FEMA Ethics Guidance For NDMS Personnel

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FEMA Ethics Guidance For NDMS Personnel

• Public Service
• is a
• Public Trust

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Ethics Contacts

• Paul Conrad,
• Deputy Ethics Counsel
• [phone]
• Robert Brock,
• Associate General Counsel (General Law)
• [phone]

• Alternate Deputy Ethics Counsel
• Ed Broyles
• [phone]
• Leigh Hoburg
• [phone]
• Field Counsel

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NDMS Team Members Are Special!

• NDMS Team Members are Special (Federal)
  Government Employees subject to federal ethics
  rules and federal law (with some specific
  exceptions), whether activated or not.
• What are Special Government Employees? They
  are federal employees specified by 18 U.S. Code
  Section 202(a), who are 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. 5 CFR 1635.102(l).

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Financial Conflicts of Interest

• 18 U.S.C. 208- Criminal conflict of interest
  statute.
• You may not participate as a Government official
  in a matter that will have a direct and
  predictable effect on your financial interests,
  or the financial interests of your spouse, minor
  children, general partners, outside employers, or
  prospective employers.

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Examples of a Financial Conflict

• An NDMS employee participates in the decision to
  award a contract for medical equipment storage
  and awards the contract to a company owned in
  part by his wife.
• A FEMA employee initiates post-government
  employment negotiations with a current FEMA
  contractor or grantee

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Resolving a Financial Conflict

• Disqualification
• Regulatory Exemptions for Publicly-Traded
  Securities, Diversified Mutual Funds, Pensions
• Waiver
• Divestiture Certificate of Divestiture may be
  available.

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The Appearance of Bias

• 5 C.F.R. 2635.502
• You may not participate in a particular matter
  involving specific parties if
• 1. the outcome will have a direct and
  predictable effect on the financial interest of a
  member of your household, or
• 2. if you have a covered relationship with one
  of the parties, or a representative of one of the
  parties,
• and a reasonable person would question your
  impartiality.

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Covered Relationships

• Members of your household
• Close family members
• Someone with whom you seek a business
  relationship
• A person with whom your spouse, parent, or
  dependent child is serving or seeks to serve as
  an officer, director, agent, consultant, or
  employee
• A non-Federal employer for whom you worked within
  the last year

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Example of An Appearance of Loss of Impartiality

• An NDMS employee participates in the decision to
  award a contract to a medical equipment company
  where his uncle is the regional sales manager for
  his area.
• An NDMS employee takes part-time employment with
  an FEMA contractor, and the NDMS employee
  evaluates the FEMA contractors performance as
  part of their NDMS duties.

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Authorization Standard under 5 C.F.R. 2635.502

• If the FEMA Deputy Ethics Official determines
  that the interest of the Government outweighs
  appearance concerns, an employee may be
  authorized to participate in a matter covered by
  the impartiality regulations.

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Financial Disclosure Reports

• Financial Disclosure reports may be required to
  determine potential financial conflicts of
  interest between a filers official duties and
  their private interests and affiliations.
• NDMS employees must submit a completed new
  entrant OGE Form 450 (confidential financial
  disclosure report) within 30 days of their start
  date, and annually thereafter upon their
  reappointment, as designated by their NDMS
  supervisor, e.g., individuals who are involved in
  contracting, purchasing supplies, and other
  activities having a substantial economic effect
  on non-Federal entities (e.g., DMAT team
  leaders).
• .

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Representation Before the Government 18 U.S.C.
203 205

• You may not, in your personal capacity, represent
  another before DHS or FEMA or court, with the
  intent to influence Government action, on any
  particular matter in which the U.S. is a party or
  has a direct and substantial interest, either for
  free or for compensation ( provided you have
  served with the agency for at least 60 days for
  the preceding 365 days).

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Gifts 5 C.F.R. 2635.201

• Generally, you may not accept personally
• anything of value from any individual who or
  entity that
• has business before FEMA,
• seeks to do business with FEMA,
• is regulated by FEMA or
• any gift that is offered because of your FEMA
  position (e.g., your NDMS team status).

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Examples of Prohibited Gifts

• Free meals from NDMS contractor.
• Free Washington Redskins football tickets given
  only to FEMA employees
• Discounts offered only to NDMS team members.

