duced to judgment by a court or imposed by law such as Federal, State, or local taxes, and "in a proper and timely manner" means in a manner which the Veterans Administration determines does not, under the circumstances, reflect adversely on the Government as his or her employer.

(2) First priority will be given to financial obligations imposed by law such as Federal, State, or local taxes, and second to family support judgments.

(3) Indebtedness information will be treated as confidential.

(b) The Veterans Administration will not assume responsibilities which properly belong to private creditors for investigating credit status, settling disputes over bills, and collecting amounts owed.

(c) The Veterans Administration will, after an alleged creditor has made attempts to collect directly from an employee, insist that the employee promptly make and carry out an arrangement with the creditor to pay an indebtedness he admits or which he owes according to a court judgment he is not legally contesting, or promptly make his views known to the alleged creditor if he disputes an indebtedness claim.

[31 FR 5828, Apr. 15, 1966, as amended at 33 FR 3173, Feb. 20, 1968; 42 FR 2315, Jan. 11, 1977]

§ 0.735-17 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; in selling or purchasing a numbers slip or ticket; or in promoting betting or acting as an agent for gamblers.

§ 0.735-18 Conduct prejudicial to the Government.

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

§ 0.735-19 Relations with firms or persons seeking or doing business with the Veterans Administration.

(a) Full-time employees are generally prohibited from performing service for a contractor or other person engaged in contract or maintenance work or other business with the Veterans Administration. Written exceptions to this provision may be made by the station, department, or staff office head concerned, if in his judgment the performance of such service will not involve a conflict of interest.

(b) All employees, and particularly those responsible for making or recommending awards of Government contracts (or with administering, directing, or passing upon the performance of such contracts), are expected in the conduct of their personal business as well as their official duties to show no favoritism or prejudice to any persons having or seeking business with the Veterans Administration; to avoid giving any reason for suspicion that such favoritism or prejudice exists; and to refrain from any act which might reasonably be expected to embarrass or discredit the Veterans Administration.

§ 0.735-20 Other conduct on the job.

(a) Attendance. (1) Employees are required to be punctual in reporting for duty, and to stay on the job unless excused.

(2) Supervisors are responsible for controlling attendance of their employees, authorizing absences, and dealing promptly with abuses.

(3) Unit timekeepers are responsible for keeping the time and attendance records based on supervisors' authorizations of absence, and for obtaining the employees' initials and the supervisor's signature certifying to the accuracy of the entries on the time and attendance records.

(b) Work attitudes and work behavior. An employee shall live up to common standards of acceptable work behavior. The following are considered improper: Willful idleness or timewasting; inattentiveness to duty, inalertness or sleeping during working hours; careless or negligent workmanship; deliberate failure or unreason

able delay in carrying out instructions; threatening, attempting or inflicting bodily injury to another; fighting or dangerous horseplay; disrespectful conduct; use of insulting, abusive, or obscene language to or about other personnel, patients, or beneficiaries; making false or unfounded statements about other employees which are slanderous or defamatory; deliberate or willful resistance toward or refusal to carry out the proper order of a superi

or.

(c) Avoiding favoritism. In conducting official business, employees must show no favoritism or prejudice to those served by the Veterans Administration, and must disqualify themselves where personal interests might affect their impartiality.

(d) Dealing with the public. Employees should be courteous, considerate, efficient and prompt in serving the general public, veterans and their families.

(e) Relationship with beneficiaries and claimants. Employees are expected to be helpful to beneficiaries, patients and claimants, but:

(1) An employee shall not counsel or advise veterans or their dependents in matters outside his official duties, but will refer them to the appropriate designated officials;

(2) An employee shall not enter into any personal financial transactions, including purchases, sales, or the borrowing or lending of money, with patients or their friends or relatives acting for them;

(3) An employee shall not, except in his regular duties, aid beneficiaries, or claimants in the negotiation of checks or the handling of personal funds, other than by identifying them or witnessing their X signature;

(4) An employee shall not procure intoxicants or drugs for, or attempt to sell intoxicants or drugs to, patients or members, or give or attempt to give intoxicants or drugs to them unless officially prescribed for medicinal use;

(5) An employee shall not abuse patients, members, or other beneficiaries, whether or not provoked.

(f) Borrowing and lending money. (1) An employee shall not, while on duty or while on Federal premises, borrow money from, or lend money to

another employee or other person for monetary profit or other gain, except as part of the operation of a recognized credit union or employee welfare plan.

(2) A supervisor may not loan money to, or request or accept the loan of money from, subordinate employees.

(g) Use of military titles. An employee shall not use his military title or rank in official publications, correspondence, telephone directories, desk name plates, door signs, or the like, unless he is in active status in the military detailed to the Veterans Administration.

[31 FR 5828, Apr. 15, 1966, as amended at 33 FR 3173, Feb. 20, 1968]

§ 0.735-21 Standards of conduct in special

areas.

(a) Solicitations and sales. (1) An employee shall not solicit contributions for, or otherwise promote on premises occupied by the Veterans Administration, any national or local welfare or other type of campaign except one endorsed by the Veterans Administration.

