Federal Manager's Daily Report: Wednesday, October 27, 2004 FEDweek is the largest information resource in the federal government with now over one million weekly readers. To Subscribe, Go to http://www.fedweek.com/subscribepopup.htm *********************************************************** Valued Added Service to Our Readers:
Federal Job Search http://www.fedweek.com/Jobs/default.asp Job Bulletin Board http://www.fedweek.com/Jobs/default.asp Unlimited Internet Access for as low as $10.90 http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294968140/821889/148/0/ Our Readers Will Get Special Discounted Travel Rates Including, Airfare, Hotels, RV's, Car Rentals, and Special Weekend Getaways--Anywhere in the world http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294968140/821889/339/0/ ********************************************************** In This Week's Issue 1. Office of Government Ethics Issues Memo on Seeking Outside Employment 2. Guidance Covers Waivers and How to Recuse Quietly 3. Brand New Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide Just Published http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php *********************************************************** 1. Office of Government Ethics Issues Memo on Seeking Outside Employment Prompted by Congressional and media scrutiny on federal employees working with prospective employers, the Office of Government Ethics has reissued a summary of the post-employment restrictions in 18 U.S.C 207 emphasizing their applicability to employees seeking new jobs. The provisions covering job seeking are in subpart F, Standards of Ethical Conduct, which state that an employee "shall not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter that, to his knowledge, has a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of a prospective employer with whom the employee is seeking employment." In this case seeking employment includes expressing interest, "unsolicited communications by the employee, and any response by the employee, other than rejection, to an unsolicited overture from a prospective employer," even if it is through a headhunter or other intermediary, according to OGE�s summary. It warned that employees should be aware that "just testing the waters," is not justification for disregarding their recusal obligations -- and cited a case where the Department of Justice proceeded against an employee that wound up declining the employer�s offer. DAEOgram DO-02-003. To communicate rejection, employees are supposed to say something along the lines of "all my time and attention right now are devoted to my government job, and I am not in a position to discuss employment," or "I am not really planning on leaving government in the near future but I will keep you in mind in case I ever change my mind," said OGE. 2. Guidance Covers Waivers and How to Recuse Quietly The guidance allowed that even though agencies have "legitimate interests in regulating the flow of work among its employees and preventing situations that could result in actual or apparent conflicts of interest," recusal from taking part in a matter in which a prospective employer has a financial stake could alert a supervisor to a job search prematurely, which OGE said is addressed in 5 C.F.R. 2635.604B. It said that under that provision, upon becoming aware of the need to recuse, an employee should notify the person responsible for his assignment, and if the employee is responsible for their own assignment, the employee "should take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that he does not participate in the matter" -- though it added that the provisions "fall short of a mandatory notification duty." An employee can be granted a waiver permitting involvement in a particular matter affecting a prospective employer "if the employment contacts have already reached the stage of bilateral negotiations or have resulted in an arrangement for prospective employment." The official responsible for an employee's appointment may grant a waiver of the recusal requirement if he makes a certain written determination in advance of the employee's participation in the matter, according to the guidance. It said that the standard for making that determination is that the affected financial interest "is not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the employee's services," and emphasized that the deciding official should weigh both the financial interests of the employee as well as that of the prospective employer. Brand New Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide Just Published New Publication Announcement: The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php Passman & Kaplan announces the October 2004 publication of the SECOND EDITION of the Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide. This comprehensive book, first published by Passman & Kaplan in 1999, has been called the definitive how-to guide for enforcing the rights of federal employees. The second edition of the Guide includes 100 PAGES OF ADDITIONAL NEW MATERIAL (now 616 total pages) and useful advice. New features include information on internet legal research, preparing for and conducting a hearing, sample discovery requests, and up-to-date contact information for federal personnel agencies. The Guide also includes a listing of frequently used civil service acronyms and practical appendices of sample forms, charts illustrating appeal rights, and commonly-needed deadlines. As with the first edition of the Guide, Passman & Kaplan has attempted to move away from the "legalese" which so often complicates an already-bewildering array of regulations and policies. Although the Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide, Second Edition is clearly an invaluable resource for practioners, Passman & Kaplan has maintained its commitment to target the book to the average federal employee. *********************************************************** To place your order for The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide just go to http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php and place your secure order online. The cost of this publication is only $49.95 Plus $6 s&h--Remember, this is a 616 page reference that is chalked full of invaluable information that every federal manager must have! Or you can mail your order with payment of $55.95 to FEDweek, PO Box 5519, Glen Allen, VA 23058. 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