Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the United States Postal Service

SUMMARY: The United States Postal Service, with the concurrence of the

Office of Government Ethics (OGE), is issuing a final rule establishing

regulations applicable to employees of the Postal Service to supplement

the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch

issued by OGE. The final rule is a necessary supplement to the

Executive Branch-wide Standards because it addresses ethical issues

unique to the Postal Service. The final rule is effective upon

publication and establishes regulations which prohibit certain outside

activities and require prior approval for employees to engage in other

specified outside employment or activities.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 11, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mitchell J. Benowitz, Ethics and

Information Law, Postal Service, (202) 268-2967.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 27, 1995, the Postal Service, with

OGE's concurrence, published for comment a proposed rule to establish

supplemental standards of ethical conduct for Postal Service employees

(60 FR 15700-15703). The proposed rule was intended to supplement the

Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch

published by OGE on August 7, 1992, and effective February 3, 1993 (5

CFR part 2635; see also the grace period extensions at 59 FR 4779-4780,

February 2, 1994, and 60 FR 6390-6391, February 2, 1995). The proposed

rule was issued pursuant to 5 CFR 2635.105, which authorizes executive

branch agencies to publish agency-specific supplemental regulations

that are necessary to implement their ethics programs. The Postal

Service, with OGE's concurrence, determined that the supplemental

regulations contained in the proposed rule were necessary to implement

the Postal Service's ethics program successfully, considering the

unique programs and operations of the Postal Service.

The proposed rule prescribed a 60-day comment period and invited

comments from all interested parties. No comments have been received by

the Postal Service. Therefore, no changes have been made in the final

rule. The Postal Service, with OGE's concurrence, is now publishing as

a final rule the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for

Employees of the United States Postal Service, to be codified at a new

part 7001, Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

The Executive Branch-wide Standards have superseded many provisions

of the Code of Ethical Conduct for Postal Employees (Code), 39 CFR part

447. Certain other provisions of the Code that prohibited the holding

of specified financial interests, 39 CFR 447.22(b)(1)-(7), and those

provisions of 39 CFR 447.23 that involve compensated outside employment

relationships, remained temporarily in effect pursuant to the note

following 5 CFR 2635.403(a), as extended at 59 FR 4779-4780 and 60 FR

6390-6391. The note following 5 CFR 2635.403(a) provides that such

prohibitions shall cease to be effective upon the issuance of agency

supplemental regulations. Therefore, the provisions of 39 CFR part 447

concerning prohibited financial interests or compensated outside

employment relationships are now superseded. In a separate document

published in this issue of the Federal Register, the Postal Service is

amending 39 CFR part 447 to repeal the financial interest prohibitions

and those provisions that have been superseded by the Executive Branch-

wide Standards.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 7001

Conflict of interests, Ethical standards, Executive branch

standards of conduct, Government employees.

Dated: August 2, 1995.

Mary S. Elcano,

Senior Vice President, General Counsel, United States Postal Service.

Approved: August 4, 1995.

Stephen D. Potts,

Director, Office of Government Ethics.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the United States Postal

Service, with the concurrence of the Office of Government Ethics, is

amending title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations by adding a new

chapter LX, consisting of part 7001, as follows:

CHAPTER LX--UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

PART 7001--SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES

OF THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

Sec.

7001.101 General.

7001.102 Restrictions on outside employment and business

activities.

7001.103 Statutory prohibition against interests in contracts to

carry mail and acting as agent for contractors.

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 7301; 5 U.S.C. App. (Ethics in Government

Act of 1978); 39 U.S.C. 401; E.O. 12674, 54 FR 15159, 3 CFR, 1989

Comp., p. 215, as modified by E.O. 12731, 55 FR 42547, 3 CFR, 1990

Comp., p. 306; 5 CFR 2635.105, 2635.802, and 2635.803.

Sec. 7001.101 General.

In accordance with 5 CFR 2635.105, the regulations in this part

supplement the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the

Executive Branch contained in 5 CFR part 2635, as applied to employees

of the United States Postal Service (Postal Service). Postal Service

employees are subject, in addition to the standards in 5 CFR part 2635

and this part, to the executive branch financial disclosure regulations

contained in 5 CFR part 2634, and to any rules of conduct issued

separately by the Postal Service, including but not limited to

regulations contained in 39 CFR part 447, the Postal Service's Employee

and Labor Relations Manual, and the Postal Service's Procurement

Manual.

Sec. 7001.102 Restrictions on outside employment and business

activities.

