This subpart contains a recusal requirement that applies to employees when seeking non-Federal employment with persons whose financial interests would be directly and predictably affected by particular matters in which the employees participate personally and substantially. Specifically, it addresses the requirement of 18 U.S.C. 208(a) that an employee not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter that, to the employee's knowledge, will have a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of a person with whom the employee is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective employment. See § 2635.402 and § 2640.103 of this chapter. Beyond the statutory requirement in 18 U.S.C. 208(a), this subpart also addresses issues of lack of impartiality that require recusal from particular matters affecting the financial interests of a prospective employer when an employee's actions in seeking employment fall short of actual employment negotiations. In addition, this subpart contains the statutory notification requirements that apply to public filers when they negotiate for or have agreements of future employment or compensation. Specifically, it addresses the requirements of section 17 of the Representative Louise McIntosh Slaughter Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act), Public Law 112-105, 126 Stat. 303, that a public filer must submit a written statement identifying the entity involved in the negotiations or agreement within three business days after commencement of such negotiations or agreement and must submit a notification of recusal whenever there is a conflict of interest or an appearance of a conflict of interest.

(a) Applicability. (1) To ensure that an employee does not violate 18 U.S.C. 208(a), section 17 of the STOCK Act, or the principles of ethical conduct contained in § 2635.101(b), an employee who is seeking employment or who has an arrangement concerning prospective employment must comply with the applicable recusal requirements of §§ 2635.604 and 2635.606 if particular matters in which the employee will be participating personally and substantially would, to the employee's knowledge, directly and predictably affect the financial interests of a prospective employer or of a person with whom the employee has an arrangement concerning prospective employment. Compliance with this subpart also will ensure that the employee does not violate subpart D or E of this part. In addition, a public filer who negotiates for or has an agreement of future employment or compensation must comply with the requirements of § 2635.607.

(2) An employee who is seeking employment with a person whose financial interests are not, to the employee's knowledge, affected directly and predictably by particular matters in which the employee participates personally and substantially has no obligation to recuse under this subpart. In addition, nothing in this subpart requires an employee, other than a public filer, to notify anyone that the employee is seeking employment unless a notification is necessary to implement a recusal pursuant to § 2635.604(b). A public filer who negotiates for or has an agreement of future employment or compensation must comply with the notification requirements in § 2635.607. An employee may, however, be subject to other statutes that impose requirements on employment contacts or discussions, such as 41 U.S.C. 2103,which. Employees are encouraged to consult with their ethics officials if they have any questions about how this subpart may apply to them. Ethics officials are not obligated by this subpart to inform supervisors that employees are seeking employment.

Example 1 to paragraph (a): Recently, an employee of the Department of Education submitted a resume to the University of Delaware for a job opening. The employee has begun seeking employment. However, because the employee is not participating in any particular matters affecting the University of Delaware, there is no requirement that anyone be notified that the employee has begun seeking employment.

Example 2 to paragraph (a): The employee in example 1 to this paragraph (a) has been approached about an employment opportunity at the University of Maryland. Because the University of Maryland has applied for grants on which the employee has been assigned to work in the past, the employee wants to make certain that they do not violate the ethics rules. The employee contacts an ethics official to discuss the matter. The employee informs the ethics official that they are not currently participating in any particular matters affecting the University of Maryland. As a result, the ethics official advises the employee that they will have no notification obligations under this subpart. However, the ethics official cautions the employee that, if the employee is assigned to participate in a particular matter affecting the University of Maryland while they are seeking employment with the University, they must take whatever steps are necessary to avoid working on the grant, in accordance with § 2635.604.

(b) Related restrictions—(1) Outside employment while a Federal employee. An employee who is contemplating outside employment to be undertaken concurrently with the employee's Federal employment must abide by any limitations applicable to the employee's outside activities under subparts G and H of this part, including any requirements under supplemental agency regulations to obtain prior approval before engaging in outside employment or activities and any prohibitions under supplemental agency regulations related to outside employment or activities. The employee must also comply with any applicable recusal requirement of this subpart, as well as any applicable recusal requirements under subpart D or E of this part as a result of the employee's outside employment activities.

(2) Post-employment restrictions. An employee who is contemplating employment to be undertaken following the termination of the employee's Federal employment should consult an agency ethics official to obtain advice regarding any post-employment restrictions that may be applicable. The regulation implementing the Governmentwide post-employment statute, 18 U.S.C. 207,is. Employees are cautioned that they may be subject to additional statutory prohibitions on post-employment acceptance of compensation from contractors, such as 41 U.S.C. 2104.

