29.
Supplemental Regulation on Ethical Standards of Conduct and
Outside Activities
MEMORANDUM TO: All Employees of the United
States Attorneys' Offices
All Employees of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys
FROM: Carol DiBattiste Director
SUBJECT: Supplemental Regulation on Ethical Standards of Conduct and Outside
Activities
ACTION REQUIRED: Prior approvals where indicated.
CONTACT PERSONS: Juliet A. Eurich Legal Counsel (202) 514-4024
Robert Marcovici Senior Attorney-Advisor AEX13(RMARCOVI) (202) 514-4024
GENERAL QUESTIONS: Email: AEX13(ETHICS) Fax: (202) 514-1104
This memorandum describes the newly implemented outside activities
regulation, called the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for
Employees of the Department of Justice (DOJ), and provides guidance to all
employees of the United States Attorneys' offices (USAOs) and Executive
Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) on several issues. The memorandum
discusses the background leading to the Department's supplemental
regulation, analyzes the regulation, describes when a prior approval is and
is not required, and when the granting of administrative leave may be
appropriate.
The contents of this memorandum have been approved by the Office of
Management and Budget Sucommittee, the Attorney General's Advisory Committee
(AGAC) and the AGAC. It has also been reviewed by the Deputy Assistant
Attorney General for Law and Policy and the Department's Ethics Office.
Please note that employees may have an obligation to notify management
of certain outside activities, and obtain the prior approval of the United
States Attorney (USAO employees) or the Director, EOUSA (EOUSA employees),
under certain circumstances. This responsibility is distinct from the
requirements (or lack thereof) contained in the Supplemental Standards of
Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Department of Justice and will be noted
throughout the memorandum, as appropriate. Employees are encouraged to
consult with their Ethics Advisors, or consult with and/or obtain a formal
ethics opinion from the Deputy Designated Agency Ethics Official (Deputy
DAEO), the Legal Counsel, EOUSA.
BACKGROUND
Over the past several years the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been
negotiating with the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) concerning its
"supplemental regulations" to the Standards of Conduct found at 5 C.F.R.
§ 2635 et seq. The comprehensive regulations
provide that each agency may issue its own supplemental regulations after
review and approval by OGE. The Department and OGE have agreed on the
Department's supplemental regulation and it has been published in the
Federal Register as an interim rule subject to public comment to be codified
at 5 C.F.R § 3801.106.
The Department had regulations in place several years ago which were
located at 28 C.F.R. Part 45. For the most part, these regulations expired
with the implementation of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (which became
effective in February 1993) and have been used only as guidelines when we
acted on outside activity requests. Generally, the regulations and other
implementing memoranda issued by EOUSA required prior approval for the
outside practice of one's profession, including the practice of law, whether
compensated or not, teaching and lecturing, and required notice to the head
of the employee's division before the employee engaged in pro bono
activities. As a companion to and explanation of the regulations at 28
C.F.R. Part 45, we published guidance in the United States Attorney's Manual
(USAM) on outside activities and required that many activities be
pre-approved by the Legal Counsel, EOUSA. A copy of the prior regulations
and the pertinent portion of the USAM are attached at Tabs A and B.< p>
The "new" DOJ supplemental regulations were published on November 25,
1996, and circulated to all United States Attorneys and First Assistant
United States Attorneys. A copy of the regulations is attached at Tab C.
There are several significant changes between the new and the old
regulations.
The purpose of this memorandum is to set forth new guidelines in light
of the supplemental regulation on outside employment and define which
activities now need prior approval and which can be handled in the USAOs or
EOUSA components without formal opinions or authorization from the Legal
Counsel, EOUSA. This memorandum does not apply to involvement of United
States Attorneys in the community. United States Attorneys are Presidential
appointees, have certain additional restrictions, and have more visibility
in their communities. Their requests to be involved in outside activities
will continue to be reviewed by the Legal Counsel, EOUSA.
It is important to note that this supplemental regulation on outside
employment and the specific issues addressed in this memorandum do not in
any way affect or supersede the more general ethics principles and standards
of conduct. All outside activities, regardless of whether a prior approval
is required, should still be evaluated for possible conflicts of interest,
and management or policy implications, if any. Supervisors, Ethics Advisors
and employees should still consider whether a formal ethics opinion from the
Legal Counsel, EOUSA, as the Deputy DAEO for the USAOs, is desirable to
afford them a measure of protection from those who would question the
appropriateness of their outside activities. Those who rely on formal
opinions from the Deputy DAEO in good faith are protected from disciplinary
action, and good faith reliance on a Deputy DAEO's advice is a factor the
Department will consider in the selection of cases for prosecution.
