Imputed financial interests include those of the employee's spouse, minor child, general partner, or of an organization in which the employee serves as officer, director, trustee, general partner, or employee. Section 208 does not prohibit an employee from holding any particular financial interest or from being employed by any outside organization. However, unless the financial interest is divested or the employee terminates his employment relation with the outside organization, the statute requires that he not participate in particular matters that will have a direct and predictable effect on his financial interest or on the financial interest of the organization by which he is employed. As a practical matter, an employee's ability to perform the duties of his Government position may be materially impaired as a consequence of being disqualified by section 208 from participating in certain official matters. When disqualification is not a workable solution, divestiture of the conflicting financial interest is the usual remedy.
Many agencies have general regulatory waivers currently in effect.
These are often incorporated into the particular agency's standards of conduct regulation. When OGE publishes an executive branch-wide regulation issuing these waivers, the new waivers will replace those currently in effect at some agencies. This statute does not, however, include waiver provisions analogous to those contained in 18 U.S.C. 208. The waiver provisions of 18 U.S.C. 208 relate exclusively to that statute, offering an exemption from its criminal liability for official participation in certain agency matters.