(2) An employee shall not sell tickets, stocks, articles, commodities, or services on premises occupied by the Veterans Administration, except for officially acceptable activities of employee organizations, associations or groups.

(b) Theft of personal property on Veterans Administration premises. The theft by employees of the personal property of other employees, or of patients, claimants, or other persons having business with or visiting the Veterans Administration, will be subject to disciplinary action notwithstanding any legal action that may be taken.

(c) Use or sale of intoxicants. (1) An employee shall not use intoxicants in such manner that his work performance is adversely affected or his conduct becomes embarrassing to the Veterans Administration.

(2) An employee shall not report for duty under the influence of intoxicants, or become intoxicated or partake of intoxicants while on duty.

(3) An employee shall not sell or attempt to sell intoxicants on premises

occupied by the Veterans Administration.

(d) Exercise of notary powers. (1) Employees who are notaries public may perform notarial acts on non-Veterans Administration matters where it will not interfere with their regular duties.

(2) An employee who is a notary public shall not charge or receive any compensation for performing any notarial act during his working hours or luncheon period (E.O. 977, Nov. 1908).

(e) Safety. (1) Employees will observe safety instructions, signs, and normal safety practices and precautions, including the use of protective clothing and equipment.

(2) An employee shall report each work-connected injury, accident or disease he suffers.

(f) Furnishing testimony. Employees will furnish information and testify freely and honestly in cases respecting employment and disciplinary matters. Refusal to testify, concealment of material facts, or willfully inaccurate testimony in connection with an investigation or hearing may be ground for disciplinary action. An employee, however, will not be required to give testimony against himself in any matter in which there is indication that he may be or is involved in a violation of law wherein there is a possibility of self-incrimination.

(g) Leave and absence from duty. (1) Employees are expected to use the various kinds of leave and authorized absence in accordance with the purposes for which they were established, and without falsification of reasons for absence.

(2) Employees must obtain from the supervisor for each absence from duty, approval in advance, or in case of emergency or illness, approval as early as practicable, and to the extent possible, at the beginning of their tour of duty but not later than 2 hours thereafter.

(h) Purchase of Veterans Administration property. Employees of the Veterans Administration and members of their immediate families may purchase Government-owned personal property when such property is sold by the General Services Administration or any other Federal agency. In

the cases of manual arts and occupational therapy products, employees may purchase such material when sold by the Veterans Administration.

ans

Administration)

(i) Use of name and official title or designation. Employees shall not use or lend their name and official title or designation (relationship to the Veterin connection with any commercial enterprise or to endorse any commercial product, or in any other way that might appear to the public to be intended to further the business interests of the recipient. Employees may, however, use their official relationship as identification in publications they author, provided the views expressed are not made to appear as those of the agency unless so authorized.

(j) Use of Government Facilities, materials and personnel. Employees may not, except as specifically authorized, use Government facilities, materials and personnel for other than official purposes.

(k) Use of motor vehicle. Employees may not operate a federally-owned motor vehicle or another they are using on Government business, improperly, recklessly, or in violation of traffic regulations; and on Veterans Administration occupied premises, may not so operate any motor vehicle.

(1) Civil Service requirements. Employees may not violate the requirements of Civil Service law, rules, regulations, policies and standards administered by or subject to the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission (5 CFR 5.4).

(m) Conduct of employees in foreign countries. (1) Veterans Administration employees serving in or traveling on official business in foreign countries must conduct themselves in a manner which does not offend the people of those countries.

(2) Station heads concerned will issue instructions as necessary to explain proper conduct, supplementing as appropriate controlling instructions of the local diplomatic mission of the State Department.

(n) Distributing advertising and unofficial literature. An employee will not distribute literature or advertising matter on premises occupied by the Veterans Administration except when

authorized by Veterans Administration management.

(0) Reporting serious irregularities and criminal acts. Employees are responsible for reporting to department, staff office, or field station heads (or directly to the Administrator, if they think their interests would otherwise be endangered) any evidence or information that gives them reasonable cause to suspect that a serious irregularity or criminal act, such as abuse of a patient, or fraud, or theft or other criminal violation may have occurred in an activity of the Veterans Administration. Violations of personnel laws or rules may be reported directly to the Director, Investigation and Security Service when the matter is not appropriate for the grievance or appeals procedure. Employees who furnish such evidence as information to any of the above officials on the basis of reasonable grounds shall not be penalized in any way for doing so. They will also be assured that appropriate inquiry will be made.

(p) Insuring citizen privacy. An employee may not collect or maintain information about any citizen (including where applicable, employees, applicants, patients, etc.) dealing with the Veterans Administration unless such information is relevant and necessary to the official purpose for which it was collected. No information which has been collected concerning a citizen may be disseminated except in the performance of official duty.

[31 FR 5828, Apr. 15, 1966, as amended at 33 FR 3173, Feb. 20, 1968; 33 FR 18375, Dec. 11, 1968; 40 FR 46286, Oct. 6, 1975]

§ 0.735-22 Other conflict of interest restrictions.

