GIFTS
True or False: Modest food items and refreshments, such as soft drinks, coffee, and donuts that are not offered as part of a meal is still considered a gift.
What is false? 5 CFR 2635.203 does not consider modest food items and non-alcoholic beverages that are not served as part of a meal as gifts.
True or false: Federal employees may retain for personal use promotional items, including frequent flyer miles, hotel points, etc., earned during official travel.
What is true?
Employees may not engage in (_______ ________) while on duty or in the federal workplace or while wearing a uniform or official insignia.
What is political activity?
An employee makes home-made jewelry and sells them to her co-workers (including subordinates) at her workplace to raise funds for an outside charitable organization that she founded. She believes as long as she sells them during her lunch break and it's for a good cause, she is not violating any laws. Is she correct?
What is no? Unless permitted by law, regulation or special authority, employees may not engage in any form of fundraising in the workplace. This includes but is not limited to, conducting raffles, lotteries, bake sales, carnivals, athletic events, etc. for charitable organizations.
OSMRE employees and any other Federal employees who perform functions and duties under the (______) of 1977 are prohibited from having any financial interests in surface or underground coal mining operations.
What is the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA)?
A close friend who works for a mining company gave you a brand new iPad for your birthday. Can you accept the gift?
What is yes if the gift giving is motivated by personal relationship or what is no if gift giving is being offered by him as an agent of the mining company?
There is an important mining conference that an OSMRE employee would like to attend in her official capacity but her office only has enough money to pay for partial travel. Can the employee volunteer to use her own money to supplement the cost of her official travel?
What is no? Generally, official travel must be paid with appropriated funds.
The (_____ _____) is a federal law that limits certain political activities of federal employees.
What is the Hatch Act?
(_______ ________) includes real or personal property that the Government owns or leases such as telecommunications equipment, computers, office supplies, Government mail systems, and vehicles.
What is Government Property?
True or False: You are prohibited from participating in an official capacity in matters that affect your own financial interest but it's okay to participate in matters that only affect the financial interest of your minor child.
What is false? 18 USC 208 prohibits Government employees from participating personally and substantially in official matters where they have a financial interest. In addition to their own interests, those of their spouse, minor child, general partner, and certain other persons and organizations are attributed to them.
A person or organization that seeks official action by OSMRE; does business or seeks to do business with OSMRE; or has interests that may be affected by you when you are doing your job.
What is a prohibited source.
I should consult my supervisor and (__________) if I am contacted directly by a non-Federal source offering to pay my travel expenses to attend a meeting.
What is an ethics official, ethics counselor, ethics specialist,etc?
True or False: You are on a lunch break at Bison Bistro and looking at Facebook on you personal cell phone. Since you're on a lunch break, you can share or like a political candidate in a partisan race.
What is false?
A former OSMRE intern who is applying for a full time position with the National Park Service asks you to write her a letter of recommendation using your official title and OSMRE letterhead. Is this permissible?
What is yes? You may sign a letter of recommendation using your official title only in response to a request for an employment recommendation or character reference based upon personal knowledge of the ability or character of a person with whom you have dealt in the course of Federal employment or whom you are recommending for Federal employment.
You may not use your (_____) office for (______) gain.
What is public office for private gain? An executive branch employ may not use his/her position, title, or authority to further the employee’s own private interests or the interests of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity.
My boss is getting promoted. I want to ask my co-workers to contribute money so we can get him a nice engraved pen set to commemorate his achievement. I am pretty sure we can do this because I remember from the ethics class that "special infrequent occasion" is an exception to the general gift rule. Am I right?
What is you're wrong? Under Subpart C of 5 CFR 2635, an employee may not give (or contribute toward) a gift for the employee's official superior. Promotion is not considered a "special infrequent occasion."
True or False: Any benefits resulting from an employee being involuntarily bumped from an oversold flight belongs to the employee.
What is false? It belongs to the Government.
True or False: You're teleworking from home and during your lunch break (non-pay status), you notice a friend posted a message about an upcoming event supporting a political party on his Facebook. It is okay for you to "like" or share your friend's post.
What is true?
An employee finds out through public announcement that his agency awarded a contract to ABC Corporation. The employee immediately calls his stockbroker and purchases ABC Corporation stocks. Is this ethical?
What is yes? While Executive branch employees may not use or allow the use of nonpublic Government information to further their own private interests or the private interests of others, there is no prohibition to using publicly available information.
A father of an OSMRE employee who reviews AML grant proposals was recently hired by West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. His new job includes drafting, signing, and submitting grant proposals to OSMRE. The OSMRE employee should (_______) himself from reviewing that specific grant.
What is recuse (disqualify)? Under 5 CFR 2635.502, employees are required to consider whether their impartiality would be questioned whenever their involvement in a "particular matter involving specific parties" might affect certain personal or business relationships.
($____) is the maximum value of the gift I can accept from a prohibited source.
What is $20?
This law allows Executive Branch employees to accept reimbursement or in-kind donations from non-Federal Sources for an employee's travel expenses (food, lodging, registrations, airline, etc.) to certain functions related to the employee's official duties.
What is "1353 travel" or 31 USC 1353.
You are a supervisor. You are off-duty and away from your federal workplace when you decide to tweet about your support of a candidate in a partisan race. You are aware that several of your subordinate employees follow you on your personal Twitter. Are you allowed to post your message?
What is yes?
True or False: DOI allows its employees to print, copy, fax up to 9 pages per week for personal use as long as the employees are on non-duty time and their activities do not interfere with official business.
What is true? See 410 Departmental Manual 2 - Limited Personal Use of Government Office Equipment and Library Collections.
A former OSMRE employee who now works for a mining company would like to attend a retirement ceremony of a former OSMRE co-worker at MIB. Is the former employee barred from attending this event since he now works for a prohibited source?
What is no? 18 USC 207 bars you from communications with the intent to influence on behalf of your non-Federal employer, but it does not prohibit you from attending purely social events or making social communications to employees of your former agency.