Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 105 / Thursday, June 1, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 28535

Bureau of Unemployment and Sickness

Insurance, is authorized to make initial

determinations on all issues of

eligibility for unemployment and

sickness benefits as set forth in

paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section,

and on any other issue not reserved to

the Director by paragraph (e) of this

section.

* * * * *

Dated: May 23, 1995.

By Authority of the Board.

Beatrice Ezerski,

Secretary to the Board.

[FR Doc. 95–13297 Filed 5–31–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7905–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

31 CFR Part 0

Employee Rules of Conduct

AGENCY: Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Interim rule.

SUMMARY: The Department of the

Treasury is issuing the Employee Rules

of Conduct which will prescribe

uniform rules of conduct and procedure

for all employees and officials in the

Department.

DATES: This interim rule is effective

June 1, 1995. Comments must be

received or postmarked on or before July

3, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

submitted to the Office of the Assistant

General Counsel (General Law and

Ethics), Department of the Treasury,

Room 1410, Washington, DC 20220,

Attention: Mr. R. Peter Rittling or by

e-mail at the following address

Peter.Rittling@treas.sprint.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen J. McHale, Henry H. Booth, or

R. Peter Rittling, Office of the Assistant

General Counsel (General Law and

Ethics), Department of the Treasury,

telephone (202) 622–0450, FAX (202)

622–1176, e-mail

Peter.Rittling@treas.sprint.com.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

On August 7, 1992, the Office of

Government Ethics (OGE) published the

Standards of Ethical Conduct for

Employees of the Executive Branch (5

CFR Part 2635). The Executive Branchwide Standards became effective on

February 3, 1993, superseding many,

but not all, of the Department-wide

conduct rules published at 31 CFR Part

0 (see also the grace period extension at

59 FR 4779–4780, February 2, 1994).

This rule making repeals part 0 in its

entirety and issues a new part 0. The

new part 0 includes conduct rules

previously published in part 0 that were

not superseded and continue to be

important to the efficient functioning of

the Department. Many of the regulations

included in the Rules of Conduct have

been revised pursuant to changes in the

law or Department policy.

Simultaneously, in a separate rule

making, the Department is issuing as a

final rule the Supplemental Standards

of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the

Department of the Treasury. The

Supplemental Standards, to be codified

at 5 CFR chapter XXI, prescribe

Department-specific ethics regulations

supplemental to the Executive Branchwide Standards.

II. Analysis of the Regulations

Subpart A—General Provisions

The provisions contained in subpart

A state the policy and purpose of the

Rules of Conduct and the

responsibilities of the Department’s

employees and officials in

implementing and complying with the

included regulations. Subpart A also

includes a definitional section. The

United States Savings Bonds Division is

omitted from the definition of Bureau in

§ 0.103 because it was assumed into the

Bureau of the Public Debt and no longer

exists as a separate component of the

Department.

Subpart B—Rules of Conduct

Subpart B sets out the conduct

regulations that all Department

employees and officials are required to

follow. Generally, the rules regulate

employee conduct including, for

example, the use of Government

vehicles or the use of controlled

substances and intoxicants while an

employee is on duty or on Government

property. Regulations concerning

conflicts of interest and ethics are

contained in the Executive Branch-wide

Standards and the Treasury

Supplemental Standards.

Subpart C—Special Government

Employees

Section 0.301 of subpart C explains

that, with little variation, special

Government employees employed with

the Department are required to comply

with the Rules of Conduct to the same

degree as regular employees. Further,

§ 0.303 requires a special Government

employee, serving concurrently with

another Federal agency, to inform the

Department of that fact so that the

Department may take the appropriate

administrative actions and avoid any

conflict in duties or remuneration.

Subpart D—Advisers to the Department

Subpart D includes a definition of

adviser to the Department and instructs

individuals uncertain about their

relationship with the Department to

seek advice from the appropriate ethics

official. Further, § 0.401(b) explains that

it is the Department’s policy that

advisers should refer to the Rules of

Conduct for guidance when working

with the Department even though they

are not required to follow the Rules.

III. Matters of Regulatory Procedure

Administrative Procedure Act

The Department finds that good cause

exists for waiving the notice and

comment requirements contained in 5

U.S.C. 553(b) and (d). The Department

of the Treasury Employee Rules of

Conduct contain statements of policy,

interpretive rules, and conduct

regulations relating solely to agency

management and personnel. Moreover,

this rule making essentially reissues in

revised form many of the conduct rules

previously published in 31 CFR Part 0.

