 

(ii) Primarily engaged in the business 

of sending advertising, promotional, or 

other material on behalf of other persons 

through the mails; 

(iii) Engaged in a commercial business 

that: 

(A) Primarily utilizes the mails for the 

solicitation or receipt of orders for, or 

the delivery of, goods or services; and 

(B) Can be expected to earn gross 

revenue exceeding $10,000 from 

utilizing the mails during the business’s 

current fiscal year; or 

(iv) Who is, or within the past 4 years 

has been, a party to a proceeding before 

the Postal Regulatory Commission. 

Example 1 to paragraph (d)(4)(iii): An 

employee operates a business which 

sells handmade wooden bowls on its 

website and other e-commerce websites 

and uses the Postal Service as its 

primary shipper. The employee’s 

business can be expected to earn gross 

revenue of more than $10,000 from 

utilizing the mails during the business’s 

current fiscal year. The employee’s 

business is ‘‘a person having interests 

substantially dependent upon, or 

potentially affected to a significant 

degree by, postal rates, fees, or 

classifications’’ because it is a 

commercial business that primarily 

utilizes the mails for the delivery of its 

goods and the business can be expected 

to earn gross revenue exceeding $10,000 

from utilizing the mails during its 

current fiscal year. 

Example 2 to paragraph (d)(4)(iii): An 

employee knits scarves as a hobby, most 

of which she gives to family and friends, 

but she occasionally sells extra scarves 

on an e-commerce website and uses the 

Postal Service as her primary shipper. 

The employee does not expect to receive 

more than $10,000 from utilizing the 

mails during the current calendar year 

in which she sells the scarves. The 

employee is not ‘‘a person having 

interests substantially dependent upon, 

or potentially affected to a significant 

degree by, postal rates, fees, or 

classifications’’ because she is not 

engaged in a commercial business that 

can be expected to earn gross revenue 

from utilizing the mails exceeding 

$10,000 during its current fiscal year. 

(5) A person having interests 

substantially dependent upon providing 

goods or services to, or for use in 

connection with, the Postal Service 

includes a person: 

(i) Providing goods or services under 

contract(s) with the Postal Service that 

in total can be expected to provide 

revenue exceeding $100,000 over the 

term(s) of the contract(s); or 

(ii) Substantially engaged in the 

business of preparing items for others 

for mailing through the Postal Service. 

Example to paragraph (d)(5)(ii): A 

mailing house that sorts and otherwise 

prepares for its clients large volumes of 

advertising, fundraising, or political 

mail for mailing to prospective 

customers, donors, or voters through the 

Postal Service is ‘‘a person having 

interests substantially dependent upon 

providing goods or services to, or for use 

in connection with, the Postal Service’’ 

because it is substantially engaged in 

the business of preparing items for 

others for mailing through the Postal 

Service. 

■ 3. Add § 7001.104 to read as follows: 

§ 7001.104 Prohibited financial interests of 

the Governors of the United States Postal 

Service. 

(a) General prohibitions.—(1) No 

Governor of the United States Postal 

Service or his or her spouse or minor 

child shall acquire or hold, directly or 

indirectly: 

(i) Any financial interest in a person 

engaged in the delivery outside the 

mails of any type of mailable matter, 

except daily newspapers; or 

(ii) Any financial interest in a 

publicly-traded entity engaged primarily 

in the business of leasing real property 

to the Postal Service. 

(2) No Governor shall actively control 

the acquisition of or the holding of any 

financial interest described in paragraph 

(a)(1)(i) or (ii) of this section on behalf 

of any entity whose financial interests 

are imputed to the Governor under 18 

U.S.C. 208. A Governor actively controls 

the financial interests of an entity if he 

or she selects or dictates the entity’s 

investments, such as stocks, bonds, 

commodities, or funds. A Governor does 

not actively control the financial 

interests of an entity if he or she merely 

directs the investment strategy of the 

entity, hires the entity’s financial 

manager(s) who selects the entity’s 

investments, or designates another 

employee of the entity to select the 

entity’s investments. A Governor may 

have such investment authority when 

serving as an officer, director, trustee, 

general partner, or employee of an 

entity. 