(3) Interview trips and entertainment. When a prospective employer who is a prohibited source as defined in § 2635.203(d) offers to reimburse an employee's travel expenses, or provide other reasonable amenities incident to employment discussions, the employee may accept such amenities in accordance with § 2635.204(e)(3). When a prospective employer is a foreign government or international organization, the employee must also comply with the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, 5 U.S.C. 7342.

For purposes of this subpart:

(a) Employment means any form of non-Federal employment or business relationship involving the provision of personal services by the employee, whether to be undertaken at the same time as or subsequent to Federal employment. It includes but is not limited to personal services as an officer, director, employee, agent, attorney, consultant, contractor, general partner, or trustee.

Example 1 to paragraph (a): An employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs who has announced their intention to retire is approached by Tribal representatives concerning a possible consulting contract with the tribe. The contractual relationship the tribe wishes to negotiate is employment for purposes of this subpart.

Example 2 to paragraph (a): An employee of the Department of Health and Human Services is invited to a meeting with officials of a nonprofit corporation to discuss the possibility of serving as a member of the corporation's board of directors. Service, with or without compensation, as a member of the board of directors constitutes employment for purposes of this subpart.

Example 3 to paragraph (a): An employee at the Department of Energy volunteers without compensation to serve dinners at a homeless shelter each month. The employee's uncompensated volunteer services in this case are not considered an employment or business relationship for purposes of this subpart.

(b) An employee is seeking employment once the employee has begun seeking employment within the meaning of paragraph (b)(1) of this section and until the employee is no longer seeking employment within the meaning of paragraph (b)(2) of this section.

(1) An employee has begun seeking employment if the employee has directly or indirectly:

(i) Engaged in negotiations for employment with any person. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(1)(i), as for 18 U.S.C. 208(a) and section 17 of the STOCK Act, the term negotiations means discussion or communication with another person, or such person's agent or intermediary, mutually conducted with a view toward reaching an agreement regarding possible employment with that person. The term is not limited to discussions of specific terms and conditions of employment in a specific position;

(ii) Made an unsolicited communication to any person, or such person's agent or intermediary, regarding possible employment with that person. However, the employee has not begun seeking employment if that communication was for the sole purpose of requesting a job application; or

(iii) Made a response, other than rejection, to an unsolicited communication from any person, or such person's agent or intermediary, regarding possible employment with that person.

(2) An employee is no longer seeking employment when:

(i) The employee or the prospective employer rejects the possibility of employment and all discussions of possible employment have terminated; or

(ii) Two months have transpired after the employee's dispatch of an unsolicited resume or employment proposal, provided the employee has received no indication of interest in employment discussions from the prospective employer.

(3) For purposes of this paragraph (b), a response that defers discussions until the foreseeable future does not constitute rejection of an unsolicited employment overture, proposal, or resume nor rejection of a prospective employment possibility.

Example 1 to paragraph (b): A paralegal at the Department of the Army is in the third year of law school. The paralegal's neighbor, a partner in a large law firm in the community, invited the paralegal to the law firm for a visit. The paralegal accepted the offer and met with an associate at the firm. The associate shared with the paralegal their experiences looking for a legal position, discussed what they do in their position at the law firm, and explained why they chose that law firm. There was no discussion of possible employment with the firm. The Army paralegal is not seeking employment at this time. The purpose of the visit was informational only.

Example 2 to paragraph (b): An employee of the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) is auditing the overhead accounts of an Army contractor. While at the contractor's headquarters, the head of the contractor's accounting division tells the employee that the division is thinking about hiring another accountant and asks whether the employee might be interested in leaving DCAA. The DCAA employee asks what kind of work would be involved. The DCAA employee has begun seeking employment because they made a response other than a rejection to the communication regarding possible employment with the Army contractor, although they have not yet begun negotiating for employment.

Example 3 to paragraph (b): The DCAA employee and the head of the contractor's accounting division in example 2 to this paragraph (b) have a meeting to discuss the duties of the position that the accounting division would like to fill and the DCAA employee's qualifications for the position. They also discuss ways the DCAA employee could remedy one of the missing qualifications, and the employee indicates a willingness to obtain the proper qualifications. They do not discuss salary. The employee has engaged in negotiations regarding possible employment with the contractor.

