[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR2640.101]

[Page 640]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
                CHAPTER XVI--OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS
 
PART 2640_INTERPRETATION, EXEMPTIONS AND WAIVER GUIDANCE CONCERNING 18 U.S.C. 
 
                      Subpart A_General Provisions
 
Sec.  2640.101  Purpose.


    18 U.S.C. 208(a) prohibits an officer or employee of the executive 
branch, of any independent agency of the United States, of the District 
of Columbia, or Federal Reserve bank director, officer, or employee, or 
any special Government employee from participating in an official 
capacity in particular matters in which he has a personal financial 
interest, or in which certain persons or organizations with which he is 
affiliated have a financial interest. The statute is intended to prevent 
an employee from allowing personal interests to affect his official 
actions, and to protect governmental processes from actual or apparent 
conflicts of interests. However, in certain cases, the nature and size 
of the financial interest and the nature of the matter in which the 
employee would act are unlikely to affect an employee's official 
actions. Accordingly, the statute permits waivers of the 
disqualification provision in certain cases, either on an individual 
basis or pursuant to general regulation. Section 208(b)(2) provides that 
the Director of the Office of Government Ethics may, by regulation, 
exempt from the general prohibition, financial interests which are too 
remote or too inconsequential to affect the integrity of the services of 
the employees to which the prohibition applies. The regulations in this 
part describe those financial interests. This part also provides 
guidance to agencies on the factors to consider when issuing individual 
waivers under 18 U.S.C. 208 (b)(1) or (b)(3), and provides an 
interpretation of 18 U.S.C. 208(a).