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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 6. PERSONNEL |
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SubTilte 6-B. GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL |
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Chapter 6-B18. EMPLOYEE CONDUCT |
Section 6-B1810. PUBLIC REPORTING AND CONFIDENTIAL DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INTERESTS
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1810.1 This section implements the financial interest disclosure requirements set forth in Section 224 of the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Establishment and Comprehensive Ethics Reform Amendment Act of 2011 (“Ethics Act”), effective April 27, 2012 (D.C. Law 19-124; D.C. Official Code §§ 1-1162.24 and 1-1162.25).
1810.2 At the time of hire, each personnel authority shall provide each employee with a copy, whether in hard copy or electronic form, of the BEGA ethics manual, inclusive of the Code of Conduct.
(a) No later than 90 days after commencement of employment, all required filers, as defined in Section 1899, shall certify that they have undergone ethics training developed or approved by the Board of Government Ethics and Accountability.
(b) Filers shall certify on an annual basis that they have completed at least one ethics training program within the previous year.
1810.3 In accordance with Sections 1804 and 1806, no employee shall engage in outside employment or private business activity or have any direct or indirect financial interest that conflicts or would appear to conflict with the fair, impartial, and objective performance of officially assigned duties and responsibilities.
1810.4 For purposes of public reporting and confidential financial disclosures:
(c) Each agency head shall provide to BEGA, no later than March 1st of each year, a list of all public officials within the agency, as defined by the Ethics Act. The list shall include the name, title, position, grade, home address, work email address (or personal email address if available and the employee no longer works for the agency), and work telephone number (or personal telephone number if available and the employee no longer works for the agency).
(d) Each agency head shall identify any employee other than a public official, who advises, makes decisions or participates substantially in areas of contracting, procurement, administration of grants or subsidies, developing policies, land use planning, inspecting, licensing, policy-making, regulating or auditing, or acts in areas of responsibility that may create a conflict of interest or appearance of a conflict of interest as determined by the appropriate agency head. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners shall also file the report required by this section.
(e) On or before April 15th of each year, each agency head shall notify each designated person (“designees”) in the agency of their requirement to submit a confidential disclosure of financial information (“confidential report”) pursuant to Paragraph (a) of this subsection.
(f) On or before May 1st of each year, each agency head shall supply the list of designees to the Office of Government Ethics.
(g) Each designee shall file with their agency head a report containing a full and complete statement of the information required by D.C. Official Code § 1-1162.24 on or before May 15th of each year.
1810.5 When an agency head questions whether a specific individual should be designated pursuant to Subsection 1810.4, the matter shall be referred to the Director of Government Ethics for final resolution.
1810.6 Designees shall be notified in writing of the following:
(a) That he or she has been designated; and
(b) That he or she may request a review of the designation by the agency head within five (5) days.
1810.7 Designees may request a review of their designation as follows:
(a) An employee may submit a written request for review to the agency head within five (5) days of written notification of the designation;
(b) The agency head shall make a redetermination, in writing, within five (5) days of receipt of the request; and
(c) The agency head's redetermination denying requested relief shall be appealable, in writing, within five (5) days of receipt of the notice of denial to the Director of Government Ethics.
1810.8 The decision of the Director of Government Ethics respecting the designation shall be in writing and shall be issued within five (5) days of receipt and shall be final.
1810.9 The agency head or his or her designee shall review each employee's confidential report and each supplementary statement and, on or before June 1st of each year, shall certify or otherwise report to the Office of Government Ethics, indicating whether or not designees have filed the required report, and if not, shall provide a list of those designees who have failed to submit the required report. This report shall include information about successful and pending designation appeals.
1810.10 Confidential reports of employees shall be reviewed by the agency head or his or her designee. Any apparent violation of the Code of Conduct shall immediately be forwarded to the Office of Government Ethics.
1810.11 Confidential reports constitute a record and shall be maintained by the BEGA for a period no less than six (6) years.
1810.12 An employee who has been designated to submit a confidential report shall provide the information specified in this section.
1810.13 Each employee required to submit a confidential report shall be provided with the statement and its instructions by the person designated by the agency head.
1810.14 Notwithstanding the filing of the annual statement required by this section, each employee shall at all times avoid acquiring a financial interest that could result, or taking an action that would result, in a violation of the conflict-of-interest provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 208 or this chapter.
1810.15 The interest (that is, any reportable interest specified in Subsections 1810.17 through 1810.21 of this section) of a member of an employee's immediate household shall be considered to be an interest of the employee.