Example 1 to paragraph (a)(2): A 

Governor is also the chief executive 

officer (CEO) of a life insurance 

company. The company’s policy is for: 

(1) The board of directors to determine 

the overall investment strategy for the 

company’s excess cash, (2) an internal 

team to recommend to the CEO specific 

financial instruments in which to invest 

the company’s excess cash to implement 

the board’s overall investment strategy, 

and (3) the CEO to approve or 

disapprove of the internal team’s 

specific investment recommendations. 

The Governor actively controls the 

financial interests of the life insurance 

company in his position as CEO of the 

company. 

Example 2 to paragraph (a)(2): A 

Governor is also on the board of 

directors of an investment company. 

The company’s policy is for: (1) The 

board of directors to determine the 

overall investment strategy for the 

company’s excess cash, (2) the board of 

directors to choose an external 

investment manager to select and 

manage day-to-day the specific financial 

instruments in which the company’s 

excess cash is invested to implement the 

board’s overall investment strategy, and 

(3) the CEO and other company 

management official to oversee the 

investment management process, 

including periodic review of the 

company’s investment portfolio. The 

Governor does not actively control the 

financial interests of the investment 

company in her position on the board of 

directors. 

(b) Exception. Paragraph (a) of this 

section does not prohibit a Governor or 

his or her spouse or minor child from 

directly or indirectly acquiring or 

holding, or a Governor from actively 

controlling on behalf of any entity, any 

financial interest in any publicly-traded 

or publicly-available mutual fund (as 

defined in 5 CFR 2640.102(k)) or other 

collective investment fund, including a 

widely-held pension or other retirement 

fund, that includes any financial 

interest described in paragraph (a)(1)(i) 

or (ii) of this section, provided that: 

(1) Neither the Governor nor his or 

her spouse exercises active control over 

the financial interests held by the fund; 

and 

(2) The fund does not have a stated 

policy of concentrating its investments 

in, as applicable, persons engaged in the 

delivery outside the mails of mailable 

matter, except daily newspapers, or 

persons engaged primarily in the 

business of leasing real property to the 

Postal Service. 

(c) Reporting of prohibited financial 

interest and divestiture.—(1) General. 

Any financial interest prohibited by 


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12898 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 8, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

paragraph (a) of this section shall be 

divested within 90 calendar days of 

confirmation by the Senate of the 

Governor’s nomination, or as soon as 

possible thereafter if there are 

restrictions on divestiture. 

(2) Newly-prohibited financial 

interests following confirmation. If a 

financial interest directly or indirectly 

held by a Governor or his or her spouse 

or minor child, or a financial interest 

actively controlled by a Governor on 

behalf of any entity, becomes prohibited 

subsequent to the Governor’s 

confirmation: 

(i) The Governor shall report the 

prohibited financial interest to the 

Postal Service’s Designated Agency 

Ethics Official (DAEO) within 30 

calendar days of the DAEO informing 

the Governors that such financial 

interests have become prohibited; and 

(ii) The prohibited financial interest 

shall be divested within 90 calendar 

days of the DAEO informing the 

Governors that such financial interests 

have become prohibited, or as soon as 

possible thereafter if there are 

restrictions on divestiture. 

(3) Prohibited financial interests 

acquired without specific intent 

following confirmation.—(i) If a 

Governor or his or her spouse or minor 

child acquires a financial interest 

prohibited by paragraph (a)(1) of this 

section without specific intent to 

acquire it (such as through marriage, 

inheritance, or gift) subsequent to the 

Governor’s confirmation: 

(A) The Governor shall report the 

prohibited financial interest to the 

Postal Service’s DAEO within 30 

calendar days of its acquisition; and 

(B) The prohibited financial interest 

shall be divested within 90 calendar 

days of its acquisition, or as soon as 

possible thereafter if there are 

restrictions on divestiture. 

