activity not compatible with the full and proper discharge of the duties and responsibilities of his or her Government employment whether on his or her behalf, or for private individuals, firms, companies, institutions, professional societies, or State or local governments. Incompatible activities include but are not limited to:

(1) Outside employment or activity (including the acceptance of a fee, compensation, gift, payment of expenses or any other thing of monetary value) which may result in, or create the appearance of a conflict-of-interest;

(2) Outside employment or activity which tends to impair the employee's mental or physical capacity to perform his or her Government duties and responsibilities in an acceptable manner;

(3) Outside employment or activity that takes the employee's time and attention during his or her official work hours;

(4) Outside employment or activity which may be construed by the public to be official acts of the Department, or of a nature closely paralleling the work of the Department;

(5) Outside employment or activity which involves participation in a commercially sponsored broadcast, or which relates to a written discussion of policies or official work of the Department, unless authorized advance by the Office of Governmental and Public Affairs;

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(6) Outside employment or activity which involves permission, or the appearance of permission to use an employee's name in the advertising of organizations commercializing the results of research conducted by the Department, regardless of any merits which such enterprises may appear to possess;

(7) Outside employment or activity which may involve the use of information secured as the result of employment in the Department and to the detriment of the public service;

(8) Any outside employment or activity which may tend to bring criticism of, or cause embarrassment to, the Department;

(9) Outside employment or activity which would involve the use by the employee of official facilities, e.g.,

office space, office machines, supplies, telephones, or the services of other employees; and

(10) Outside employment or activity which would involve the violation of a Federal or State statute, a local ordinance, Executive order, or regulation to which the employee is subject.

(b) Outside employment or activity (including self-employment) is permitted to the extent that it does not conflict with other requirements of this part, or tend to create a conflict-of-interest, or appearance of conflict-of-interest, between the private interests of an employee and the employee's official responsibilities. The employee's outside employment or activity shall not reflect discredit on the Government or the Department.

(c) Except as provided in paragraphs (c) (1) through (4) of this section, employees shall obtain advance approval for outside employment or activity whether paid or unpaid. Each Agency shall establish the approval level and shall advise each employee. A record of each approval shall be filed in the employee's official personnel folder. The term outside employment or activity as used in this paragraph does not include:

(1) Memberships in, or volunteer work with, charitable, religious, social, fraternal, recreational, public service, civic, or similar nonbusiness and nonprofit organizations;

(2) Memberships in professional organizations;

(3) Performance of duties in the Armed Forces, Reserve, or National Guard; or

(4) Acting as an officer of a labor organization pursuant to section 18 of Executive Order 11491, as amended.

(d) In considering requests for approval of outside employment, the following criteria should be applied:

(1) The provisions of applicable laws; (2) The policies incorporated in this part including the possibility of conflict-of-interest or appearance of conflict-of-interest;

(3) The general attendance record of the employee;

(4) The nature of the employee's official duties in relation to the nature of the duties which will comprise the outside employment or activity; and

(5) The amount of time and hours of work required by the outside employment or activity.

(e) Employees are specifically prohibited from acting as the agent of a foreign principal registered under the Foreign Agent's Registration Act (18 U.S.C. 219).

(f) No employee, whether in a duty or nonduty status, shall accept outside employment or activity, with or without compensation, from any foreign government, corporation, partnership, or individual without written prior approval from a counselor designated under § 0.735-3.

(g) It is the policy of the Department to grant permission to an employee to teach, lecture, or write including teaching, lecturing, or writing for the purpose of the special preparation of a person or class of persons for an examination of the Civil Service Commission or Board of Examiners for the Foreign Service, provided:

(1) Prior written authorization is obtained from the agency head, or a counselor designated under § 0.735-3;

(2) Such teaching, lecturing, or writing is not performed at or for any educational institution or other organization that discriminates because of race, creed, color, sex, age, national origin, or physical or mental handicap in the admission or subsequent treatment of students;

(3) Such teaching, lecturing, or writing is not dependent on information obtained as a result of his or her employment or activity with the Department, except when that information has been made available to the general public or when the agency head or agency head's designee gives specific authorization for the use of nonpublic information in the public interest; and (4) Such teaching, lecturing, or writing is not otherwise incompatible with the provisions of this part.

(h) Articles prepared officially are the property of the Government, and authors thereof may not accept payment for such articles published in outside journals, magazines, or newspapers.

(i) Employees may not accept honorariums for written articles, speaking engagements, or addresses on radio or television or other appearances per

formed as part of their official duties. This restriction on the acceptance of honorariums applies even if the Government official endorses the check to a charitable organization or asks that the check be sent to a charitable organization.

(j) No employees, except special Government employees, shall accept compensation for services as consultants or advisors to any organization, public or private, in any manner which draws upon the experience, competence, or professional standing acquired or enhanced by or through their position in this Department unless they have received permission from their agency head. Special Government employees shall not use their employment or activity with the Department for a purpose that is, or gives the appearance of being, motivated by the desire for private gain for themselves or another (41 FR 24108, June 15, 1976).

