Justice Manual § 1-4.020

The Government ethics rules are administered within every federal agency by a Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO), who is responsible for the agency’s ethics program. At the Department, the DAEO is the Assistant Attorney General for Administration. The DAEO has authority to appoint Deputy Designated Agency Ethics Officials (Ethics Officials) who assist the DAEO by managing the ethics program within their components. The Ethics Official for every component in the Department can be found on the DEO website at: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/ethics-officials. Many components, including individual United States Attorneys’ Offices, have designated Ethics Advisors who provide ethics advice and answer questions concerning the applicability of ethics rules and standards.

The Ethics Official’s role includes counseling employees on avoiding Government ethics violations. In many cases, employees must consult with their Ethics Official before engaging in certain activities. The Ethics Official will make a formal recommendation for approval of the activity that requires a determination of the component head or designee, as set forth in DOJ Order 1200.1. Decisions requiring formal approval by component heads or designees with the recommendation of the Ethics Official include:

waivers of a financial interest;

approval of acceptance of travel reimbursement by non-federal sources (see 41 C.F.R. Part 304);

determinations that an employee’s participation in a specific party matter is appropriate, notwithstanding that a reasonable person could question the impartiality of the employee, and authorizing the employee to so act;

acceptance of certain awards;

attendance at “widely attended gatherings” when attendance includes receipt of a gift (often free registration or meals);

approval of outside employment that is related to the subject matter of the employee’s component; and

certification of public financial disclosure reports.

Likewise, while also not an exhaustive list, an employee should contact his or her designated Ethics Official for advice or approval when the employee:

is offered a gift in connection with his or her job from a person or entity outside the government, and especially when the offer involves an award, the payment of money, travel or lodging expenses, or free attendance at any event;

seeks to give a gift to a superior or accept a gift from a subordinate;

is assigned a matter in which his or her official actions may affect the employee's own financial interest or the interest of any person or entity whose interests are imputed to the employee;

is asked to participate in a matter that might cause a reasonable person to question his or her impartiality;

might realize private gain through the use of his or her official position, non-public information, government property, or official time;

engages in outside employment or other outside activity that may conflict with his or her official duties; including teaching, speaking, or writing; or

seeks employment outside the federal government.

Department attorneys have the additional responsibility of complying with applicable rules of professional conduct. When in doubt about a professional responsibility obligation, Department attorneys should consult with a professional responsibility officer (PRO) in the applicable Department component or U.S. Attorney’s Office, and/or the Department’s Professional Responsibility Advisory Office (PRAO). PRAO is available at (202) 514-0458 or DOJ.PRAO@usdoj.gov. If an emergency arises outside of regular business hours, a PRAO attorney is available to give advice and guidance to Department attorneys by calling the Justice Command Center at (202) 514-5000 and asking to speak with the PRAO duty attorney.

Disciplinary action for violating a provision of 5 C.F.R. Parts 2635 or 3801, or applicable bar rules, will not be taken by the Department against an employee who has engaged in conduct in good faith reliance upon the advice of the Ethics Official or PRAO, provided the employee has made full disclosure of all relevant facts and circumstances and followed completely the advice given. PRAO’s advice and recommendations, and approvals made by Ethics Officials are based solely on the information provided by the employee and may be invalid if the employee provides inaccurate or incomplete information. Employees remain subject to discipline for misconduct not covered by the Ethics Official’s or PRAO’s advice. Reliance on any other individual, such as a private attorney, will not shield an employee from discipline. Further, when the employee’s conduct violates a criminal statute, reliance on the advice of the Ethics Official or PRAO cannot ensure the employee will not be prosecuted. Such reliance is, however, a factor considered by the Department in selection of such cases for prosecution.