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You may accept

• Items of little intrinsic value (e.g. cards,
  plaques)
• Gifts of 20 or less (up to 50 per year from the
  same source)
• Discounts given to all federal employees
• Invitations to speak or attend widely attended
  gatherings with free attendance, provided you
  have obtained prior agency approval
• Gifts from relatives or friends
• Gifts based on outside business or employment
  activities not offered because of your NDMS status

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You may accept (cont.)

• Gifts from foreign governments of 285 or less
• Business meals overseas

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Gifts Between Employees

• Generally supervisors may not accept gifts from
  subordinates, and employees may not accept gifts
  from another employee who receives less pay.

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Exceptions to the Restriction on Gifts Between
Employees

• A supervisor may accept from a subordinate, and
  any employee may accept from another employee
  receiving less pay
• Gifts on special infrequent occasions (weddings,
  birth of child, retirement)
• Hospitality in ones home
• Food shared in the office
• Items of 10 or less given occasionally (e.g.
  birthdays, holidays)
• Gifts offered by another employee receiving less
  pay but with whom he does not have a supervisory/
  subordinate relationship, and there is a personal
  relationship that justifies the giving of the
  gift

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Frequent Flier Miles

• You may keep for personal use any miles offered
  by an airline while on official travel.
• You also may keep other frequent traveler rewards
  for personal use, when offered by hotels rental
  car companies.

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Political Activities (Hatch Act - 5 U.S.C.
7321)

• General prohibition of the Hatch Act states that
  Federal employees may not
• - Conduct political activities in a government
  workplace, while on duty and/or when in
  uniform.
• Solicit, accept, or receive political
  contributions
• Hatch Act only applies to intermittent FEMA
  employees when activated.

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Outside Employment

• 5 C.F.R. 2635.802
• Outside employment is permissible if it does not
  conflict with your official duties. Outside
  employment will conflict with your duties if it
  will require your disqualification from
  significant Government duties or if it will
  create an appearance problem.

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Examples of Potentially Conflicting Outside
Employment

• Employment providing law enforcement services for
  any outside entity.
• Employment with any outside entity with whom an
  employee has official dealings on behalf of FEMA.
• NDMS employees working for FEMA contractors when
  not activated.

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Membership in Associations

• Employees may form and join associations in their
  personal capacities.
• However, such associations are not official FEMA
  organizations. Therefore members may not use
  FEMA resources, including official time or
  employees titles, or any FEMA insignias (without
  agency approval), in connection with these
  activities.
• NDMS 501(c) (3) entities not federal entities!
  Funds must be kept separate from NDMS.

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Non-Federal Entity Committee Membership

• DHS Management Directive 3200, Committee
  Management
• DHS policy is to encourage FEMA/DHS employees to
  not serve on such outside organization committees
  in an official capacity as Directors or Committee
  Members, but as Federal Liaisons.

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Misuse of Position

• 5 C.F.R. Subpart G
• Use Government resources for official purposes
  only
• Resources include Government time (including
  subordinates), title, supplies, funds,
  equipment.
• Limited personal use of Email, Internet, and cell
  phones
• Government purchase cards-
• official expenses only

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Examples of Permissible Limited Usage

• A FEMA employee uses her FEMA cell phone to make
  a brief personal call, when it is impractical to
  use her own phone and the call does not result in
  any extra charge to the Government.
• A FEMA employee uses a FEMA computer to send a
  personal email on his own time.

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Use of a Subordinates Time

• A supervisor may not direct or coerce a
  subordinate to help with a personal task during
  non-duty hours.
• A supervisor may not ask a subordinate to perform
  personal tasks on official time.
• Example A supervisor may not ask a subordinate
  to make his vacation reservations during duty
  hours.

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Misuse of Position (cont.)

• An employee may not use his public office for
  private gain, or for the endorsement of any
  product or service.
• Example Putting the logo of an NDMS team
  corporate sponsor on federal NDMS vehicles is an
  improper endorsement

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Examples of Misuse of Position

• A FEMA employee attempts to get out of a speeding
  ticket by showing his FEMA identification.
• A FEMA employee writes a letter to the editor of
  a newspaper stating his personal views, and
  includes his FEMA title under his signature.

