Rules for the Road (October 2007) - US Office of Government Ethics

Note: Disclosure of Procure-ment InformationIf you have had access to certainsensitive procurement information,you may not disclose that informationbefore the award of the contract to whichthe information relates (unless permittedby some other law).4If Your Government WorkHas Related to InternationalNegotiationsIf you worked on certain trade or treatynegotiations during your last year ofGovernment service and had access tocertain restricted information, youshould contact your agency ethics officialbecause you may be barred for one yearfrom aiding or advising anyone (otherthan the United States) concerning thosenegotiations.5If You Have Been a High-LevelGovernment OfficialEven if you have served in a high-levelGovernment position, you generally maywork for any employer –- including aforeign government –- after you leaveFederal service. You are also free tocontact any part of the Governmentsolely on your own behalf –– by phone,by letter, or in person. However, if youhave served in a “senior” employeeposition, your future activities may beaffected by restrictions in addition tothe other restrictions discussed in thispamphlet. These additional restrictionslast for one year from the date you leaveyour senior employee position and applyeven if you aren’t paid for your work.Specifically:■ You may not try to influence anydepartment or agency in which youserved during your last year of Governmentservice, on behalf of anyone else(including a new employer), concerningany official matter –– even if youwere never involved with the matter asa Government employee. (Some formersenior employees, however, are allowedto contact certain components of theirformer department or agency.) If youwork for a large department, youshould ask your ethics official whetheryour department is divided into thesecomponents.■ You may not assist a foreign governmentor foreign political party in itsattempt to influence a decision of anydepartment or agency. You may alsobe prohibited from representing aforeign entity before Congress.Your ethics official can determinewhether you are a senior employee. Ingeneral, “senior” employees include mostPresidential appointees, General and FlagOfficers, most members of the SeniorExecutive Service (and some high-levelemployees in similar pay systems), andprivate sector participants in the InformationTechnology Exchange Program.Former “very senior” employees, such ascabinet officers, are also prohibited fromcontacting their former department oragency to seek official action on anymatter. In addition, they are prohibitedfor two years from trying to influencecurrent high-level officials at any otherdepartment or agency. As describedabove, very senior employees are alsoprohibited from assisting a foreigngovernment or foreign political party inits attempt to influence any departmentor agency. Very senior employees alsomay be prohibited from representing aforeign entity before Congress.6If You Participated in theInformation TechnologyExchange ProgramIf you are an employee of a privatesector organization and have beenassigned to an agency under the InformationTechnology Exchange Program, youmay not aid, counsel, or assist in representinganyone (other than the UnitedStates) concerning any contract withthat agency. This restriction only lastsfor one year after the end of yourassignment.CONCLUSIONThis pamphlet is only a briefsummary of the post-employmentrules. For more guidance aboutyour particular situation, contact youragency ethics official.October 2007RULESFOR THEROADU.S. Off ice of Government Ethicswww.usoge.gov

INTRODUCTIONAs an executive branch employee,you have learned much aboutGovernment policies, programs,and personnel that could be of use tofuture employers. Even after you leaveyour Federal job, some of you may stillbe able to influence Governmentdecisions.This pamphletbriefly describesFederal laws thatrestrict what youcan do after youleave Governmentservice or when you leave certainGovernment positions. The laws addressthe types of activities that are most likelyto cause the public to be concernedabout the way the Government does itswork.Depending upon the nature of yourGovernment job and what you plan to doin the future, some of these laws may notaffect you. Or you may be affected bymore than one restriction. Most of thelaws do not apply to former militaryenlisted personnel. However, some ofthese laws apply even to individualswho worked for the Government onlypart-time.In addition to the laws described in thispamphlet, you might also have to complywith rules that apply just to formeremployees of your agency. Also, if youhave participated in a procurement or inthe administration of a contract or hadaccess to certain sensitive procurementinformation, some special restrictions orobligations may affect you. Finally, whenyou leave, you might agree to otherlimitations in exchange for a separationpayment, or “buyout.”This pamphlet only summarizes the laws.It is not a substitute for counseling. If youhave any questions, you should contactyour agency ethics official.Note: Seeking FutureEmploymentAlthough this pamphlet focuses onthe laws that apply to post-Government activities, there arealso laws that may affect you while youare looking for a job. For example, youmay have to avoid working on certainofficial assignments while you areseeking or negotiating for a job. Ask anagency ethics official for advice beforeyou take any steps toward getting a jobwith someone affected by matters thatyou are working on for the Government.Also, if you are participating in a procurement,you may have to file a writtenreport if you contact or are contacted bya bidder or offeror about a possible job–– even if you immediately reject anyoffer.1If You Want to RepresentOthers Before the GovernmentAfter you leave your Federal job, yougenerally may work for any employer.You also may contact any part of theGovernment solely on your ownbehalf -– by phone, by letter, or inperson.You may not, however, try to influenceany Federal agency or court on behalfof anyone else (including a new employer)1 concerning certain kinds ofmatters –– like contracts, grants, orlawsuits –– if you worked on those samematters during your Governmentservice. You do not have to be a “lobbyist”to be affected by the law, and youmay be affected even if you are workingfor a good cause or are not being paidfor your work.1A new employer includes any separatebusiness entity, such as a corporation,that you have formed.Unless you served in a “senior” or “verysenior” employee position, you may tryto persuade current Government employeesto take action concerning matters inwhich neither you nor any of yoursubordinates were involved. You mayeven be able to try to influence currentemployees about some of your oldassignments that did not involve a“party” or “parties,” such as a regulationor legislation that you drafted.The length of the restriction dependsupon how you were involved in thematter while you still worked for theGovernment. If you were personally andsubstantially involved in the matter,then the restriction is permanent. If youmerely supervised others who did theactual work, then the restriction lastsfor two years from the date you leaveGovernment service. The two-yearrestriction does not apply unless yousupervised the matter during your lastyear of Federal service.“Senior” and “very senior” employeesare subject to some additionalpost-employment rules that aredescribed at the end of this pamphlet.2If You Want to Accept Compen-sation From an Employer ThatRepresents Others Before theGovernmentAfter you leave your Federal job, yougenerally may work for any employer ––even one that represents clients beforethe Government. You may not, however,share in profits that your new employerearned as a result of representing clients–– in connection with certain kinds ofmatters –– before any Federal department,agency, or court at a time whenyou were still a Government employee.The restriction may affect you eventhough you were never involved in thematter during your Federal service.This restriction is most likely to affectformer employees who join law, accounting,or public relations firms as partners.As time passes, the restriction is lesslikely to be an issue since firms willeventually collect past due accounts anddistribute the related profits to thosefirm employees who may accept them.3If Your Government Work HasRelated to ProcurementEven if you have participated in a procurementor in the administration of acontract, you may be able to work for acontractor that does business or seeks todo business with your former agency.However, for one year you may notaccept compensation from a contractorto serve as an employee, officer, director,or consultant if –– while working for theGovernment –– you had certain responsibilitiesor took certain actions relatingto a large procurement involving thatcontractor. The bar against acceptingcompensation may apply to you whetheryou participated in the pre-award orpost-award phase of the procurement.For example, you may not accept compensationfrom a particular contractor if–– in connection with a contract awardedto the contractor for more than$10,000,000 –– you served as the procuringcontracting officer at the time ofaward, or as the program manager oradministrative contracting officer for thecontract. You also may not accept compensationfrom the contractor for oneyear if, for example, you approved acontract payment or payment of a claimto that contractor for more than$10,000,000.You may accept compensation from adivision or affiliate of the contractor thatdoes not produce the same or similarproducts or services as the entity responsiblefor the contract.