However, because this rule may be

improved, comments may be submitted

on or before July 3, 1995. All comments

will be analyzed and any appropriate

changes to the rule will be incorporated

in the subsequent publication of the

final rule.

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory

Planning and Review

This rule is limited to agency

organization, management and

personnel matters; therefore, it is not

subject to Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

It is hereby certified that this rule will

not have a significant economic impact

on a substantial number of small

entities. This rule affects only Federal

employees.

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 0

Government employees.

Dated: January 29, 1995.

Edward S. Knight,

General Counsel, Department of the Treasury.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 31 CFR part 0 is revised to

read as follows:

PART 0—DEPARTMENT OF THE

TREASURY EMPLOYEE RULES OF

CONDUCT

Subpart A—General Provisions

Sec.

0.101 Purpose.

0.102 Policy.

0.103 Definitions.
28536 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 105 / Thursday, June 1, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

Responsibilities

0.104 Designated Agency Ethics Official

and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics

Official.

0.105 Deputy Ethics Official.

0.106 Bureau Heads.

0.107 Employees.

Subpart B—Rules of Conduct

0.201 Political activity.

0.202 Strikes.

0.203 Gifts or gratuities from foreign

governments.

0.204 Use of controlled substances and

intoxicants.

0.205 Care of documents and data.

0.206 Disclosure of information.

0.207 Cooperation with official inquiries.

0.208 Falsification of official records.

0.209 Use of Government vehicles.

0.210 Conduct while on official duty or on

Government property.

0.211 Soliciting, selling and canvassing.

0.212 Influencing legislation or petitioning

Congress.

0.213 General conduct prejudicial to the

Government.

0.214 Nondiscrimination.

0.215 Possession of weapons and

explosives.

0.216 Privacy Act.

0.217 Personal financial interests.

Subpart C—Special Government Employees

0.301 Applicability of subpart B.

0.302 Service with other Federal agencies.

Subpart D—Advisers to the Department

0.401 Advisers to the Department.

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301.

Subpart A—General Provisions

§ 0.101 Purpose.

(a) The Department of the Treasury

Employee Rules of Conduct (Rules) are

separate from and additional to the

Standards of Ethical Conduct for

Employees of the Executive Branch

(Executive Branch-wide Standards) (5

CFR part 2635) and the Supplemental

Standards of Ethical Conduct for

Employees of the Department of the

Treasury (Treasury Supplemental

Standards) (to be codified at 5 CFR part

3101). The Rules prescribe employee

rules of conduct and procedure and

provide for disciplinary action for the

violation of the Rules, the Treasury

Supplemental Standards, the Executive

Branch-wide Standards, and any other

rule, regulation or law governing

Department employees.

(b) The Rules are not all-inclusive and

may be modified by interpretive

guidelines and procedures issued by the

Department’s bureaus. The absence of a

specific published rule of conduct

covering an action does not constitute a

condonation of that action or indicate

that the action would not result in

corrective or disciplinary action.

§ 0.102 Policy.

(a) All employees and officials of the

Department are required to follow the

rules of conduct and procedure

contained in the Rules, the Treasury

Supplemental Standards, the Executive

Branch-wide Standards of Ethical

Conduct, the Employee Responsibilities

and Conduct (5 CFR part 735), and any

bureau issued rules.

(b) Employees found in violation of

the Rules, the Treasury Supplemental

Standards, the Executive Branch-wide

Standards or any applicable bureau rule

may be instructed to take remedial or

corrective action to eliminate the

conflict. Remedial action may include,

but is not limited to:

(1) Reassignment of work duties;

(2) Disqualification from a particular

assignment;

(3) Divestment of a conflicting

interest; or

(4) Other appropriate action.

(c) Employees found in violation of

the Rules, the Treasury Supplemental

Standards, the Executive Branch-wide

Standards or any applicable bureau rule

may be disciplined in proportion to the

gravity of the offense committed,

including removal. Disciplinary action

will be taken in accordance with

applicable laws and regulations and

after consideration of the employee’s

explanation and any mitigating factors.

Further, disciplinary action may include

any additional penalty prescribed by

law.

§ 0.103 Definitions.

The following definitions are used

throughout this part: (a) Adviser means

a person who provides advice to the

Department as a representative of an

outside group and is not an employee or

special Government employee as those

terms are defined in § 0.103.

