IEC Journal

Political Email by Federal Employees

Sending partisan emails on your government email service is getting to be a hot topic for OSC Hatch Act prosecution.  Prior to the 2004 election, OSC sent out an advisory about sending political emails to co-workers and possible Hatch Act violations that could result when such emails are sent to large groups of co-workers.  The OSC filed two cases on this issue in August, prior to the 2004 election, and as of January 14, 2004, has filed two more cases on this issue.

The OSC noted in a press release about these most recent cases:

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) filed two similar complaints for disciplinary action against Kansas City, Mo. based Social Security Administration (SSA) employees for sending politically partisan electronic mail messages while on duty, in violation of the Hatch Act.

The complaint against Michael Davis alleges that he sent an e-mail message to about 27 of his SSA coworkers while on duty and in his federal office building. The message contained a widely-circulated picture of President George W. Bush in front of an American flag with the statement “I Vote the Bible.” The text of the message contains several statements in support of President Bush, a negative statement about Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry, and a statement urging that the reader to “Pass along the ‘I Vote the Bible’ button.”

A similar complaint against Leslye Sims, alleges that she sent an e-mail message to 22 people while she was on duty and in her federal office building. The subject of the e-mail was: “Why I am supporting John Kerry for President?” and is presented as a letter that appears to be written by John Eisenhower, son of President Eisenhower. The e-mail contained several reasons why the reader should vote for Presidential candidate, John Kerry, and not support the Republican Party.

The cases were filed with the Merit Systems Protection Board.   The MSPB decides if disciplinary action is  warranted, with presumptive punishment being removal, but minimum punishment is a 30 day suspension without pay.

For more information see http://www.osc.gov/documents/press/2005/pr05_02.htm

OPM Issues Comp Time Rule

Download fr.05-1457.pdf Today OPM issued interim regulations to implement a provision of the Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004, which authorized compensatory time off for time spent by an employee in a travel status away from the employee's official duty station when such time is not otherwise compensable.  The interim regulations will become effective on January 28, 2005, and comments on them must be received on or before March 28, 2005.

Widely Attended Gatherings: Dollar Amount Has Not Changed

Currently, the maximum value of a gift of free attendance at a widely attended gathering when the gift is from a person other than the sponsor of the event is $285.  (5 C.F.R. 2635.204(g)(2))  The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has periodically updated this amount so that it is identical to the "minimal value" established by GSA for reporting of gifts from foreign governments.  Although GSA announced in the January 12, 2005 Federal Register (Vol 70, No. 8, page 2318) that the minimal value has been changed to $305 commencing January 1, 2005, this change does not automatically change the $285 gift limit for widely attended gatherings. 

Bottom Line:  $285 remains the gift limit for widely attended gatherings until OGE changes the regulation. 

GSA Increases Minimal Value for Reporting Foreign Gifts

On January 12, 2005, GSA issued a final rule increasing the minimal value for reporting foreign gifts to mean $305 or less as of January 1, 2005.  The final rule is available at 70 Fed. Reg. 2318.

Guilty Verdicts for Ex-FBI Agent and Trader

The New York Times on-line (you must register to use this site) reported today that a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent assigned to Indian reservation crimes provided a trader with information about white-collar corporate investigations who then used some of that information on the trader's investment website, enabling him to collect at least $2.7 million from subscribers.  The former FBI agent was found guilty of securities fraud conspiracy charges and the trader was convicted of using confidential information from an FBI agent about criminal investigations to profit illegally in the market.

February IEC Meeting

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, February 3rd from 12:15-1:45pm in the FDIC Auditorium, 801 17th St., NW, Washington.  The nearest Metro stops are Farragut West, 17th St exit, for the Blue and Orange lines, and Farragut North, K St exit, for the Red line.  You may pre-register for this meeting by contacting Pat Carney no later than Monday, January 31st. 

SCHEDULED PRESENTATION:  Having problems understanding some of the investment arrangements listed on the financial disclosure reports of new agency employees?  In particular, are the retirement or termination packages that your new employees received from their previous employers presenting you challenges?  If so, the February meeting may be just the thing for you.  Jeff Green, of OSD, has arranged for an insurance broker to describe some of the retirement products currently being used by big corporations.  His topics will include the plans discussed in the OGE Review Guide as well as new products on the market.

FUTURE MEETING DATE REVISIONS:  There have been a few changes in our previously-announced schedule for 2005.  If you’d like to re-mark your calendars, our revised schedule of meetings for this year is: March 3rd; April 5th; May 5th; June 2nd; July 7th; August 11th; October 6th; November 3rd; and December 8th. Meetings will begin at 12:15 and will last until about 1:45.

FDR Conference Accepting Proposals

The Federal Dispute Resolution Conference is now accepting proposals for presentations at its 20th annual program. This year's event will take place in New York, August 7-11. You can submit proposals via their online form. Proposals are due February 15, 2005.

The core audience  of this annual conference is federal personnel specialists and lawyers who work in in the fields of alternative dispute resolution, equal employment opportunity, human resource development and management, labor and employee relations. Many IEC members are experts in topics relevant to this audience, and presenting at prestigious conferences like FDR is a way to showcase your ability.

Interested in being a presenter but have schedule conflicts this August? The FDR schedule for future years looks like this:

August 20-24, 2006 in San Antonio, TX
July 29, 2007 - August 2, 2007 in San Francisco, CA

IEC Meeting Schedule Changes

Dates for three monthly IEC meetings have been changed due to the unavailability of the FDIC Auditorium.  Please note these changes in your calendar.  All meetings continue to be at the FDIC Auditorium at 12:15 pm.

April 5 (Tuesday) instead of April 7.

August 11 (Thursday) instead of August 4.

December 8 (Thursday) instead of December 1.

For your convenience, a complete amended schedule is appended.

 Revised IEC Meeting Schedule
(As of Jan. 21; latest changes marked in red.)

February 3:   
Financial Disclosure: The World of Troublesome Financial Instruments
(Jeff Green)

March 3:       
OGE Midyear Report
(John Szabo)

April 5 (Tuesday):         
Innovations in Training   
(Laurie Rafferty)

May 5:          
Tricks of the Trade: Memorializing Ethics Advice and Record Retention
(Steve Epstein)

June 2:         
Misuse of Office
(Program Sponsor Needed)

July 7:          
Professional Associations and Non-Federal Entities
(Program Sponsor Needed)

August 11 (Thursday):      
Activities in GSA Buildings, CFC, and other Fundraising
(Pat Carney)

September:   
No meeting due to OGE Conference

October 6:    
Small Group Analysis of Widely Attended Gatherings: Part I
(Eric Rishel and Ed McDonnell)

November 3:    
Small Group Analysis of Widely Attended Gatherings: Part II
(Eric Rishel and Ed McDonnell)

December 8 (Thursday):     
Travel with Lenny
(Steve Epstein)

GSA Raises Foreign Gift Minimal Value

The General Services Administration has raised the definition of "minimal value" under the Foreign Gifts & Decorations Act to $305 or less for the 3-year period 2005-2007. See 70 FR 2317-2318 (pt. V) (01/12/05). A brief note at the OGE web site explains that this affects the gifts and travel reimbursements reporting thresholds under the Ethics Act for the public and (as extended by OGE regulation) confidential financial disclosure systems, including the SF 278 & OGE Form 450 report forms.

GAO's Summary of 9/11 Commission's Recommendations

Today, the General Accounting Office (GAO) released its summary of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations and GAO's opinions as to whether the particular recommendations could be implemented administratively or require legislation to implement.