(ii) If an entity whose financial 

interests are actively controlled by a 

Governor acquires a financial interest 

described in paragraph (a)(1)(i) or (ii) of 

this section without specific intent to 

acquire it (such as through a gift) 

subsequent to the Governor’s 

confirmation: 

(A) The Governor shall report the 

prohibited financial interest to the 

Postal Service’s DAEO within 30 

calendar days of its acquisition; and 

(B) The prohibited financial interest 

shall be divested within 90 calendar 

days of its acquisition, or as soon as 

possible thereafter if there are 

restrictions on divestiture. 

(4) Disqualification from participating 

in particular matters pending 

divestiture. Pending any required 

divestiture of a prohibited financial 

interest provided for in paragraph (c) of 

this section, a Governor shall disqualify 

himself or herself from participating in 

particular matters involving or affecting 

the prohibited financial interest. 

Disqualification is accomplished by not 

participating in the particular matter. 

(d) Waiver of prohibited financial 

interests. For good cause shown by a 

Governor, the Postal Service’s DAEO 

may grant a written waiver to the 

Governor of any prohibited financial 

interest described in paragraph (a), 

(c)(2), or (c)(3) of this section; provided 

that the DAEO finds that the waiver is 

not inconsistent with 5 CFR part 2635 

or otherwise prohibited by law, and that 

under the particular circumstances, 

application of the prohibition is not 

necessary to avoid the appearance of the 

Governor’s misuse of position or loss of 

impartiality or otherwise to ensure 

confidence in the impartiality or 

objectivity with which the Postal 

Service’s programs are administered. 

The DAEO may impose appropriate 

conditions for granting of the waiver, 

such as requiring the Governor to 

execute a written statement of 

disqualification. 

(e) Definition. For purposes of this 

section, a person engaged in the 

delivery outside the mails of any type of 

mailable matter is as defined in 

§ 7001.102(d)(3). 

Ruth Stevenson, 

Chief Counsel, Ethics and Legal Compliance, 

United States Postal Service. 

Emory Rounds, 

Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04452 Filed 3–7–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–12–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 71 

[Docket No. FAA–2022–0161; Airspace 

Docket No. 22–AGL–12] 

RIN 2120–AA66 

Proposed Amendment of Class E 

Airspace; Owatonna, MN 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: This action proposes to 

amend the Class E airspace at 

Owatonna, MN. The FAA is proposing 

this action as the result of an airspace 

review caused by the decommissioning 

of the Owatonna Outer Marker (OM) 

and Owatonna non-directional beacon 

(NDB). The name and geographical 

coordinates of the airport would also be 

updated to coincide with the FAA’s 

aeronautical database. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 22, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this 

proposal to the U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, 

West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202) 

366–9826, or (800) 647–5527. You must 

identify FAA Docket No. FAA–2022– 

0161/Airspace Docket No. 22–AGL–12, 

at the beginning of your comments. You 

may also submit comments through the 

internet at https://www.regulations.gov. 

You may review the public docket 

containing the proposal, any comments 

received, and any final disposition in 

person in the Dockets Office between 

9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except federal holidays. 

FAA Order JO 7400.11F, Airspace 

Designations and Reporting Points, and 

subsequent amendments can be viewed 

online at https://www.faa.gov/air_

traffic/publications/. For further 

information, you can contact the 

Airspace Policy Group, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; 

telephone: (202) 267–8783. FAA Order 

JO 7400.11F is also available for 

inspection at the National Archives and 

Records Administration (NARA). For 

information on the availability of FAA 

Order JO 7400.11F at NARA, email 

fedreg.legal@nara.gov or go to https://

www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ 

ibr-locations.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rebecca Shelby, Federal Aviation 

Administration, Operations Support 

Group, Central Service Center, 10101 

Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 

76177; telephone (817) 222–5857. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority for This Rulemaking 

The FAA’s authority to issue rules 

regarding aviation safety is found in 

Title 49 of the United States Code. 

Subtitle I, Section 106 describes the 

authority of the FAA Administrator. 

Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs, 

describes in more detail the scope of the 

agency’s authority. This rulemaking is 

promulgated under the authority 

described in Subtitle VII, Part A, 

Subpart I, Section 40103. Under that 

section, the FAA is charged with 

prescribing regulations to assign the use 

of airspace necessary to ensure the 

safety of aircraft and the efficient use of 

airspace. This regulation is within the 


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