Career transitions, conflicts of interest.

• Author: D'Agostino, L. James
• Position: ETHICS CORNER

Employees by the thousands transition from military and civilian government service to the private sector. These employees and the companies recruiting and employing them must know the ethical rules applying to the different phases of this transition.

Rules governing conduct starting with negotiations while a federal employee and running through terminal leave to actual private sector employment must be understood both by the acquiring company and the employee. Those rules derive from the federal criminal conflict of interest statutes, the Ethics in Government Act, the Procurement Integrity Act, and implementing regulations including the FAR.

Recent violations of "revolving door" rules have prompted government investigations and prosecutions and Congress is focusing new ethics legislation this year on this subject. The restrictions seek to subordinate private industry interests to the public interest and prevent actual or perceived improper influence in executive branch decisions by recruiting or hiring key government employees.

The rules governing conduct when negotiating for employment in anticipation of leaving federal service, when on terminal leave, and once employed in the private sector have remained steady, but their application to specific situations raises some interesting points. The Defense Department's standards of conduct office recently issued advisories highlighting some of these points. Employees on terminal leave understandably are eager to begin their new careers, and can, provided they do not represent their new employer anywhere in the federal government (this restrictions does not apply to enlisted military). This criminal statute targets "representational" activities or "acting as agent or attorney" before any government agency in any particular matter in which the United States is a party or has an interest.

For personnel slated to work on-site in government offices, these provisions raise serious challenges. The Defense Department's bottom line is that it is virtually "impossible" for those on terminal leave to physically work for a contractor in the federal workplace. These employees must work elsewhere, advance their retirement date and relinquish their leave or not commence employment until official separation.

Rules for negotiating for employment while still on the U.S. payroll also are important. Some are commonsense. For instance, procurement officials may not negotiate employment with a bidder during an...