Example 4 to paragraph (b): An employee at the Department of Energy (DOE) lists their job duties and employment experience in a profile on an online, business-oriented social networking service. The employee's profile is not targeted at a specific prospective employer. The employee has not begun seeking employment because the posting of a profile or resume is not an unsolicited communication with any prospective employer.

Example 5 to paragraph (b): The DOE employee in example 4 to this paragraph (b) was recently notified that a representative of a university has viewed their profile. The employee still has not begun seeking employment with the university. Subsequently, a representative of the university contacts the employee through the online forum to inquire whether the employee would be interested in working for the university, to which the employee makes a response other than rejection. At this point, the employee has begun seeking employment with the university until they reject the possibility of employment and all discussions of possible employment have terminated.

Example 6 to paragraph (b): The DOE employee in examples 4 and 5 to this paragraph (b) receives emails from various companies in response to the online profile. The employee does not respond. The employee has not begun seeking employment with the companies because they have not made a response.

Example 7 to paragraph (b): An official of a State Health Department compliments the work of an employee of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and asks the CMS employee to reach out if they are ever interested in leaving Federal service. The employee explains to the State official that they are very happy with their job at CMS and is not interested in another job. The employee thanks the official for the professional compliment, and adds that they'll remember the official's interest if they ever decide to leave the Government. The employee has rejected the unsolicited employment overture and has not begun seeking employment.

Example 8 to paragraph (b): The employee in the example 7 to this paragraph (b) responds by stating that they cannot discuss future employment while they are working on a project affecting the State's health care funding but would like to discuss employment with the State when the project is completed. Because the employee has merely deferred employment discussions until the foreseeable future, they have begun seeking employment with the State Health Department.

Example 9 to paragraph (b): Three months prior to the end of the current administration, a political appointee at a large department receives a telephone call from the managing partner of an international law firm. The managing partner asks if the official would be interested in joining the law firm. The official says, “I am not talking to anyone about employment until I leave the Government.” The official has rejected the unsolicited employment overture and has not begun seeking employment.

Example 10 to paragraph (b): A geologist employed by the U.S. Geological Survey sends a resume to an oil company. The geologist has begun seeking employment with that oil company and will be seeking employment for two months from the date the resume was mailed, provided the geologist does not receive a response indicating an interest in employment discussions. A letter merely acknowledging receipt of the resume is not an indication of interest in employment discussions. However, if the geologist withdraws the application or is notified within the two-month period that the resume has been rejected, they will no longer be seeking employment with the oil company as of the date they make such withdrawal or receive such notification.

(c) Prospective employer means any person with whom the employee is seeking employment. When contacts that constitute seeking employment are made by or with an agent or other intermediary, the term prospective employer means:

(1) A person who uses that agent or other intermediary for the purpose of seeking to establish an employment relationship with the employee if the agent identifies the prospective employer to the employee; and

(2) A person contacted by the employee's agent or other intermediary for the purpose of seeking to establish an employment relationship if the agent identifies the prospective employer to the employee.

Example 1 to paragraph (c): An employee of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has retained an employment search firm to help them find another job. The search firm has just reported to the FAA employee that it has given their resume to and had promising discussions with two airport authorities, which the search firm identifies to the employee. Even though the employee has not personally had employment discussions with either airport authority, each airport authority is their prospective employer. The employee began seeking employment with each airport authority upon learning its identity and that it has been given their resume.

Example 2 to paragraph (c): An employee pays for an online resume distribution service, which sends their resume to recruiters that specialize in their field. The online service has just notified the employee that it sent their resume to Software Company A and Software Company B. Even though the employee has not personally had employment discussions with either company, each software company is their prospective employer. The employee began seeking employment with each company upon learning from the online service that Software Company A and Software Company B had been given their resume by the intermediary.

(d) Direct and predictable effect, particular matter, and personal and substantial have the respective meanings set forth in § 2635.402(b)(1), (3), and (4).

(e) Public filer means a person required to file a public financial disclosure report as set forth in § 2634.202 of this chapter.

(a) Obligation to recuse. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section or when the employee's participation has been authorized in accordance with § 2635.605, the employee may not participate personally and substantially in a particular matter that, to the employee's knowledge, has a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of a prospective employer with whom the employee is seeking employment within the meaning of § 2635.603(b). Recusal is accomplished by not participating in the particular matter.