Under Pub. L. 87-849 (18 U.S.C. 201218), employees are subject to the following additional conflict of interest restrictions:

(a) Employees are prohibited, except in the discharge of their official duties, from representing anyone before a court or Government agency in a matter in which the United States is a party or has an interest, whether or not they are paid for such representation (18 U.S.C. 203 and 205). This does not preclude:

(1) Representing another employee, without compensation, who is the subject of disciplinary, loyalty, or other personnel administration proceedings, provided such representation is not inconsistent with the faithful performance of duties;

(2) Giving testimony under oath or making statements required to be made under penalty for perjury or contempt;

(3) Representing with or without compensation a parent, spouse, child, or person or estate to whom employees serve as fiduciary, with the approval of the official responsible for appointments of their position, and if the matter involved is neither one participated in personally or substantially nor one under the employees' responsibility.

(b) Employees are prohibited from participating in the course of their official duties in any matter in which they, their spouse, minor child, or any person or organization with whom they have an official business connection or are negotiating for employment, has a financial interest, unless they make full disclosure in advance and obtain written determination in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 208 (b)(1).

(c) Employees are prohibited, when they leave Federal employment, from representing anyone other than the United States in connection with a matter connected with their former duties or official responsibilities in which the United States is a party or has an interest:

(1) Indefinitely if the matter was one in which they participated personally or substantially for the Federal Government (18 U.S.C. 207(a)); or

(2) For 1 year if the matter was merely within your official responsibility within the last year of your Federal service (18 U.S.C. 207(b)).

[40 FR 46287, Oct. 6, 1975]

§ 0.735-23 Miscellaneous statutory provisions.

Employees shall acquaint themselves with each statute that relates to their ethical and other conduct as an employee of the Veterans Administration and of the Government, as follows:

(a) Statutory provisions pertaining to the Veterans Administration. The requirement that officers or employees of the Veterans Administration be dismissed for owning any interest in, or receiving any wages, salary, dividends, profits, gratuities or services from, any educational institution operated for profit, in which an eligible person or veteran is pursuing a course of education under 38 U.S.C. chs. 34, 35, or 36, unless waiver is obtained from the Administrator after a hearing (38 U.S.C. 1783).

(b) Statutory provisions pertaining to the Government generally. (1) House Concurrent Resolution 175, 85th Congress, 2d session, 72 Stat. B12, the "Code of Ethics for Government Service."

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

(3) The prohibition against lobbying with appropriated funds (18 U.S.C. 1913).

(4) The prohibition against disloyalty and striking (5 U.S.C. 7311; 18 U.S.C. 1918).

(5) The prohibition against the employment of a member of a Communist organization (50 U.S.C. 784).

(6) The prohibition against:

(i) The disclosure of classified information (18 U.S.C. 798, 50 U.S.C. 783); and

(ii) The disclosure of confidential information (18 U.S.C. 1905).

(7) The provision against appointment or retention of persons who habitually use intoxicating beverages to excess (5 U.S.C. 7352).

(8) The prohibition against the misuse of a Government vehicle, such as for unofficial purposes (31 U.S.C. 638a(c)).

(9) The prohibition against the misuse of the franking privilege (18 U.S.C. 1719).

(10) The prohibition against the use of deceit in an examination or personnel action in connection with Government employment (18 U.S.C. 1917).

(11) The prohibition against fraud or false statements in a Government matter (18 U.S.C. 1001).

(12) The prohibition against mutilating or destroying a public record (18 U.S.C. 2071).

(13) The prohibition against counterfeiting and forging transportation requests (18 U.S.C. 508).

(14) The prohibitions against:

(i) Embezzlement of Government money or property (18 U.S.C. 641);

(ii) Failing to account for public money (18 U.S.C. 643); and

(iii) Embezzlement of the money or property of another person in the possession of an employee by reason of his employment (18 U.S.C. 654).

(15) The prohibition against unauthorized use of documents relating to claims from or by the Government (18 U.S.C. 285).

(16) The prohibitions against political activities in subchapter III of chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code and 18 U.S.C. 602, 603, 607, and 608.

(17) The prohibition against an employee acting as the agent of a foreign principal registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (18 U.S.C. 219).

[31 FR 5828, Apr. 15, 1966, as amended at 33 FR 3174, Feb. 20, 1968; 33 FR 18375, Dec. 11, 1968; 40 FR 46287, Oct. 6, 1975]

Subpart C-Standards of Ethical Conduct and Related Responsibilities of Special Government Employees

§ 0.735-50 General requirements.

Each Veterans Administration special Government employee (see definition in 0.735-2(b)) is subject to the same general requirements as other employees (§ 0.735-10).

8 0.735-51 Use of Government employment.

A special Government employee shall not use his Government employment for a purpose that is, or gives the appearance of being, motivated by the desire for private gain for himself or another person, particularly one with whom he has family, business, or financial ties.

8 0.735-52 Use of inside information.

(a) A special Government employee shall not use inside information obtained as a result of his Government