DHS has proposed tighter standards of ethical conduct for DHS employees to account for the consolidation of numerous legacy agencies with varying or no supplemental ethics regulations.
The notice of proposed rulemaking in the October 12 Federal Register sets forth restrictions on outside employment, the purchase of government-owned property, gifts, and teaching, speaking and writing gigs, and supplements standards put forth in 1992 by the Office of Government Ethics.
The rule would prohibit outside employment activities for employees in certain DHS components that "could cause a reasonable person to question an employee’s impartiality and objectivity," and generally require written approval for outside employment.
For example, under the rule, Customs and Border Patrol employees would be prohibited from engaging in activities in support of or on behalf of, an entity that engages in a trade or business performing specified customs, immigration, or agriculture activities or services.
Likewise, Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel would be barred from activities in support of or on behalf of entities engaged with trade, or businesses performing certain customs, immigration, or agriculture activities or services.
The rule would also prohibit the purchase by employees of certain government property under the control of, seized by, forfeited, under the direction of, or incident to, the employee’s agency.