See 5 C.F.R. § 2635.107.
ANALYSIS OF THE NEW REGULATION
The new supplemental regulation on outside employment, 5 C.F.R.
§ 3801.106, is divided into three sections - a definition, a
prohibition against certain activities and a requirement for prior approval
for other types of activities.
Section 3801.106(a) defines "employment" in very inclusive and broad
terms to cover any business relationship or business activity involving the
provision of personal services, including service on a board, being a
partner, agent, or contractor. It applies to both compensated and
uncompensated activities. It excludes speaking, writing and serving as a
fact witness as long as these activities do not overlap with another
activity covered by the regulation. Those who want to engage in speaking and
writing for compensation are referred to 5 C.F.R. § 2635.807 of the
Standards of Conduct.
Section 3801.106(b)(1) sets forth three prohibited activities:
(i) The practice of law UNLESS it is uncompensated, for certain
immediate family members or it is "in the nature of community service;"
(ii) Any criminal or habeas corpus matter, be it federal, state or
local; or
(iii) Litigation, investigation, grants or other matters in which the
Justice Department is or represents a party, witness, litigant, investigator
or grant-maker.< p>
The Deputy Attorney General may grant waivers to the prohibitions in
section (b)(1) above in certain limited instances like family hardship.
Section 3801.106(c) permits outside employment that is not prohibited by
subsection (b). However, subsection (c) requires prior approval for the
outside practice of law and outside employment which involves a "subject
matter, policy, or program that is in his [the employee's] component's area
of responsibility."
We ask that all employees contact us with questions and requests for
prior approvals if the outside activity in which they want to engage falls
within the purview of the new supplemental regulation. In addition, other
ethics principles and standards of conduct may apply and may require a
consultation with the USAOs' Ethics Advisors or the Legal Counsel, EOUSA.
For example, financial or other conflicts of interest and appearances of
impropriety or partiality may require a consultation or a formal ethics
opinion. In such instances, USAO employees should consult with their Ethics
Advisors, and EOUSA employees should consult with their supervisors. When
appropriate, the Ethics Advisors (USAO employees) and supervisors (EOUSA
employees) should contact the Legal Counsel, EOUSA, to decide whether a
formal ethics opinion is needed or to confirm the proper course of action.
OBTAINING APPROVAL TO PRACTICE LAW
There is a Department Order (DOJ Order No. 1735.1) which provides that
the uncompensated practice of law may be approved by the Deputy DAEO, as
delegated by the USAO employees' determining official, the Director, EOUSA.
Although the supplemental regulation generally prohibits the compensated
practice of law, there may be special circumstances (e.g., 5 C.F.R.
§ 3801.106(b)(2)) where such requests may be considered and
approved by the Deputy Attorney General. See U.S.A.M. 1-4.320. The
Pro Bono Policy statement issued by the Attorney General in March
1996, provides that programmatic approval must come from the Director,
EOUSA, as the component head. All programmatic requests are reviewed by the
Deputy DAEO and forwarded to the Director, EOUSA, with a recommendation.
Individual requests to undertake pro bono work must be approved by
the Deputy DAEO since it is essentially the uncompensated practice of law.
This does not represent a change from the old regulation, which also
required approval for the practice of law.
The new regulation only permits representing parents, spouses, children
and oneself. No aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, grandparents or in-laws
are covered. We have received a number of requests which we have not
approved because the family member is not in the covered group.
ACTIVITIES WHICH NO LONGER REQUIRE APPROVAL OF EOUSA BUT WHICH
REQUIRE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY APPROVAL
It is important to state, at the outset, that there is a difference
between the approval of the Deputy DAEO and the approval of USAO or EOUSA
management about what is an appropriate outside activity. The role of the
Deputy DAEO is to review the proposed activity in light of the Standards of
Conduct and other federal laws and regulations. This analysis does not
involve a review of the staffing needs of an office or the way in which an
employee's time is or should be spent. That is the role of the management in
the USAO and EOUSA. If an employee wants to engage in an outside activity
that will impact the time that employee spends in or out of the office,
management should be made aware of the activity and should be given the
opportunity to approve it as a management decision, not an ethics decision.
With that in mind, the following sections discuss the need for an employee
to contact and/or consult with his/her United States Attorney (for USAO
employees) or the Director, EOUSA (for EOUSA employees), before engaging in
certain outside activities.
TEACHING AT LAW SCHOOLS OR COLLEGES
Prior approval for teaching was required and there was a time when the
honorarium ban was in effect and complicated teaching requests. Now that the
ban is gone, there is no need to approve routine teaching at law schools or
other educational institutions. The Standards of Conduct at 5 C.F.R.