(2) The employee may participate in a particular matter under paragraph (a)(1) of this section when:

(i) The employee's only communication with the prospective employer in connection with the search for employment is the submission of an unsolicited resume or other employment proposal;

(ii) The prospective employer has not responded to the employee's unsolicited communication with a response indicating an interest in employment discussions; and

(iii) The matter is not a particular matter involving specific parties.

Example 1 to paragraph (a): A scientist is employed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a special Government employee to serve on a panel that reviews grant applications to fund research relating to deterioration of the ozone layer. The scientist is discussing possible employment with a university that received an NSF grant several years ago to study the effect of fluorocarbons but has no current grant applications pending before NSF. The employee is seeking employment, but does not need to recuse because there is no particular matter that would have a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of the prospective employer. Recusal would be required if the university submits a new application for the panel's review.

Example 2 to paragraph (a): An employee of the Food and Drug Administration is developing a regulation on research criteria for approving prescription drugs. They begin discussing possible employment with a pharmaceutical company. The employee may not participate personally and substantially in the development of the regulation because they have begun employment discussions with the pharmaceutical company and the regulation is a particular matter of general applicability which would have a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of the pharmaceutical company.

Example 3 to paragraph (a): A special Government employee of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is assigned to advise the FDIC on rules applicable to all member banks. The employee mails an unsolicited letter to a member bank offering services as a contract consultant. Although the employee is seeking employment, the employee may participate in this particular matter of general applicability until receipt of some response indicating an interest in discussing the employment proposal. A letter merely acknowledging receipt of the proposal is not an indication of interest in employment discussions.

Example 4 to paragraph (a): An employee of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is conducting an inspection of one of several textile companies to which they sent an unsolicited resume. The employee may not participate personally and substantially in the inspection because they are seeking employment and the inspection is a particular matter involving specific parties that will affect the textile company.

(b) Notification. Employees who become aware of the need to recuse from participating in a particular matter to which they have been assigned must take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that they do not participate in the matter. Appropriate oral or written notification of their recusal may be made to an agency ethics official, coworkers, or a supervisor to document and help effectuate the recusal. Public filers must comply with additional notification requirements set forth in § 2635.607.

Example 1 to paragraph (b): An employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is participating in the audit of a contract for laboratory support services. Before sending a resume to a lab which is a subcontractor under the VA contract, the employee should recuse from participating in the audit. Because the employee cannot withdraw from participating in the contract audit without supervisor approval, the employee should notify the supervisor of the need to recuse for ethics reasons so that appropriate adjustments in work assignments can be made.

Example 2 to paragraph (b): An employee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is contacted in writing by a pharmaceutical company concerning possible employment with the company. The employee is reviewing an application from the same pharmaceutical company, which is seeking FDA approval for a new drug product. Once the employee makes a response that is not a rejection to the company's communication concerning possible employment, the employee must recuse from further participation in the review of the application. When the employee has authority to ask a colleague to assume reviewing responsibilities, they may accomplish recusal by transferring the work to the colleague. However, to ensure that the colleague and others with whom they had been working on the review do not seek their advice regarding the review of the application or otherwise involve them in the matter, it may be necessary for the employee to advise those individuals of the recusal.

(c) Documentation. Employees, other than public filers, need not file written recusal statements unless they are required by part 2634 of this chapter to file written evidence of compliance with an ethics agreement with the Office of Government Ethics or a designated agency ethics official, or are specifically directed by an agency ethics official or the person responsible for their assignments to file written recusal statements. However, it is often prudent for employees to create a record of their actions by providing written notice to an agency ethics official, a supervisor, or other appropriate official. Public filers must comply with the documentation requirements set forth in § 2635.607.

Example 1 to paragraph (c): The General Counsel of a regulatory agency will be engaging in discussions regarding possible employment as corporate counsel of a regulated entity. Matters directly affecting the financial interests of the regulated entity are pending within the Office of General Counsel, but the General Counsel will not be called upon to act in any such matter because signature authority for that particular class of matters has been delegated to an Assistant General Counsel. Because the General Counsel is responsible for assigning work within the Office of General Counsel, they can, in fact, accomplish recusal by simply avoiding any involvement in matters affecting the regulated entity. However, because it is likely to be assumed by others that the General Counsel is involved in all matters within the cognizance of the Office of General Counsel, they would benefit from filing a written recusal statement with an agency ethics official or the Commissioners of the regulatory agency and providing their subordinates with written notification of the recusal. The General Counsel may also be specifically directed by an agency ethics official or the Commissioners to file a written recusal statement. If the General Counsel is a public filer, they must comply with the documentation requirements set forth in § 2635.607.

