2016-01318: Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Department of Homeland Security

Summary

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with the concurrence of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE), is finalizing this rule to supplement the OGE Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (OGE Standards) for DHS employees. These regulations supplement the OGE Standards and, among other things, set forth employee restrictions on the purchase of certain Government-owned property; require employees to report allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse; require employees to seek prior approval for certain outside employment and activities; prohibit employees in some DHS components from engaging in certain types of outside employment activities; and require designated components to develop instructions regarding the procedures for obtaining prior approval for outside employment and activities. These regulations also designate components within DHS as separate agencies for purposes of determining whether the donor of a gift is a "prohibited source" and of identifying an employee's agency for the regulations governing teaching, speaking, and writing. This rulemaking is necessary in view of DHS programs and operations; DHS is comprised of numerous legacy agencies which have varying or no supplemental ethics regulations. This final rule follows publication of a proposed rule on October 12, 2011. We considered public comments on the proposed rule while revising this final rule. This final rule includes revisions to the definition of "outside employment" and the additional provisions applicable only to employees of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The agency’s own summary, as published.