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Use of FEMA or DHS Insignias

• FEMA or DHS symbols, including the DHS or FEMA
  logo, may not be used in any way that reflects
  discredit on the Government, or implies FEMA or
  DHS endorsement of a non-official activity.
• Items bearing FEMA or DHS symbols should be
  obtained from vendors and private organizations
  designated by the FEMA or DHS Approving
  Authority.

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Speaking, Writing, and Teaching

• You may NOT accept non-Federal government
  compensation for teaching, speaking or writing
  if
• Undertaken as part of your official NDMS duties
• Invite to speak or teach was because of your NDMS
  official position
• Invite was by someone or some entity whose
  interests may be substantially be affected by
  performance of your NDMS official duties.
• Information or speech is based substantially on
  ideas or data maintained by NDMS/FEMA that are
  nonpublic information, or

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Speaking, Writing, and Teaching

• You may NOT accept non-Federal government
  compensation for teaching, speaking or writing
  if
• The subject matter of the speech or teaching
  deals in significant part with any matter in
  which the NDMS employee is currently assigned or
  has been assigned in the previous one-year
  period.
• Compensation includes travel expenses, lodging,
  meals, or honoraria, but not free attendance at
  the event where speaking or teaching or gifts
  meeting the ethics rules gift exceptions

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Speaking, Writing, and Teaching

• You may NOT accept non-Federal government
  compensation for teaching, speaking or writing,
  EXCEPT
• Teaching a series of classes as part of an
  elementary, secondary or post-secondary
  educational institution established course of
  instruction.
• Teaching a program of education or training
  sponsored and funded by the federal government
  or by a state or local government which is not
  offered by an establisehd educational institution.

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Speaking, Writing, and Teaching

• You may NOT accept non-Federal government
  compensation for teaching, speaking or writing,
  EXCEPT
• You may teach, write or speak on topics within
  your academic discipline or inherent area of
  expertise based upon your educational background
  or experience, even if that expertise or
  experience overlaps with your official duties.

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Speaking, Writing, and Teaching

• FEMA may accept non-Federal government entity
  payment for your travel and lodging to speak at a
  conference, BUT
• Must get prior permission through your NDMS chain
  up through Ethics Attorney and Under Secretary
  Brown
• DHS Form 1560-1, Authorization for Acceptance of
  Travel Payment from Non-Federal Source, download
  from NDMS website.
• Entity must offer payment in writing and cover
  requirements listed in FEMA Instr. 6200.7, para.
  8b.
• Additional approvals are needed for overseas
  travel

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Fundraising in an Official Capacity

• 5 C.F.R. 2635.808
• An employee may only participate in fundraising
  in an official capacity if authorized to do so as
  part of his official duties.

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Fundraising in a Personal Capacity

• 5 C.F.R. 2635.808
• An employee may engage in fundraising in his
  personal capacity.
• However, an employee may NOT
• - solicit funds or other support from a
  subordinate or a prohibited source, or
• - use or permit the use of his FEMA title or
  position to further the fundraising effort NDMS
  501 (c) (3) entities.

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Post Employment18 U.S.C. 207

• Upon leaving federal service, you are permanently
  barred from representing another before any
  Federal agency or court with the intent to
  influence Government action if you personally and
  substantially worked on the same particular
  matter involving specific parties while a
  Government employee.

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Post Employment

• Upon leaving federal service, you may not, for
  two years, represent another before any Federal
  agency or court with the intent to influence
  Government action on particular matters involving
  specific parties that were under your official
  responsibility during your last year of
  Government service.
• Only representation or communication on behalf of
  your new employer is prohibited.

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Additional Source of Guidance on Employee Conduct

• 5 CFR Part 2635, Standards of Ethical Conduct
  for Employees of the Executive Branch
• Office of Government Ethics Website
• www.usoge.gov
• DHS OGC Website-ETHICS Section
• www.dhs.gov/ethics/

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For Ethics Questions

• Check the OGE Website at www.usoge.gov
• Call Deputy Ethics Official at [phone]
• Email Deputy Ethics Official at
  paul.conrad1_at_dhs.gov

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The End

• Any Questions ???