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SUBCHAPTER A-GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE

PROVISIONS

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Sec.

500.404 [Reserved]

500.405 Time and place for submission of Statements of Employment and Financial Interests.

500.406 Annual Statements and Termination Reports.

500.407 Interests to be reported in Statements of Financial Interests and Annual Statements.

500.408 Information not known by the person reporting.

500.409 Information exempted. 500.410

Confidentiality of Statements. 500.411 Conduct, employment or holdings otherwise prohibited and reporting otherwise required by law.

500.412 Executive Personnel Financial Disclosure Reports (SF 278).

AUTHORITY: 46 U.S.C. app. 1111, 18 U.S.C. 207, 208; 5 CFR Part 735; E.O. 11222 of May 8, 1965, 30 FR 6469, (3 CFR, 1965 Supp.).

SOURCE: 49 FR 44363, Nov. 6, 1984, unless otherwise noted.

Subpart A-General Provisions

§ 500.101 Purpose.

The maintenance of unusually high standards of honesty, integrity, impartiality, and conduct by Government employees and special Government employees is essential to assure the proper performance of the Government business and the maintenance of confidence by citizens in their Government. The avoidance of misconduct and conflicts of interest on the part of Government employees and special Government employees through informed judgment is indispensable to the maintenance of these standards. Reorganization Plan No. 7 of 1961, which established the Federal Maritime Commission, and section 201(b) of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1111(b)), provide that officials or employees of the Commission are prohibited from employment with, or to have any pecuniary interest in, or hold any official relationship with, carriers by water, shipbuilder contractors, or other persons, firms, associations or corporations with whom the Commission may have business relations. The following sections

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For the purposes of this part:

(a) "Commission" means the Federal Maritime Commission unless otherwise designated.

(b) “Employee" means an employee of the Commission but does not include a special Government employee.

(c) "Executive order" means Executive Order 11222 of May 8, 1965.

(d) "OPM"' means the United States Office of Personnel Management.

(e) “Person” means an individual, a corporation, a company, an association, a firm, a partnership, a society, a joint stock company, a foreign government or any other organization or institution.

(f) "Special Government employee” means a "special Government employee" as defined in section 202 of Title 18, U.S. Code, who is employed in the executive branch, but does not include a member of the uniformed services as defined in section 2101 of Title 5 U.S. Code.

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(a) The Chairman of the Commission shall designate an employee with the appropriate legal experience and in whom he or she has complete personal confidence to be the Counselor for the Commission on matters in connection with the regulations in this part. The Counselor shall also serve as the Commission's designee to OPM on matters covered by the regulations in this part. The Counselor shall exercise responsibility for effectuation and coordination of the Commission's regulations and provide counseling and interpretations on questions of conflicts of interest and other matters covered by the regulations in this part.

(b) The Chairman of the Commission shall designate one or more Deputy Counselors who shall be qualified and in a position to give authoritative advice and guidance on ques

tions of conflicts of interest and on other matters covered by this part.

(c) Employees and special Government employees shall be notified of the availability of counseling services and of how and where these services are available. This notification shall be made within ninety (90) days after approval of the regulations in this part and periodically thereafter. In the case of a new employee or special Government employee appointed after this notification, notification shall be made at the time of his or her entrance on duty.

§ 500.106 Reviewing statements and reporting conflicts of interest.

(a) There is hereby established a system for the review of Statements of Employment and Financial Interests, Annual Statements, and Executive Personnel Financial Disclosure Reports submitted under Subpart D of this part. This system of review is designed to disclose conflicts of interest or apparent conflicts of interest on the part of employees or special Government employees.

(b) The Counselor or Deputy Counselor shall review each such Statement and Report. Whenever it appears to the Counselor that a Statement or Report contains evidence of a conflict of interest, he or she shall notify the person signing that statement and shall discuss with him or her the information which gives rise to the apparent or real conflict and offer him or her an opportunity to explain the conflict or appearance of conflict. If the conflict or appearance of conflict is not resolved after this discussion, the information concerning the conflict or appearance of conflict shall be reported to the Chairman of the Commission by the Counselor.

§ 500.107 Disciplinary and other remedial action.

(a) A violation of the regulations in this part by an employee or special Government employee may be cause for an appropriate disciplinary action which may be in addition to any penalty prescribed by law.

