Note 1 to paragraph (b)(1)(i):
An employee who is seeking employment within the meaning of § 2635.603 must comply with subpart F of this part rather than with this section.
Example 1 to paragraph (b): An employee of the General Services Administration (GSA) has made an offer to purchase a restaurant owned by a local developer. The developer has submitted an offer in response to a GSA solicitation for the lease of office space. Under the circumstances, the GSA employee would be correct in concluding that a reasonable person would be likely to question their impartiality if they were to participate in evaluating that developer's or its competitor's lease proposal.
Example 2 to paragraph (b): An employee of the Department of Labor is providing technical assistance in drafting occupational safety and health legislation that will affect all employers of five or more persons. The employee's spouse is employed as an administrative assistant by a large corporation that will incur additional costs if the proposed legislation is enacted. Because the legislation is not a particular matter involving specific parties, the employee may continue to work on the legislation and need not be concerned that the spouse's employment with an affected corporation would raise a question concerning the employee's impartiality.
Example 3 paragraph (b): An employee of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is studying environmental problems created by the use of hazardous substances on a particular section of public land. BLM has a contract with an environmental services company to produce a water quality study of the groundwater under this section of land along with a recommendation about how to remediate any problems that are found. The BLM employee will use the study to help determine the extent of the damage and to recommend a solution to any problems that are revealed. The employee's parent has accepted a job with this environmental services company and will be signing and submitting the report of the company's findings. Under these circumstances, the employee would be correct in concluding that a reasonable person would be likely to question their impartiality if they were to continue participating in the study related to this parcel of public land.
Example 4 to paragraph (b): An engineer has just resigned from a position as vice president of an electronics company in order to accept employment with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in a position involving procurement responsibilities. Although the employee did not receive a covered payment in connection with the resignation and has severed all financial ties with the firm, under the circumstances the employee would be correct in concluding that this former service as an officer of the company would be likely to cause a reasonable person to question their impartiality if they were to participate in the administration of an FAA contract for which the firm is a first-tier subcontractor.
Example 5 to paragraph (b): An employee of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a member of a private organization whose purpose is to restore a Victorian-era railroad station, and chairs its annual fundraising drive. Under the circumstances, the employee would be correct in concluding that this active membership in the organization would be likely to cause a reasonable person to question their impartiality if they were to participate in an IRS determination regarding the tax-exempt status of the organization.
Example 6 to paragraph (b): An employee of the Department of Defense (DoD) has responsibility for testing avionics produced by a large Air Force contractor. The employee just learned that their adult child accepted a staff position in the human resources division of that contractor. Although the DoD employee has a covered relationship with the contractor that employs their child, the employee could justifiably conclude that a reasonable person would not be likely to question their impartiality because the child's work is unrelated to the avionics contract.
Example 7 to paragraph (b): An employee of the Department of Defense (DoD) leads the office that is testing a new type of jet engine produced by a multinational conglomerate's aviation division. The employee's lifelong best friend is the head of the conglomerate's aviation division and is responsible for presenting and promoting the new jet engine. Although the DoD employee does not have a covered relationship under paragraph (b)(1) of this section, the employee is concerned that, under paragraph (a)(3) of this section, questions regarding their impartiality could be raised. Here, the employee could justifiably conclude that a reasonable person would be likely to question their impartiality if they were to continue performing duties related to this jet engine.
Example 1 to paragraph (d): The Deputy Director of Personnel for the Department of the Treasury and an attorney with the Department's Office of General Counsel are general partners in a real estate partnership. The Deputy Director advises their supervisor, the Director of Personnel, of the relationship upon being assigned to a selection panel for a position for which the partner has applied. If selected, the partner would receive a substantial increase in salary. The agency designee cannot authorize the Deputy Director to participate on the panel under the authority of this section because the Deputy Director is prohibited by criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. 208(a) , from participating in a particular matter affecting the financial interest of a person who is their general partner. See § 2635.402 .
Example 2 paragraph (d): A new employee of the Securities and Exchange Commission is assigned to an investigation of insider trading by the brokerage house where they have recently been employed. Because of the sensitivity of the investigation, the agency designee may be unable to conclude that the Government's interest in the employee's participation in the investigation outweighs the concern that a reasonable person may question the integrity of the investigation, even though the employee has severed all financial ties with the company. Based on consideration of all relevant circumstances, the agency designee might determine, however, that it is in the interest of the Government for the employee to participate in the review of a routine filing by the particular brokerage house.
Example 3 paragraph (d): An Internal Revenue Service employee involved in a long and complex tax audit learns that their child has just accepted an entry-level management position with a corporation whose taxes are the subject of the audit. Because the audit is essentially complete and because the employee is the only one with an intimate knowledge of the case, the agency designee might determine, after considering all relevant circumstances, that it is in the Government's interest for the employee to complete the audit, which is subject to additional levels of review.
Note 2 to § 2635.502 :
Nothing in this section should be construed to suggest that employees should not participate in a matter because of their political, religious, or moral views.
5 C.F.R. §2635.502