§ 2635.807 govern teaching and permit compensated teaching, if it
does not relate to one's work (official duties), and consists of multiple
presentations and is given at an institution of higher education, secondary
school or elementary school, or it is sponsored by the federal government.
(It also permits compensated speaking and writing if it does not relate to
one's official duties.) We presume that those engaged in teaching will abide
by their obligations not to disclose non-public information, that they must
limit the time they are absent from the office, they cannot use office staff
to prepare their materials, and they must be careful about using their
titles since they are engaging in this activity in their personal
capacities. EOUSA employees who want to teach under this regulation should
consult the Director, EOUSA, and their supervisors, and USAO employees
should consult with their United States Attorney and Ethics Advisors, and
the Ethics Advisors should monitor this activity and provide advice as
needed.
TEACHING FOR NITA OR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
Teaching for NITA or another entity which is not a college or law school
presents different considerations from law school/ college courses because
employees are often paid more money and are out of the office for several
days or a week. USAO employees should consult with the USAO Ethics Advisors
and the United States Attorneys, and EOUSA employees should consult with the
Director, EOUSA, and their supervisors when they are asked to teach such a
course, since their absence from the office may impact on the mission of the
office.
SERVICE ON CERTAIN BOARDS OF DIRECTORS
Both Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) and non-attorney
employees of USAOs are very involved in their communities and this should be
encouraged. The prior policy and the bluesheet required approval for each
person, each time he/she became a board member and did not differentiate
between school boards, banks, churches, or the YMCA.
We have decided that several categories of boards can be deleted from
the list of prior approvals since they are unlikely to conflict with the
work of the Department or a given USAO. The same holds true for EOUSA
employees. Set forth below is a list of those types of boards which no
longer require prior approval of the Deputy DAEO. Any employee who wants to
serve on a board of this type of organization must consult with the United
States Attorney (USAO employees) or the Director, EOUSA (EOUSA employees).
The United States Attorney or the Director, EOUSA, may decide in his/her
discretion to require prior approval if he/she believes that the activity
may involve a policy, program or subject matter of the USAO or EOUSA. The
USAO Ethics Advisors should monitor these outside activity requests at the
local level. The following types of organizations should not routinely
require prior approval:
1. Churches;
2. Homeowners' Associations;
3. Schools;
4.
Parent Associations;
5. YMCA/YWCA;
6. Big Brothers/Big
Sisters;
7. Elks, Rotary, Lions Clubs;
8. Sports Clubs;
9. Art
or Civic organizations; and
10. Day Care Groups.
Board memberships other than those listed above still require the prior
approval of the Legal Counsel, EOUSA.
SPEAKING AND WRITING
Speaking and writing are included in the general Standards of Conduct
regulations, 5 C.F.R. § 2635.807, and they are excluded from the
definition of "employment" in the supplemental regulation. If an employee
writes an article that relates to his/her employment in the USAO/EOUSA or
impacts on the Department, he or she must include a disclaimer that the
views expressed therein do not represent the views of the USAO/EOUSA or DOJ.
A disclaimer is also required when the employee's title is used in the
article or writing.
Employees who wish to make speeches or publish articles which relate to
their employment should consult with their United States Attorney (USAO
employees) or the Director, EOUSA (EOUSA employees). They are also free to
contact their Ethics Advisors or the Legal Counsel, EOUSA (Deputy DAEO), to
obtain an ethics opinion and approval for the article, as appropriate.
EMPLOYMENT FOR COMPENSATION WHICH INVOLVES SELLING OR MARKETING A
PRODUCT
The EOUSA receives many requests from employees to engage in marketing
products such as AMWAY in the community. While these activities do not
necessarily involve a policy or program of the USAO, they do present unique
problems because the Standards of Conduct generally do not permit soliciting
or selling in the office or to other government organizations. In addition,
general ethics principles must be considered when selling or marketing
products to government prohibited sources. There may also be other issues
involved in creating and operating a business because the enterprise may
involve a policy, program or subject matter of a USAO/EOUSA. For these
reasons, employees should consider the general ethics and conflicts
principles and standards, seek the approval of the Director, EOUSA (EOUSA
employees), or their United States Attorney (USAO employees), and advice
from their USAO Ethics Advisor or the Legal Counsel, EOUSA.