1810.16 If any information required to be included on a confidential report or supplementary statement, including holdings placed in trust, is not known to the employee but is known to another person, the employee shall request that other person to submit information on his or her behalf.
1810.17 A person who is providing services to a District agency without compensation under the provisions of Section 4000 (Utilization of Voluntary Services) of these regulations shall be required to submit a confidential report if it is determined by the agency head that the volunteer's assignment is comparable to a position covered by this chapter requiring the submission of a confidential report.
1810.18 Each designated employee shall provide the following information pertaining to creditors:
(a)The names and addresses of his or her creditors other than those to whom he or she may be indebted by reason of a mortgage on property which he or she occupies as a personal residence or to whom he or she may be indebted for current and ordinary household and living expenses such as household furnishings, automobile, education, vacation, and similar expenses; and
(b)The character of the indebtedness, for example, personal loan, note, or security.
1810.19 Each designated employee shall provide the following information pertaining to interest in real property:
(a)List his or her interest in real property or rights in lands, other than property which he or she occupies as a personal residence;
(b)State the nature of the interest, for example, ownership, mortgage, lien, vestment, or trust;
(c)Identify the type of property, for example, residence, hotel, apartment, farm, or undeveloped land; and
(d)Give the address of the property (if rural, give RFD, county, and state).
1810.20 Each designated employee shall expressly indicate whether any person or entity identified in accordance with Subsections 1810.19 and 1810.20 of this section is (a) engaged in doing business with the District government or (b) regulated by any agency of the District government, except as to any licensing requirement under applicable law. If any change occurs regarding such persons or entities after the filing of an annual statement, the employee shall furnish the updated information by submission of a supplementary statement within ten (10) days of learning of the commencement or cessation of the business activity or the regulatory function.
1810.21 For purposes of Subsection 1810.21 of this section, a person or entity shall be deemed to be doing business with the District government if a contract or agreement has been formally entered into for supplying goods or services, including contracts for construction, to the District, or for extending a leasehold interest to the benefit of the District.
1810.22 If any information is to be supplied by other persons, for example, a trustee, attorney, accountant, or relative, the employee shall indicate the following information:
(a) The name, title, company name (if appropriate), and address of each other person;
(b) The date on which the information was requested by the employee to be supplied; and
(c) The nature of the subject matter involved.
1810.23 In responding to the requests for information required under Subsections 1810.25 through 1810.23 of this section, the employee shall write "none," if applicable.
1810.24 The employee shall sign and date the confidential report, certifying the following:
(a) That he or she has received and read the instructions and the prohibitions pertaining to conflicts of interest as they relate to his or her employment;
(b) That, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, he or she has no outside employment or other business interest other than the interests specifically listed and identified in accordance with Subsections 1810.19 through 1810.24 of this section; and
(c) That the statements he or she provided are true, complete, and correct to the best of his or her knowledge and belief.
1810.25 Each employee shall submit a supplementary statement disclosing any additional financial interests not previously disclosed in the employee's annual report within ten (10) days of his or her commencement of any previously unreported outside employment, acquisition of financial or real property interests, or agreement of indebtedness, in the same manner and to the same extent as specified for the submission of annual reports required by this section.
1810.26 When an employee identifies a person or entity in accordance with Subsections 1810.21 and 1810.22 of this section as either not engaged in doing business with the District government or not regulated by any agency of the District government and thereafter the person or entity commences either to do business with or to become subject to regulation by the District, the employee, within ten (10) days after learning of the commencement of the business or regulatory function, shall notify in writing his or her immediate supervisor and submit a supplementary report identifying the change in status.
1810.27 Each employee required by this section to submit an annual statement shall notify his or her immediate supervisor in writing immediately whenever an assignment is given the employee which may directly or indirectly affect any person or entity identified by the employee in accordance with Subsections 1810.19 through 1810.27 of this section.
1810.28 Upon notification under Subsection 1810.28 of this section, the supervisor may reassign the matter in the event of a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest when, in the discretion of the supervisor, a reassignment is warranted under the circumstances.
1810.29 After the employee has been notified by the supervisor that reassignment is warranted, the employee shall submit a written recusal from the matter, which shall be maintained by the agency head.
1810.30 An employee may receive a waiver and work on a matter in which he or she has a conflict of interest, if he or she has received a waiver pursuant to Section 223 of the Ethics Act (D.C. Official Code § 1-1162.23) and the written approval of his or her agency head or designee.