(a) The following prohibitions apply to both a regular employee and a special Government employee:

(1) He or she may not have a direct or indirect financial interest that conflicts substantially, or appears to conflict substantially, with his or her responsibilities and duties as a Federal employee;

(2) He or she may not engage, directly or indirectly, in a financial transac tion relying upon information obtained through his or her employment for his or her personal benefit or disclose such information for the benefit of another;

(3) He or she may not participate directly or indirectly in any transaction concerning the purchase or sale of corporate stocks or bonds, commodities, or other property for speculative purposes if such action might tend to interfere with the proper and impartial performance of his or her duties or bring discredit upon the Department;

(4) If he or she is concerned in any way with the administration of programs for the purchase or sale of commodities, price support programs, commodity loan programs, or other programs which directly affect market

prices of agricultural commodities, he or she may not directly or indirectly speculate in any agricultural commodity;

(5) He or she may not, after his or her Government employment has ended, represent any other person (other than the United States), in any formal or informal appearance before, or with the intent to influence, make any communication on behalf of any other person; (i) to the United States, (ii) in connection with any particular Government matter involving a specific party, in which the United States is a party or has an interest and in which he or she participated personally and substantially as a Government employee (18 U.S.C. 207(a));

(6) He or she may not, within two years after his or her Government employment has ended, represent any other person (other than the United States), in any formal or informal appearance before, or with the intent to influence, make any communication on behalf of any other person; (i) to the United States, (ii) in connection with any particular Government matter involving a specific party, in which the United States is a party or has an interest and which was actually pending under his or her official responsibility within a period of one year prior to the termination of such responsibility (18 U.S.C. 207(b)(i));

(7) He or she may not, having been employed and as specified in 18 U.S.C. 207(d), as a high Government official, for two years after his or her Government employment has ended, aid, counsel, advise, consult, or assist in representing any other person (other than the United States) by personal presence at any formal or informal appearance; (i) before the United States, (ii) in connection with any particular Government matter involving a specific party, (iii) in which he or she participated personally and substantially for the Government (18 U.S.C. 207(b)(ii));

(8) He or she may not, having been employed and as specified in 18 U.S.C. 207(d), as a high Government official (other than a special Government employee who serves for fewer than sixty days in a calendar year) for one year after his or her Government employ

ment has ended, represent anyone (other than the United States) in any formal or informal appearance before, or with the intent to influence, make any communication on behalf of anyone to the department or agency in which he or she was employed, in connection with any particular Government matter, whether or not involving a specific party, which is pending before that department or agency or in which such department or agency has a direct and substantial interest (18 U.S.C_207(c)). The above prohibition shall not apply to communications or representations made by a former employee

(i) Who is an elected official of a State or local government; or

(ii) Whose principal occupation is with

(A) An agency or instrumentality of a State or local government,

(B) An accredited institution of higher education, or

(C) A hospital or medical research organization when the representation or communication is made on behalf of such government, institution, hospital, or organization (18 U.S.C. 207(d)(2)).

(9) Except as permitted by paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, he or she may not participate personally and substantially as a Government officer or employee, through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise, in a judicial or other proceeding, application, request for a ruling or other determination, contract, claim, controversy, charge, accusation, arrest, or other particular matter in which, to his or her knowledge, he or she, his or her spouse, minor child, partner, organization in which he or she is serving as officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee, or any person or organization with whom he or she is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective employment, has a financial interest (18 U.S.C. 208(a)).

(b) The prohibition in paragraph (a)(7) of this section shall not apply if the employee first advises his or her agency head or the director of personnel of the nature and circumstances of the particular Government matter in

(c) Sick leave is to be used by employees only when they are incapacitated from duty because of sickness or injury, when they need to obtain medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment, when they are subject to quarantine imposed by local health authorities, or when they are required to give care to a member of their immediate family who has a contagious disease.

§ 0.735-16 Use of Government property, facilities, and services.

(a) Employees are prohibited from directly or indirectly using, or allowing the use of, Government property, facilities, or services of any kind, including those leased to or otherwise paid for by the Government, for other than officially approved activities. Employees have a positive duty to conserve and protect Government property.

(b) Personal property offered for sale by the Department may be purchased by employees only when the sale of such property is based upon competitive bids: Provided, That no purchase may be made, either directly or indirectly, by the employee who was formerly accountable for the property, who formerly used the property, or who was in any way connected with its condemnation, declaration as excess, or sale, except:

(1) Surplus perishable products may be sold to employees at the best price obtainable in quantities not exceeding the needs of their immediate household;

(2) Special clothing and other articles or personal equipment purchased for the exclusive use of and fitted to an individual employee may, when not otherwise usable by the Department and in all respects surplus to the needs of the Government, be sold to such employees at the best price obtainable in the event of his or her separation from the Service or permanent assignment to duties not requiring such clothing or equipment.

ment-owned or leased passenger motor vehicle or aircraft for other than official purposes shall be suspended for 1 month or removed from office in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 638a(c)(2).

(b) An employee who willfully uses or authorizes the use of any Government-owned or leased conveyance whether passenger carrying or not, for other than official purposes, is subject to disciplinary action up to and including removal.

(c) An employee shall not store Government-owned or leased motor vehicles in or near his or her private residence or use such vehicles for transportation between his or her residence and place of employment unless such storage or use shall have been specifically authorized by the Secretary or another official to whom such authority has been delegated.

(a) Employees who fail to pay their just financial obligations in a timely and proper manner will be subject to such disciplinary action as the agency head or his or her designee considers appropriate. For the purpose of this section, "just financial obligations" are those acknowledged by the employee, reduced to judgment by a court, or confirmed by a final administrative determination of a unit of the Federal, State, or local government. A "proper and timely manner" means in a manner which the agency head or his or her designee determines does not, under the circumstances, reflect adversely on the Department as his or her employer.

(b) In cases where a legal judgment exists against the employee, the employee concerned will be required to satisfy the judgment within a reasonable period of time unless he or she can arrange to have it modified or set aside.

(c) When an employee is the subject of a complaint for failure to pay taxes or other debts that are the subject of a final administrative determination by a unit of the Federal, State, or local government, he or she shall be advised of the complaint and told to make payment arrangements satisfactory with that unit of government.