(a) Prohibited outside employment and business activities. No

Postal Service employee shall:

(1) Engage in outside employment or business activities with or for

a person, including oneself, engaged in:

(i) The manufacture of any uniform or other product required by the

Postal Service for use by its employees or customers;

(ii) The transportation of mail under Postal Service contract to or

from the postal facility at which the employee works, or to or from a

postal facility within the delivery area of a post office in which the

employee works;

(iii) Providing consultation, advice, or any subcontracting

service, with respect to the operations, programs, or procedures of the

Postal Service, to any person who has a contract with the Postal

Service or who the employee has reason to believe will compete for such

a contract; or

[[Page 47241]]

(iv) The operation of a commercial mail receiving agency registered

with the Postal Service, or the delivery outside the mails of any type

of mailable matter, except daily newspapers; or

(2) Engage in any sales activity, including the solicitation of

business or the receipt of orders, for oneself or any other person,

while on duty or in uniform, or at any postal facility.

(b) Prior approval for outside employment and business activities--

(1) Requirement for approval. A Postal Service employee shall obtain

approval, in accordance with paragraph (b)(2) of this section, prior

to:

(i) Engaging in outside employment or business activities with or

for any person with whom the employee has official dealings on behalf

of the Postal Service; or

(ii) Engaging in outside employment or business activities, with or

for a person, including oneself, whose interests are:

(A) Substantially dependent upon, or potentially affected to a

significant degree by, postal rates, fees, or classifications; or

(B) Substantially dependent upon providing goods or services to, or

for use in connection with, the Postal Service.

(2) Submission and contents of request for approval. An employee

who wishes to engage in outside employment or business activities for

which prior approval is required by paragraph (b)(1) of this section

shall submit a written request for approval to the Postal Service

Ethical Conduct Officer or appropriate delegate. The request shall be

accompanied by a statement from the employee's supervisor briefly

summarizing the employee's duties and stating any workplace concerns

raised by the employee's request for approval. The request for approval

shall include:

(i) A brief description of the employee's official duties;

(ii) The name of the outside employer, or a statement that the

employee will be engaging in employment or business activities on his

or her own behalf;

(iii) The type of employment or business activities in which the

outside employer, if any, is engaged;

(iv) The type of services to be performed by the employee in

connection with the outside employment or business activities;

(v) A description of the employee's official dealings, if any, with

the outside employer on behalf of the Postal Service; and

(vi) Any additional information requested by the Ethical Conduct

Officer or delegate that is needed to determine whether approval should

be granted.

(3) Standard for approval. The approval required by paragraph

(b)(1) of this section shall be granted only upon a determination that

the outside employment or business activity will not involve conduct

prohibited by statute or federal regulation, including 5 CFR part 2635,

which includes, among other provisions, the principle stated at 5 CFR

2635.101(b)(14) that employees shall endeavor to avoid any actions

creating the appearance that they are violating the law or the ethical

standards set forth in part 2635.

(c) Definitions. For purposes of this section:

(1) Outside employment or business activity means any form of

employment or business, whether or not for compensation. It includes,

but is not limited to, the provision of personal services as officer,

employee, agent, attorney, consultant, contractor, trustee, teacher, or

speaker. It also includes, but is not limited to, engagement as

principal, proprietor, general partner, holder of a franchise,

operator, manager, or director. It does not include equitable ownership

through the holding of publicly traded shares of a corporation.

(2) A person having interests substantially dependent upon, or

potentially affected to a significant degree by, postal rates, fees, or

classifications includes a person:

(i) Primarily engaged in the business of publishing or distributing

a publication mailed at second-class rates of postage;

(ii) Primarily engaged in the business of sending advertising,

promotional, or other material on behalf of other persons through the

mails;

(iii) Engaged in a business that depends substantially upon the

mails for the solicitation or receipt of orders for, or the delivery

of, goods or services; or

(iv) Who is, or within the past 4 years has been, a party to a

proceeding before the Postal Rate Commission.

(3) A person having interests substantially dependent upon

providing goods or services to or for use in connection with the Postal

Service includes a person:

(i) Providing goods or services under contract with the Postal

Service that can be expected to provide revenue exceeding $100,000 over

the term of the contract and that provides five percent or more of the

person's gross income for the person's current fiscal year; or

(ii) Substantially engaged in the business of preparing items for

others for mailing through the Postal Service.

Sec. 7001.103 Statutory prohibition against interests in contracts to

carry mail and acting as agent for contractors.

Section 440 of title 18, United States Code, makes it unlawful for

any Postal Service employee to become interested in any contract for

carrying the mail, or to act as agent, with or without compensation,

for any contractor or person offering to become a contractor in any

business before the Postal Service.

Stanley F. Mires,

Chief Counsel, Legislative.

[FR Doc. 95-22381 Filed 9-8-95; 8:45 am]

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