[Title 31 CFR 0]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - July 1, 2002 Edition]
[Title 31 - MONEY AND FINANCE: TREASURY]
[Part 0 - DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY EMPLOYEE RULES OF CONDUCT]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
31MONEY AND FINANCE: TREASURY12002-07-012002-07-01falseDEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY EMPLOYEE RULES OF CONDUCT0PART 0MONEY AND FINANCE: TREASURY
PART 0--DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY EMPLOYEE RULES OF CONDUCT--Table of Contents
Subpart A--General Provisions
Sec.
0.101 Purpose.
0.102 Policy.
0.103 Definitions.
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.
Source: 60 FR 28535, June 1, 1995, unless otherwise noted.
Subpart A--General Provisions
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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
[[Page 6]]
and after consideration of the employee's explanation and any mitigating
factors. Further, disciplinary action may include any additional penalty
prescribed by law.
Sec. 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 Sec. 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
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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 Branch-wide
Standards, Treasury Supplemental Standards, and the Rules.
Sec. 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 Branch-wide Standards, Treasury Supplemental Standards and the
Rules; and provide all departing employees with an explanation of the
applicable post-employment restrictions contained in 18 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
[[Page 7]]
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.
Sec. 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
Sec. 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.
Sec. 0.202 Strikes.
Employees shall not strike against the Government.
Sec. 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
[[Page 8]]
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).
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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)).
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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, 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.
Sec. 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).
Sec. 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
[[Page 9]]
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).
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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).
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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).
Sec. 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
Sec. 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 Sec. 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.
[[Page 10]]
Sec. 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
Sec. 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 (Sec. 0.206), conduct (Sec. 0.211 and
Sec. 0.213), and gifts or gratuities from Foreign governments
(Sec. 0.203).