(d) Agency determination of substantial conflict. When the agency determines that the employee's action in seeking employment with a particular person will require the employee to recuse from matters so central or critical to the performance of the employee's official duties that the employee's ability to perform the duties of the employee's position would be materially impaired, the agency may allow the employee to take annual leave or leave without pay while seeking employment, or may take other appropriate action.

(a) Waiver. When, as defined in § 2635.603(b)(1)(i), an employee is engaged in employment negotiations for purposes of 18 U.S.C. 208(a), the employee may not participate personally and substantially in a particular matter that, to the employee's knowledge, has a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of a prospective employer. The employee may participate in such matters only when the employee has received a written waiver issued under the authority of 18 U.S.C. 208(b)(1) or (3). These waivers are described in § 2635.402(d) and part 2640, subpart C, of this chapter. For certain employees, a regulatory exemption under the authority of 18 U.S.C. 208(b)(2) may also apply (see part 2640, subpart B, of this chapter, including § 2640.203(g) and (i)).

Example 1 to paragraph (a): An employee of the Department of Agriculture is negotiating for employment within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 208(a) and § 2635.603(b)(1)(i) with an orange grower. In the absence of a written waiver issued under 18 U.S.C. 208(b)(1), the employee may not take official action on a complaint filed by a competitor alleging that the grower has shipped oranges in violation of applicable quotas.

(b) Authorization by agency designee. When an employee is seeking employment within the meaning of § 2635.603(b)(1)(ii) or (iii) and is not negotiating for employment, a reasonable person would be likely to question the employee's impartiality if the employee were to participate personally and substantially in a particular matter that, to the employee's knowledge, has a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of any such prospective employer. The employee may participate in such matters only when the agency designee has authorized in writing the employee's participation in accordance with the standards set forth in § 2635.502(d).

Example 1 to paragraph (b): Within the past month, an employee of the Department of Education mailed a resume to a university. The employee is thus seeking employment with the university within the meaning of § 2635.603(b)(1)(ii). In the absence of specific authorization by the agency designee in accordance with § 2635.502(d), the employee may not participate personally and substantially in an assignment to review a grant application submitted by the university.

(a) Employment or arrangement concerning employment. An employee may not participate personally and substantially in a particular matter that, to the employee's knowledge, has a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of the person by whom the employee is employed or with whom the employee has an arrangement concerning future employment, unless authorized to participate in the matter by a written waiver issued under the authority of 18 U.S.C. 208(b)(1) or (3), or by a regulatory exemption under the authority of 18 U.S.C. 208(b)(2). These waivers and exemptions are described in § 2635.402(d) and part 2640, subparts B and C, of this chapter.

Example 1 to paragraph (a): A military officer has accepted a job with a defense contractor that will begin six months after retirement from military service. During the remainder of Government employment, the officer may not participate personally and substantially in the administration of a contract with that particular defense contractor unless a written waiver is issued under the authority of 18 U.S.C. 208(b)(1).

Example 2 to paragraph (a): An accountant has just been offered a job with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) which involves a two-year limited appointment. The accountant's private employer, a large corporation, believes the job will enhance their skills and has agreed to give them a two-year unpaid leave of absence at the end of which they have agreed to return to work for the corporation. During the two-year period that the accountant is to be an OCC employee, they will have an arrangement concerning future employment with the corporation that will require recusal from participating personally and substantially in any particular matter that, to their knowledge, will have a direct and predictable effect on the corporation's financial interests.

(b) Offer rejected or not made. The agency designee for the purpose of § 2635.502(c) may, in an appropriate case, determine that an employee not covered by paragraph (a) of this section who has sought but is no longer seeking employment nevertheless will be subject to a period of recusal upon the conclusion of employment negotiations. Any such determination will be based on a consideration of all the relevant factors, including those listed in § 2635.502(d), and a determination that the concern that a reasonable person may question the integrity of the agency's decision-making process outweighs the Government's interest in the employee's participation in the particular matter.

Example 1 to paragraph (b): An employee of the Securities and Exchange Commission was relieved of responsibility for an investigation of a broker-dealer while seeking employment with the law firm representing the broker-dealer in that matter. The firm did not offer the partnership position the employee sought. Even though the employee is no longer seeking employment with the firm, they may continue to be recused from participating in the investigation based on a determination by the agency designee that the concern that a reasonable person might question whether, in view of the history of the employment negotiations, they could act impartially in the matter outweighs the Government's interest in their participation.