ACTIVITIES WHICH REQUIRE PRIOR APPROVAL
BAR ACTIVITIES
Background
There has been a tremendous increase in AUSAs' involvement in all types
of Bar Activities in their communities. This includes the American Bar
Association, the Federal Bar Association, local and State Bar Associations,
etc. Some AUSAs serve on committees, some chair committees, and many are
speaking at conferences. We have permitted AUSAs to be on committees as long
as they are acting in their private capacity. We have begun to receive a lot
of requests to allow non-federal entities to reimburse the USAOs for
employees' travel expenses as authorized by 41 C.F.R. § 304-1
et seq. (the federal travel regulations) to attend these conferences
and meetings. This has presented a unique situation since we are authorizing
AUSAs to participate in the bar activities in a private capacity, but
subsequently the office regards such activities as official functions by
accepting reimbursement from the non-federal entities. We realize that USAOs
have decided it is in the interest of the office to have the employee attend
in his/her official capacity. However, a consequence of deciding that the
participation is an official activity is that the AUSA must then speak for
the USAO and/or DOJ, and must know our position on the issues under
consideration. For the reasons stated below, this may become an untenable
situation.
Official Versus Private Capacity Participation
These activities, i.e., service or participation on a bar committee,
should be undertaken in the AUSA's private capacity and should be
approved in writing since the activity impacts on a policy, subject
matter, or program of the component. However, speaking should be done
in an official capacity since the employee will generally appear on a panel
or give a particular lecture on a topic related to his/her job as a federal
attorney. Were we to view all bar committee work as official, there would be
serious questions about what position DOJ should take on issues at meetings.
We would not be able to monitor all the opinions voiced across the country.
It would also raise serious questions about the fiduciary role AUSAs would
play if they became an officer or director of a committee. For all these
reasons, we will continue to approve individual requests for involvement in
bar activities.
Payment of Travel Expenses
We believe that requests for reimbursement of travel expenses from
non-federal entities have increased because a significant number of
employees mistakenly believe that unless the USAO asks for reimbursement of
an employee's travel expenses, the employees may not accept payment from
these entities for their expenses in a private capacity.
If they are serving on a committee, in their private capacity, and are
traveling to a meeting or conference, they cannot submit a travel
reimbursement form pursuant to the travel regulations because the travel is
not for official purposes. Generally they may, as stated above, accept
payment of their expenses from the entity sponsoring the meeting or
conference in their private capacity. The AUSAs should be sensitive to
potential conflicts of interest and appearance issues when accepting payment
from outside sources and should consult with their USAO Ethics Advisors, as
necessary.
Conversely, when they are speaking at an event in an official capacity,
AUSAs may not accept direct payment from the organization. The
non-federal entity may reimburse the USAO, but not the AUSA for travel
expenses, according to the federal travel regulations cited above, if
approved by the Legal Counsel, EOUSA (Deputy DAEO).
ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE
We have received many inquiries asking for administrative leave to
engage in outside activities. Each USAO has the authority to grant up to 8
hours of administrative leave to an employee, but we are being asked to
approve leave for pro bono legal work, attendance at bar conventions,
tutoring at schools, teaching, and a myriad of other activities. There is
much confusion about when administrative leave is necessary or appropriate.
Generally, employees should not receive administrative leave for pro
bono or community service activities.
However, United States Attorneys are encouraged to grant up to
twenty-four (24) hours of administrative leave per AUSA, per year, for bar
activities, subject to workload demands and trial schedules. Under unusual
circumstances and at the discretion of the United States Attorney, AUSAs may
be granted administrative leave for bar activities in excess of twenty-four
(24) hours. The same holds true for EOUSA employees. Bar activities are
distinguishable from other types of outside activities because such
participation increases DOJ's voice in matters that may impact the mission
of the USAOs and affords an opportunity for attorneys serving as federal
prosecutors to present a more balanced perspective on many issues. In
deciding whether to grant administrative leave for AUSAs participating in
certain bar association sections, United States Attorneys should consider
the particular section's relevance for the office. The primary sources for
granting administrative leave to employees are the Department's Pro
Bono Policy, DOJ Order No. 1630.1B (Chapter 14), Memorandum to
Department of Justice Attorneys, from the Deputy Attorney General,
Participation in Bar Activities by Justice Department Attorneys
(March 27, 1997) (Tab D), Memorandum to All United States Attorneys, from
Carol DiBattiste, Director, Bar Association Activities of Assistant
United States Attorneys (September 26, 1995) (Tab E), U.S.A.M. 3-2.630G,
and Memorandum to U.S. Department of Justice Attorneys and All U.S.
Attorneys, from The Attorney General, Involvement of Department Lawyers
in Bar Activity (January 4, 1994) (Tab F).
Attachments
[cited in
USAM 1-4.340;
USAM 1-4.350] [Added February 1998]
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