[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 45, Volume 1]

[Revised as of October 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 45CFR73.735-307]



[Page 172]

 

                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE

 

                    SUBTITLE A--DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

                           AND HUMAN SERVICES

 

PART 73_STANDARDS OF CONDUCT--Table of Contents

 

                      Subpart C_Conduct on the Job

 

Sec.  73.735-307  Use of official information.



    (a) The public interest requires that certain information in the 

possession of the Government be kept confidential, and released only 

with general or specific authority under Department or operating 

component regulations. Such information may involve the national 

security or be private, personal, or business information which has been 

furnished to the Government in confidence. In addition, information in 

the possession of the Government and not generally available may not be 

used for private gain. The following paragraphs set forth the rules to 

be followed by Department employees in handling information in official 

files or documents:

    (1) Classified information. Employees who have access to information 

which is classified for security reasons in accordance with Executive 

Order 12065 are responsible for its custody and safekeeping, and for 

assuring that it is not disclosed to unauthorized persons. See the 

Department's Security Manual, Part 3 for details.

    (2) Security and investigative information. Security and 

investigative data received from Government agencies or other sources 

for official use only within the Department or developed under a pledge 

of confidence is not to be divulged to unauthorized persons or agencies.

    (3) Information obtained in confidence. Certain Department units 

(e.g., Food and Drug Administration, and the Social Security 

Administration) obtain in the course of their program activities certain 

information from businesses or individuals which they are forbidden by 

law from disclosing. These statutory prohibitions are found in 21 U.S.C. 

331j, and 18 U.S.C. 1905. Each employee is responsible for observing 

these laws.

    (4) Use of information for private gain. Government employees are 

sometimes able to obtain information about some action the Government is 

about to take or some other matter which is not generally known. 

Information of this kind shall not be used by the employee to further 

his or her or someone else's private financial or other interests. Such 

a use of official information is clearly a violation of a public trust. 

Employees shall not, directly or indirectly, make use of, or permit 

others to make use of, for the purpose of furthering any private 

interest, official information not made available to the general public.

    (b) The Privacy Act provides criminal penalties for an employee who 

willfully discloses individually identifiable information from records, 

disclosure of which is prohibited by that Act. 5 U.S.C. 552a(i).