(b) Bureau means:

(1) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and

Firearms;

(2) Bureau of Engraving and Printing;

(3) Bureau of the Public Debt;

(4) Departmental Offices;

(5) Federal Law Enforcement Training

Center;

(6) Financial Management Service;

(7) Internal Revenue Service;

(8) Legal Division;

(9) Office of the Comptroller of the

Currency;

(10) Office of the Inspector General;

(11) Office of Thrift Supervision;

(12) United States Customs Service;

(13) United States Mint;

(14) United States Secret Service; and

(15) Any organization designated as a

bureau by the Secretary pursuant to

appropriate authority.

(c) Person means an individual,

corporation and subsidiaries it controls,

company, association, firm, partnership,

society, joint stock company, or any

other organization or institution as

specified in 5 CFR 2635.102(k).

(d) Regular employee or employee

means an officer or employee of the

Department of the Treasury but does not

include a special Government

employee.

(e) Special Government employee

means an officer or employee who is

retained, designated, appointed, or

employed to perform temporary duties

either on a full-time or intermittent

basis, with or without compensation, for

a period not to exceed 130 days during

any consecutive 365-day period. See 18

U.S.C. 202(a).

Responsibilities

§ 0.104 Designated Agency Ethics Official

and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics

Official.

The Deputy General Counsel is the

Department’s Designated Agency Ethics

Official (DAEO). The DAEO is

responsible for managing the

Department’s ethics program, including

coordinating ethics counseling and

interpreting questions of conflicts of

interest and other matters that arise

under the Executive Branch-wide

Standards and Treasury Supplemental

Standards and Rules. See 5 CFR

2638.203. The Senior Counsel for Ethics

is the Alternate Designated Agency

Ethics Official.

§ 0.105 Deputy Ethics Official.

The Chief Counsel or Legal Counsel

for a bureau, or a designee, is the

Deputy Ethics Official for that bureau.

The Legal Counsel for the Financial

Crimes Enforcement Network is the

Deputy Ethics Official for that

organization. It is the responsibility of

the Deputy Ethics Official to give

authoritative advice and guidance on

conflicts of interest and other matters

arising under the Executive Branchwide Standards, Treasury Supplemental

Standards, and the Rules.

§ 0.106 Bureau Heads.

Bureau heads or designees are

required to:

(a) Provide all employees with a copy

of Executive Order 12674, as amended

by Executive Order 12731, the Executive

Branch-wide Standards, the Treasury

Supplemental Standards and the Rules;

provide all new employees with an

explanation of the contents and

application of the Executive Branchwide Standards, Treasury Supplemental

Standards and the Rules; and provide

all departing employees with an

explanation of the applicable postemployment restrictions contained in 18
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 105 / Thursday, June 1, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 28537

U.S.C. 207 and 5 CFR part 2641 and any

other applicable law or regulation.

(b) Provide guidance and assistance to

supervisors and employees in

implementing and adhering to the rules

and procedures included in the

Executive Branch-wide Standards and

Treasury Supplemental Standards and

Rules; obtain any necessary legal advice

or interpretation from the Designated

Agency Ethics Official or a Deputy

Ethics Official; and inform employees as

to how and from whom they may obtain

additional clarification or interpretation

of the Executive Branch-wide

Standards, Treasury Supplemental

Standards, Rules, and any other relevant

law, rule or regulation.

(c) Take appropriate corrective or

disciplinary action against an employee

who violates the Executive Branch-wide

Standards, Treasury Supplemental

Standards or Rules, or any other

applicable law, rule or regulation, and

against a supervisor who fails to carry

out his responsibilities in taking or

recommending corrective or

disciplinary action when appropriate

against an employee who has committed

an offense.

§ 0.107 Employees.

(a) Employees are required to:

(1) Read and follow the rules and

procedures contained in the Executive

Branch-wide Standards, Treasury

Supplemental Standards, and Rules;

(2) Request clarification or

interpretation from a supervisor or

ethics official if the application of a rule

contained in the Executive Branch-wide

Standards, Treasury Supplemental

Standards, or Rules is not clear;

(3) Report to the Inspector General or

to the appropriate internal affairs office

of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and

Firearms, Customs Service, Internal

Revenue Service, or Secret Service, any

information indicating that an

employee, former employee, contractor,

subcontractor, or potential contractor

engaged in criminal conduct or that an

employee or former employee violated

the Executive Branch-wide Standards or

the Treasury Supplemental Standards or

Rules. Legal Division attorneys

acquiring this type of information

during the representation of a bureau

shall report it to the appropriate Chief

or Legal Counsel or the Deputy General

Counsel, who shall report such

information to the Inspector General or

appropriate internal affairs office; and

(4) Report to the Inspector General

information defined in paragraph (a)(3)

of this section relating to foreign

intelligence or national security, as

covered in Executive Order 12356. Legal

Division attorneys acquiring this type of

information during the representation of

a bureau shall report it to the Deputy

General Counsel, who shall report such

information to the Inspector General.

