[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 175 (Monday, September 11, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47240-47241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-22381]




[[Page 47239]]

_______________________________________________________________________

Part IV





Postal Service





_______________________________________________________________________



5 CFR Ch. LX



39 CFR Part 447



Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct and Conforming Amendments; 
Final Rules

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 175 / Monday, September 11, 1995 / 
Rules and Regulations   

[[Page 47240]]


POSTAL SERVICE

5 CFR Chapter LX

RIN 3209-AA15


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

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P