An employee shall not engage in any conduct or activity that is in excess of his or her authority or is otherwise contrary to any law, regulation, or Department policy.

(a) Employees are required to comply with the lawful directives of their supervisor and other management officials.

(b) Employees shall be familiar and comply with regulations and published instructions that relate to their official duties and responsibilities.

(a) An employee shall immediately report to his or her supervisor, to any management official, or to the applicable Office of Inspector General:

(1) Any information that the employee reasonably believes indicates a possible offense against the United States by an employee of the Department or any other individual working on behalf of the Department, including, but not limited to, bribery; fraud; perjury; conflict of interest; misuse of funds, government purchase or employee travel credit cards, equipment, or facilities; and other conduct which is prohibited by title 18 of the United States Code;

(2) Any suspected violation of a statute, rule, or regulation, including this part and the regulations referenced in section 0.103 of this part;

(3) Any instance in which another person inside or outside the federal government uses or attempts to use undue influence to induce an employee to do or omit to do any official act in derogation of his official duty; and,

(4) Any information that the employee reasonably believes indicates the existence of an activity constituting:

(i) Mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, or abuse of authority;

(ii) A substantial and specific danger to the public health and safety;

(iii) A threat to the integrity of programs and operations relating to the Department; or

(iv) A violation of merit systems principles or a prohibited personnel practice as described in 5 U.S.C. 2301 and 2302.

(b) Bureau counsel who, during the course of providing advice to or representation of a bureau, acquire information of the type described in paragraph (a) of this section, shall report the information to the reporting employee's supervisor, the Chief or Legal Counsel, or the Deputy General Counsel, who shall report such information to the relevant Inspector General.

(c) This section does not cover matters addressed through employee grievances, equal employment opportunity complaints, Merit Systems Protection Board appeals, classification appeals, or other matters for which separate, formal systems have been established.

Any employee who has authority to take, direct others to take, recommend, or approve any personnel action, shall not, with respect to such authority, take or threaten to take any action against any employee as a reprisal for providing any information in accordance with § 0.203 of this part or through other processes established by law. However, if an employee makes a complaint or discloses information with the knowledge that it was false, or with willful disregard of its truth or falsity, such conduct may be grounds for disciplinary action, and such action shall not constitute reprisal.

Employees shall not sell, offer to sell, buy, offer to buy, use, or possess, controlled substances in violation of federal law. Employees shall not use or be under the influence of alcohol in a manner that adversely affects their work performance. Employees may consume alcohol on Department property only when authorized in accordance with Department or bureau policies and directives.

Employees shall not participate in a labor strike, work stoppage, or work slowdown against the government.

(a) Employees shall not possess firearms, explosives, or other dangerous weapons, as defined at 40 U.S.C. 5104(a), either openly or concealed, while on Department property or while on official duty.

(b) The prohibition of paragraph (a) of this section does not apply to the possession of authorized weapons or explosives by employees who are required to possess such authorized weapons or explosives in the performance of their official duties.

(a) Employees shall not remove, alter, destroy, mutilate, access, copy, or retain documents or data in the custody of the federal government or provided to them in the course of their employment, without proper authorization.

(b) The term “documents” includes, but is not limited to, any written, printed, typed or other graphic material, recording, computer tape, disk or hard drive, storage medium, blueprint, photograph, or other physical object on which information is recorded, including all copies of the foregoing by whatever means made, and any electronic file, data, or information stored on or created on a government computer, database, application, program, network, or storage medium.

(a) Employees shall not disclose or use official information without proper authority. Employees authorized to make disclosures should respond promptly and courteously to requests from the public for information when permitted to do so by law.

(b) Employees who have access to information that is classified for security reasons in accordance with Executive Order 13526, or any successor Executive Order governing Classified National Security Information, are responsible for its custody and safekeeping, and for assuring that it is not disclosed to unauthorized persons. See 18 U.S.C. 798; 50 U.S.C. 783(a); 31 CFR part 2.

Employees directed by competent Department or other federal authority to provide oral or written responses to questions, or to provide documents and other materials concerning matters of official interest, shall timely respond fully, truthfully, and, when required, under oath.

Employees shall not intentionally or with willful disregard make false or misleading statements, orally or in writing, in connection with any matter of official interest. Matters of official interest include, but are not limited to, the following: Official reports and any other official information upon which the Department, the Congress, other government agencies, or the public may act or rely; transactions with the public, government agencies or other government employees; application forms and other forms that serve as a basis for any personnel action; vouchers; time and attendance records, including leave records; work reports of any nature or accounts of any kind; affidavits; record of or data concerning any matter relating to or connected with an employee's duties; personnel records; and reports of any moneys or securities received, held or paid to, for or on behalf of the United States.

(a) 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. This includes the use of government-provided information technology equipment, internet access, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, and other devices in a manner that is inconsistent with the Department's policy permitting reasonable personal use. An employee has a positive duty to protect and conserve government property including equipment, supplies, intellectual property, and other property made available, entrusted, or issued to the employee for official use.

(b) Employees shall not use government vehicles for unofficial purposes, including to transport unauthorized passengers. The use of government vehicles for transporting employees between their domiciles and places of employment is prohibited except when authorized by the Secretary pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 1344 or other statute.

(a) Employees shall not make improper purchases with government contractor-issued charge cards.

(b) Employees shall timely pay undisputed amounts owed on government contractor-issued travel charge cards.

(a) Employees must adhere to the regulations that govern the conduct of individuals who are in the buildings or space occupied by, or on grounds of, particular government property.

(b) Employees shall not solicit, make collections, canvass for the sale of any article, or distribute literature or advertising on Department property without appropriate authorization.

An employee shall not electronically transmit, or create audio or video recordings of, conversations, meetings, or conferences in the workplace or while conducting business on behalf of the Department, except where authorized.

Except for the official handling, through the proper channels, of matters relating to legislation in which the Department has an interest, employees shall not use government time, money, or property to petition a Member of Congress to favor or oppose any legislation or proposed legislation, or to encourage others to do so. This section does not prohibit the use of government time by union representatives to petition a Member of Congress to favor or oppose any legislation or proposed legislation, where permitted by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.

(a) Employees shall not discriminate against or harass any other employee, applicant for employment, contractor, or person dealing with the Department on official business on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, parental status, veterans status, or genetic information.

(b) Supervisors shall not retaliate against an employee for complaining about suspected unlawful discrimination or harassment, seeking accommodation for a disability, or otherwise exercising their right to be free from unlawful discrimination.

(c) An employee who engages in discriminatory or retaliatory conduct may be disciplined under these regulations, as well as other applicable laws. However, this section does not create any enforceable legal rights in any person.

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