(b) If after consideration of the explanation of the employee as provided

in § 500.106, and the Chairman decides that remedial action is required, the Chairman shall take immediate action to end the conflicts or appearance of conflicts of interest. Remedial action, whether disciplinary or otherwise, shall be effected in accordance with any applicable laws, executive orders, and regulations and may include, but is not limited to:

(1) Changes in assigned duties;

(2) Divestment by the employee or special Government employee of his or her conflicting interest;

(3) Disciplinary action; or (4) Disqualification for a particular assignment.

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A Commission employee's or special Government employee's financial or pecuniary interest in an entity regulated by the Commission [such as, e.g., ocean common carriers, ocean freight forwarders and marine terminal operators (including their parent companies)], shall be deemed to create a conflict of interest. A Commission employee or special Government employee shall also be deemed to have a conflict of interest if a member of his or her immediate household is employed by an entity regulated by the Commission and his or her professional duties or assignments relate to or involve that family member's employer.

§ 500.109 Rereading the Standards of Conduct.

It is the responsibility of every Commission employee and special Government employee to become familiar with the Commission's Standards of Conduct and to reread them at least once a year.

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(c) Impeding Government efficiency or economy;

(d) Losing complete independence or impartiality;

(e) Making a Government decision outside official channels; or

(f) Affecting adversely the confidence of the public in the integrity of the Government.

§ 500.202 Gifts, entertainment, and favors. (a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (e) of this section, an employee shall not solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan, or any other thing of monetary value, from a person who: (1) Has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relations with the Commission;

(2) Conducts operations or activities that are regulated by the Commission;

or

(3) Has interests that may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the employee's official duty.

(b) Exceptions to paragraph (a) of this section are as follows:

(1) This section shall not be construed to proscribe conduct involving obvious family or personal relationships (such as those between the parents, children, or spouse of the employee and the employee) when the circumstances make it clear that it is those relationships rather than the business of the persons concerned which are the motivating factors.

(2) Under this section, Commission employees are permitted to accept food and refreshments of nominal value on infrequent occasions in the ordinary course of a luncheon or dinner meeting or other meeting or on an inspection tour where an employee may properly be in attendance.

(3) Under this section, employees are permitted to accept loans from banks or other financial institutions on customary terms to finance proper and usual activities of employees, such as home mortgage loans.

(4) Under this section employees shall be permitted to accept unsolicited advertising or promotional material, such as pens, pencils, note pads,

calendars and other items of nominal intrinsic value.

(c) An employee shall not solicit contributions from another employee for a gift to an official superior, make a donation as a gift to an official supervisor, or accept a gift from an employee receiving less pay than himself or herself (5 U.S.C. 7351), except that this paragraph does not prohibit the use of a completely voluntary gift of nominal value or donation in a nominal amount made on a special occasion such as marriage, illness, or retirement.

(d) An employee shall not accept a gift, present, decoration, or other thing from a foreign government unless authorized by Congress as provided by the Constitution and by section 7342 of Title 5 U.S. Code.

(e) Neither this section nor § 500.203 precludes an employee from receipt of bona fide reimbursement, unless prohibited by law, for expenses of travel and such other necessary subsistence as is compatible with this part for which no Government payment or reimbursement is made. However, this paragraph does not allow an employee to be reimbursed, or payment to be made on his or her behalf, for excessive personal living expenses, gifts, entertainment or other personal benefits, nor does it allow an employee to be reimbursed by a person for travel on official business under agency orders when reimbursement is proscribed by Decision B-128527 of the Comptroller General, dated March 7, 1967 (46 Comp. Gen. 689).

§ 500.203 Outside employment and other activity.

(a) An employee shall not engage in outside employment or other outside activity not compatible with the full and proper discharge of the duties and responsibilities of his or her Government employment. Incompatible activities include but are not limited to:

(1) Acceptance of a fee, compensation, gift, payment of expense, or any other thing of monetary value in circumstances in which acceptance may result in, or create the appearance of, conflicts of interest; or

(2) Outside employment which tends to impair the employee's mental or

physical capacity to perform his or her Government duties and responsibilities in an acceptable manner.

(b) An employee shall not receive any salary or anything of monetary value from a private source as compensation for his or her services to the Government (18 U.S.C. 209). This paragraph does not apply to special Government employees.

