Department employees must comply with the rules on Government ethics, and Department attorneys also must comply with applicable rules of professional conduct. Government ethics rules implement this common value: public service is a public trust, meaning that the decisions and actions that federal employees take must be made in the best interests of the American people. See 5 C.F.R. § 2635.101. Compliance with Government ethics rules and rules of professional conduct supports the credibility of and faith in government decisions and promotes the common good.

Government-wide and Departmental ethics rules and standards have several sources, including: criminal statutes (see the compilation of statutes in 5 C.F.R. § 2635.902); the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (5 C.F.R. Part 2635); Office of Personnel Management Standards of Conduct (5 C.F.R. Part 735); financial disclosure requirements (5 C.F.R. Part 2634); Departmental supplemental regulations (5 C.F.R. Part 3801 and 28 C.F.R. Part 45); Departmental Human Resources (HR) Order DOJ 1200.1, Part 11, Procedures for Complying with Ethics Requirements (Sept. 12, 2003); the Hatch Act governing federal employees’ political activity (5 U.S.C. § § 7324 et seq. and 5 C.F.R. Parts 733 & 734); Executive Order 12731, Principles of Ethical Conduct for Government Officers and Employees; and Department policies. These rules can be found on the website for the Departmental Ethics Office (DEO) at: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/departmental-ethics-office. Department employees must ensure they are aware of the Government ethics rules and the specific Government ethics policies issued by their components.

This Chapter also generally addresses requirements to report allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, or employee misconduct to OIG and/or OPR, pursuant to Department regulations at 28 C.F.R. Part 0.

[Updated September 2018]