(b) The confidentiality of the source of

the information reported to the

Inspector General or the internal affairs

office under this section will be

maintained to the extent appropriate

under the circumstances.

Subpart B—Rules of Conduct

§ 0.201 Political activity.

(a) Employees may:

(1) Take an active part in political

management or in political campaigns

to the extent permitted by law (5 U.S.C.

7321–7326); and

(2) Vote as they choose and express

their opinions on political subjects and

candidates.

(b) Employees may not use their

official authority or influence to

interfere with or affect election results.

(c) Employees may be disqualified

from employment for knowingly

supporting or advocating the violent

overthrow of our constitutional form of

government.

Note: The Hatch Act Reform Amendments

of 1993 significantly reduced the statutory

restrictions on the political activity of most

Department employees. However, career

members of the Senior Executive Service and

employees of the Secret Service, the Internal

Revenue Service, Office of Criminal

Investigation, the Customs Service, Office of

Investigative Programs, and the Bureau of

Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Office of

Law Enforcement, remain subject to

significant restrictions on their political

activities.

§ 0.202 Strikes.

Employees shall not strike against the

Government.

§ 0.203 Gifts or gratuities from foreign

governments.

(a) The United States Constitution

prohibits employees from accepting

gifts, emoluments, offices, or titles from

a foreign government without the

consent of the Congress. Congress has

consented to an employee accepting and

retaining a gift from a foreign

government that is of minimal value and

offered as a souvenir or mark of

courtesy, unless otherwise prohibited by

bureau regulation (5 U.S.C. 7342).

Minimal value is prescribed in 41 CFR

part 101–49 and was set at $225.00 on

the date that the Rules became effective.

(b) All gifts exceeding minimal value,

the refusal of which would likely cause

offense or embarrassment or otherwise

adversely affect the foreign relations of

the United States, shall be accepted and

deposited with the Department within

sixty days of acceptance. If the gift is

travel or expenses for travel taking place

entirely outside the United States, it

shall be reported within thirty days (see

5 U.S.C. 7342(c)(1)(B)(ii)).

(c) As used in paragraph (b) of this

section, Deposit with the Department

means delivery to the Department Gift

Unit or other depository as authorized

by the Treasury Directive on Foreign

Gifts (Treasury Directive 61–04).

(d) All foreign gifts must be reported

as prescribed in the Treasury Directive

on Foreign Gifts (Treasury Directive 61–

04).

§ 0.204 Use of controlled substances and

intoxicants.

Employees shall not sell, use or

possess controlled substances or

intoxicants in violation of the law while

on Department property or official duty,

or use a controlled substance or

intoxicant in a manner that adversely

affects their work performance.

§ 0.205 Care of documents and data.

(a) Employees shall not conceal,

remove, alter, destroy, mutilate or

access documents or data in the custody

of the Federal Government without

proper authority.

(b) Employees are required to care for

documents according to Federal law and

regulation, and Department procedure

(18 U.S.C. 2071, 5 U.S.C. 552, 552a).

(c) The term documents includes, but

is not limited to, any writing, recording,

computer tape or disk, blueprint,

photograph, or other physical object on

which information is recorded.

§ 0.206 Disclosure of information.

Employees shall not disclose official

information without proper authority,

pursuant to Department or bureau

regulation. Employees authorized to

make disclosures should respond

promptly and courteously to requests

from the public for information when

permitted to do so by law (31 CFR 1.9,

1.10, and 1.28(b)).

§ 0.207 Cooperation with official inquiries.

Employees shall respond to questions

truthfully and under oath when

required, whether orally or in writing,

and must provide documents and other

materials concerning matters of official

interest when directed to do so by

competent Treasury authority.

§ 0.208 Falsification of official records.

Employees shall not intentionally

make false, misleading or ambiguous

statements, orally or in writing, in

connection with any matter of official

interest. Matters of official interest

include among other things:

Transactions with the public,
28538 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 105 / Thursday, June 1, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

government agencies or fellow

employees; application forms and other

forms that serve as a basis for

appointment, reassignment, promotion

or other personnel action; vouchers;

leave records and time and attendance

records; work reports of any nature or

accounts of any kind; affidavits; entry or

record of any matter relating to or

connected with an employee’s duties;

and reports of any moneys or securities

received, held or paid to, for or on

behalf of the United States.

§ 0.209 Use of Government vehicles.