(a) Notification regarding negotiations for or agreement of future employment or compensation. A public filer who is negotiating for or has an agreement of future employment or compensation with a non-Federal entity must file a statement notifying an agency ethics official of such negotiation or agreement within three business days after commencement of the negotiation or agreement. This notification statement must be in writing, must be signed by the public filer, and must include the name of the non-Federal entity involved in such negotiation or agreement and the date on which the negotiation or agreement commenced. When a public filer has previously complied with the notification requirement in this section regarding the commencement of negotiations, the filer need not file a separate notification statement when an agreement of future employment or compensation is reached with the previously identified non-Federal entity. There is also no requirement to file another notification when negotiations have been unsuccessful. However, employees may want to do so to facilitate the resumption of their duties.

Example 1 to paragraph (a): An employee of the Merit Systems Protection Board who is a public filer was in private practice prior to Government service. The employee receives a telephone call from a partner in a law firm who inquires as to whether they would be interested in returning to private practice. During this initial telephone call with the law firm partner, the employee indicates that they are interested in resuming private practice. The partner and employee discuss generally the types of issues that would need to be agreed upon if the employee were to consider a possible offer to serve as “of counsel” with the firm, such as salary, benefits, and type of work the employee would perform. The employee has begun negotiating for future employment with the law firm. Within three business days after this initial telephone call, the employee must file written notification of the negotiations with the agency ethics official.

Example 2 to paragraph (a): The employee in the example 1 to this paragraph (a) also negotiates a possible contract with a publisher to begin writing a textbook after leaving Government service. Within three business days after commencing negotiations, the employee must file written notification with the agency ethics official documenting this engagement in negotiations for future compensation with the book publisher.

(b) Notification of recusal. A public filer who files a notification statement pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section must file with an agency ethics official a notification of recusal whenever there is a conflict of interest or appearance of a conflict of interest with the non-Federal entity identified in the notification statement. The notification statement and the recusal statement may be contained in a single document or in separate documents.

(c) Advance filing of notification and recusal statements. When a public filer is seeking employment within the meaning of § 2635.603(b)(1)(ii) or (iii) or is considering seeking employment, the public filer may elect to file the notification statement pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section before negotiations have commenced and before an agreement of future employment or compensation is reached. A public filer may also elect to file the recusal statement pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section before the public filer has a conflict of interest or appearance of a conflict of interest with the non-Federal entity identified in the notification statement. The public filer need not file the document again upon commencing negotiations or reaching an agreement of future employment or compensation. The advance filing of any such document is not construed as a statement that negotiations have or have not commenced or that a conflict of interest does or does not exist. Although the Office of Government Ethics encourages advance filing when a public filer anticipates a realistic possibility of negotiations or an agreement, the failure to make an advance filing does not violate this subpart or the principles of ethical conduct contained in § 2635.101(b).

Example 1 to paragraph (c): An employee of the Federal Labor Relations Authority who is a public filer began negotiating for future employment with a law firm. At the time the employee began negotiating for future employment with the law firm, they were not participating personally and substantially in a particular matter that, to their knowledge, had a direct and predictable effect on the financial interest of the law firm. Although the employee was not required to file a recusal statement because they did not have a conflict of interest or appearance of a conflict of interest with the law firm identified in the notification statement, the Office of Government Ethics encourages the employee to submit a notification of recusal at the same time that they file the notification statement regarding the negotiations for future employment in order to ensure that the requirement of paragraph (b) of this section is satisfied if a conflict of interest or an appearance of a conflict of interest later arises. The agency ethics official should counsel the employee on applicable requirements but is under no obligation to notify the employee's supervisor that the employee is negotiating for employment.

Example 2 to paragraph (c): An employee of the General Services Administration is contacted by a prospective employer regarding scheduling an interview for the following week to begin discussing the possibility of future employment. The employee discusses the matter with the ethics official and chooses to file a notification and recusal statement prior to the interview. The notification and recusal statement contain the identity of the prospective employer and an estimated date of when the interview will occur. The employee has complied with the notification requirement of section 17 of the STOCK Act.

(d) Definition of agreement of future employment or compensation. Agreement of future employment or compensation for the purposes of this section means any arrangement concerning employment that will commence after the termination of Government service. The term also means any arrangement to compensate in exchange for services that will commence after the termination of Government service. The term includes, among other things, an arrangement to compensate for teaching, speaking, or writing that will commence after the termination of Government service.