Laws limit post-government employment

Periodically, many federal employees (both civilian and military) consider a job or career change outside government. While this can be a smart strategy for those employees who are frustrated with their current job or career field, there are laws (including criminal statutes), which limit the types of jobs a former federal employee may accept after leaving the federal government. Both soldiers and civilian employees must keep these laws in mind as they consider possible employment outside the federal government.

While this can be a smart strategy for those frustrated with the seemingly endless changes and uncertainties of federal employment, there are laws (including criminal statutes), which limit the types of jobs a former federal employee may accept after leaving the federal government. Both soldiers and civilian employees must keep these laws in mind as they consider employment outside of the federal government.

There are no less than five different statues that restrict the types of jobs former federal employees may hold. Some are applicable to the federal work force as a whole, and some are applicable solely to employees within the Department of Defense.

Similarly, some of these laws apply only to senior employees, while others apply to federal employees at every level. There are also special rules for federal employees who work in the procurement field. Further confusion is created by the fact that there can be considerable overlap between the coverage of these different statutes.

Basic guidelines

Yet while these rules or "post-employment restrictions" can be complex and confusing, there are some basic guidelines that all federal employees should consider and use as warning signs. When these warning signs appear, consultation with an ethics adviser is necessary.

The broadest and most basic post-employment restrictions are contained in Title 18 United States Code (USC), Section 207. This is a criminal statute and therefore carries the potential of both confinement in jail and a fine if it is violated. Section 207a of the statute is divided into two parts, both of which prohibit former federal employees from accepting jobs that involve communications or representations on behalf of their new employer back to the federal government on matters that fell within their official duties while they were federal employees.

Length of ban

The length of the ban or prohibition on communications or representations under 207a depends upon the nature of a former employee's duties. If the former employee was personally and substantially involved in a particular matter as a federal employee then he may NEVER communicate or represent the interests of a future employer back to any agency or employee of the federal government on that matter. However, if the former employee's involvement in the particular matter was less substantial but still fell within his official duties then the ban would be for two years following the termination of those duties.

For example, suppose a comptroller or auditor in a federal agency (Ms. A) supervised several accountants, one or more of whom were responsible for auditing a contract with Company ABC. At the time the Company ABC audits were ongoing, the comptroller, Ms. A, left government service to work for a private accounting firm (XYZ Firm). At that same time, Company ABC consults the XYZ Firm on the government contract. Could Ms. A (who now works for XYZ) represent or communicate on behalf of Company ABC back to the federal government (including her former government agency)? No, not for a period of at least two years. Why? The government audits of Company ABC were a particular matter that fell within Ms. A's official duties while she was the comptroller. Even if she merely reviewed the work of the government accountants under her supervision and provided no substantial direction on the audits of Company ABC, she is still barred from communicating on behalf of Company ABC back to the federal government for two years from the date that her duties with the audit of Company ABC were terminated. Note, however, that this would be a lifetime ban if she had participated substantially in the audit of Company ABC as a comptroller.

207a explained

It is important to note that Section 207a does not bar employment by a former federal employee with a government contractor. It only limits what the former employee may do on behalf of the new employer. Specifically, it prohibits communication and/or representation to the federal government. As a result, a former employee could go to work for a government contractor that the employee had dealt with as a government employee. However, the former employee is in violation of the law if his duties includes communicating back to the government on behalf of that contractor. Going back to the previous example, Ms. A could work for XYZ Firm and even advise XYZ Firm on the audit of Company ABC, but she cannot communicate with the government about the audit on behalf of either XYZ Firm or Company ABC (for at least two years).

The application of rules in 18 USC 207 and all the post-employment laws can be complicated. So how do federal employees know what to do?

Simple warning signs

These simple warning signs should alert federal employees that they need ethics advice before they leave federal employment and take a job elsewhere: 1. Is a potential future employer an entity with whom the employee has had any dealings in his official capacity as a federal employee?

2. Will your work for a new employer require you to communicate on behalf of that employer back to the federal government in any manner?

If the answer to either of these questions is yes, then you should consult an ethics adviser to determine if your new job will violate the law and lead to a possible criminal prosecution. Note, however, that criminal prosecution is not the only possible penalty in these cases. In many instances, the more likely outcome is that the government will take sanctions against the civilian contractor who improperly hired a former federal employee. Such sanctions often result in the former federal employee being fired by the contractor because it jeopardizes the future of the contractor's work with the government. Obviously, these are high stakes for former federal employees because a likely end result is unemployment.

Fortunately these extreme results are easy to avoid if an ethics adviser is consulted. However, advice must be sought before accepting outside employment and leaving federal service. Once improper outside employment is accepted, it is usually too late to correct the problem. At Fort McCoy, an appointment with an ethics counselor may be made by calling the Judge Advocate Office at (608) 388-2165.