Employees shall not use Government

vehicles for unofficial purposes,

including to transport unauthorized

passengers. The use of Government

vehicles for transporting employees

between their domiciles and places of

employment must be authorized by

statute (See, e.g., 31 U.S.C. 1344).

§ 0.210 Conduct while on official duty or

on Government property.

Employees must adhere to the

regulations controlling conduct when

they are on official duty or in or on

Government property, including the

Treasury Building, Treasury Annex

Building and grounds; the Bureau of

Engraving and Printing buildings and

grounds; the United States Mint

buildings and grounds; the grounds of

the Federal Law Enforcement Training

Center; and Treasury-occupied General

Services Administration buildings and

grounds (see 31 CFR parts 91, 407, 605,

700).

§ 0.211 Soliciting, selling and canvassing.

Employees shall not solicit, make

collections, canvass for the sale of any

article, or distribute literature or

advertising in any space occupied by

the Department without appropriate

authority.

§ 0.212 Influencing legislation or

petitioning Congress.

(a) Employees shall not use

Government time, money, or property to

petition a Member of Congress to favor

or oppose any legislation. This

prohibition does not apply to the official

handling, through the proper channels,

of matters relating to legislation in

which the Department of the Treasury

has an interest.

(b) Employees, individually or

collectively, may petition Congress or

Members of Congress or furnish

information to either House of Congress

when not using Government time,

money or property (5 U.S.C. 7211).

§ 0.213 General conduct prejudicial to the

Government.

Employees shall not engage in

criminal, infamous, dishonest, or

notoriously disgraceful conduct, or any

other conduct prejudicial to the

Government.

§ 0.214 Nondiscrimination.

(a) Employees shall not discriminate

against or harass any other employee,

applicant for employment or person

dealing with the Department on official

business on the basis of race, color,

religion, national origin, sex, sexual

orientation, age, or disability. Sexual

harassment is a form of sex

discrimination and is prohibited by this

section.

(b) An employee who engages in

discriminatory conduct may be

disciplined under these rules. However,

this section does not create any

enforceable legal rights in any person.

§ 0.215 Possession of weapons and

explosives.

(a) Employees shall not possess

firearms, explosives, or other dangerous

or deadly weapons, either openly or

concealed, while on Government

property or official duty.

(b) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of

this section does not apply to employees

who are required to possess weapons or

explosives in the performance of their

official duties.

§ 0.216 Privacy Act.

Employees involved in the design,

development, operation, or maintenance

of any system of records or in

maintaining records subject to the

Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5

U.S.C. 552a), shall comply with the

conduct regulations delineated in 31

CFR 1.28(b).

§ 0.217 Personal financial interests.

(a) Employees may hold the following

financial interests without violating 18

U.S.C. 208(a):

(1) The stocks or bonds of a publicly

traded corporation with a value of

$1000 or less; and

(2) The stocks or bonds in the

investment portfolio of a diversified

mutual fund in which an employee has

invested.

(b) The Department has found that the

financial interests listed in paragraph (a)

of this section are too remote and

inconsequential to affect the integrity of

an employee’s service.

Subpart C—Special Government

Employees

§ 0.301 Applicability of subpart B.

The rules of conduct contained in

subpart B of this part apply to special

Government employees employed with

the Treasury Department. The

regulations contained in § 0.201 of

subpart B, concerning political activity,

apply to special Government employees

only on the days that they serve the

Department. Treasury bureaus are

responsible for informing special

Government employees employed with

them of the applicability of bureau

specific statutes or regulations.

§ 0.302 Service with other Federal

agencies.

A special Government employee

serving concurrently in the Department

and in a Federal agency other than the

Department is required to inform the

Department and the agency in which he

serves of the arrangement so that

appropriate administrative measures

may be taken.

Subpart D—Advisers to the

Department

§ 0.401 Advisers to the Department.

(a) An adviser or advisory committee

member includes an individual who

provides advice to the Department as a

representative of an outside group and

is not an employee or special

Government employee of the

Department. Questions concerning

whether an individual serves the

Department in the capacity of an

adviser, employee, or special

Government employee shall be

addressed to the Designated Agency

Ethics Official or a Deputy Ethics

Official.

(b) Advisers or advisory committee

members are not required to follow the

Rules and are not generally required by

the Department to file financial

disclosure statements; nevertheless,

they should be guided by the

regulations in this part covering such

issues as public disclosure of official

information (§ 0.206), conduct (§ 0.211

and § 0.213), and gifts or gratuities from

Foreign governments (§ 0.203).

[FR Doc. 95–13318 Filed 5–31–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810–25–P