(c) Employees are encouraged to engage in teaching, lecturing, and writing that is not prohibited by law, the Executive order, or the regulations in this part. However, an employee shall not, either for or without compensation, engage in teaching, lecturing, and writing (including teaching, lecturing, or writing for the purpose of the special preparation of a person or class of persons for an examination of OPM or Board of Examiners for the Foreign Service), that is dependent on information obtained as a result of the employee's Government employment, except when that information has been made available to the general public or will be made available on request, or when the Chairman gives written authorization for the use of nonpublic information on the basis that the use is in the public interest. In addition, an employee who is a Presidential appointee covered by section 401(a) of the Executive order shall not receive compensation or anything of monetary value for any consultation, lecture, discussion, writing, or appearance, the subject matter of which is devoted substantially to the responsibilities, programs, or operations of the Commission, or which draws substantially on official data or ideas which have not become part of the body of public information.

(d) [Reserved]

(e) This section does not preclude an employee from:

(1) Participation in the activities of national or State political parties not proscribed by law; or

(2) Participation in the affairs of or acceptance of an award for a meritorious public contribution or achievement given by a charitable, religious, professional, social, fraternal, nonprofit educational and recreational, public service, or civic organization.

§ 500.204 Financial interests.

(a) An employee shall not:

(1) Have a direct or indirect financial interest in an entity regulated by the Commission as set forth in § 500.108;

(2) Have a direct or indirect financial interest that conflicts substantially, or appears to conflict substantially, with his or her Government duties and responsibilities; or

(3) Engage in, directly or indirectly, a financial transaction as a result of, or primarily relying on, information obtained through his or her Government employment.

(b) This section does not preclude an employee from having a financial interest or engaging in financial transactions to the same extent as a private citizen not employed by the Government, so long as it is not prohibited by law, the Executive order, the regulations contained in 5 CFR Part 735, or the regulations in this part.

§ 500.205 Use of Government property.

An employee shall not directly or indirectly use, or allow the use of, Government property of any kind, including property leased to the Government, for other than officially approved activities. An employee has a positive duty to protect and conserve Government property, including equipment, supplies, and other property entrusted or issued to him or her.

§ 500.206 Misuse of information.

For the purpose of furthering a private interest, an employee shall not, except as provided in § 500.203(c), directly or indirectly use, or allow the use of, official information obtained through or in connection with his or her Government employment which has not been made available to the general public.

§ 500.207 Indebtedness.

An employee shall pay each just financial obligation in a proper and timely manner, especially one imposed by law, such as Federal, State, or local taxes. For the purpose of this section, a "just financial obligation" means one acknowledged by the employee, or reduced to judgment by court, or one imposed by law, such as Federal, State or local taxes; and "in a proper and

timely manner" means in a manner which the Commission determines does not, under the circumstances, reflect adversely on the Government as his or her employer. In the event of dispute between an employee and an alleged creditor, this section does not require the Commission to determine the validity or amount of the disputed debt.

[49 FR 44363, Nov. 6, 1984; 49 FR 47394, Dec. 4, 1984]

§ 500.208 Gambling, betting, and lotteries.

An employee shall not participate, while on Government-owned or leased property or while on duty for the Government, in any gambling activity including the operation of a gambling device, in conducting a lottery or pool, in a game for money or property, or in selling or purchasing a numbers slip or ticket. However, this section does not preclude activities:

(a) Necessitated by an employee's law enforcement duties; or

(b) Under section 3 of Executive Order 10927 or similar Commission approved activities.

§ 500.209 General conduct prejudicial to the Government.

An employee shall not engage in criminal, infamous, dishonest, immoral, or notoriously disgraceful conduct, or other conduct prejudicial to the Government.

§ 500.210 Miscellaneous statutory provisions.

Each employee shall acquaint himself or herself with each statute that relates to his or her ethical and other conduct as an employee of this Commission and of the Government. The attention of Commission employees is directed to the outside employment restriction in 46 U.S.C. app. 1111(b) and the following statutory provisions relating to ethical and other conduct.

(a) House Concurrent Resolution 175, 85th Congress, 2d Session, 72A Stat. B12 the "Code of Ethics for Government Service."

(b) Chapter 11 of title 18, United States Code, relating to bribery, graft, and conflicts of interest, as appropriate to the employees concerned.

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