In accordance with 5 CFR 2635.105, the regulations in this part apply to employees of the Department of Transportation and supplement the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch contained in 5 CFR part 2635. In addition to the standards in 5 CFR part 2635, employees are subject to the executive branch financial disclosure regulations contained in 5 CFR part 2634.

For purposes of 5 CFR part 2635, the following Department of Transportation officials are agency designees within the meaning of 5 CFR 2635.102(b):

(a) The Designated Agency Ethics Official;

(b) The Alternate Agency Ethics Official;

(c) The Deputy Ethics Officials; and

(d) As designated by Deputy Ethics Officials, legal counsel in regional and other offices.

(a) Pursuant to 5 CFR 2635.203(a), each of the following components of the Department of Transportation is designated as a separate agency for purpose of the regulations in subpart B of 5 CFR part 2635 governing gifts from outside sources and § 2635.807 of this title governing teaching, speaking, or writing:

(1) Federal Aviation Administration;

(2) Federal Highway Administration;

(3) Federal Railroad Administration;

(4) Federal Transit Administration;

(5) Maritime Administration;

(6) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration;

(7) Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation; and

(8) United States Coast Guard.

(b) Employees of Department of Transportation components not designated as separate agencies, including employees of the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, the Research and Special Programs Administration, and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, will be treated as employees of DOT which shall be treated as a single agency that is separate from the above listed agencies for purposes of determining whether the donor of a gift is a prohibited source under 5 CFR 2635.203(d) and for identifying the DOT employee's agency under 5 CFR 2635.807 governing teaching, speaking, and writing.

(a) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). (1) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no FRA employee shall hold stock or have any other financial interest, including outside employment, in a railroad company subject to FRA regulation.

(2) No FRA employee appointed after December 1991 shall hold reemployment rights with a railroad company subject to FRA regulation after his or her first year of employment.

(3) No spouse or minor child of an FRA employee shall hold stock or any other securities interest in a railroad company subject to FRA regulation.

(b) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Except as provided in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, no FAA employee, or spouse or minor child of the employee, may hold stock or have any other securities interest in an airline or aircraft manufacturing company, or in a supplier of components or parts to an airline or aircraft manufacturing company.

(c) Exception. The prohibitions in paragraphs (a)(1) and (b) of this section do not apply to a financial interest in a publicly traded or publicly available investment fund, provided that, at the time of the employee's appointment or upon initial investment in the fund, whichever occurs later, the fund does not have invested, or indicate in its prospectus the intent to invest more than 30 percent of its assets in a particular transportation or geographic sector and the employee neither exercises control nor has the ability to exercise control over the financial interests held in the fund.

(d) Waiver. An agency designee may grant a written waiver from the prohibition contained in paragraph (b) of this section, based on a determination that the waiver is not inconsistent with 5 CFR part 2635 or otherwise prohibited by law, and that, under the particular circumstances, application of the prohibition is not necessary to avoid the appearance of misuse of position or loss of impartiality, or otherwise to ensure confidence in the impartiality and objectivity with which FAA programs are administered. A waiver under this paragraph may be accompanied by appropriate conditions, such as requiring execution of a written statement of disqualification. Notwithstanding the granting of any waiver, an employee remains subject to the disqualification requirements of 5 CFR 2635.402 and 2635.502.

(e) Period to divest. An individual subject to this section who acquires a financial interest subject to this section, as a result of gift, inheritance, or marriage, shall divest the interest within a period set by the agency designee. Until divestiture, the disqualification requirements of 5 CFR 2635.402 and 2635.502 remain in effect.