Hello, and welcome to the first of several presentations about the rules that apply to
you after you leave the USDA.
I’m your host, Danielle Barrett, and this series is brought
to you by the USDA of Office Ethics, where we’re
happy to answer all of your questions at the end of this presentation.
Today, we’ll be discussing the most basic rule after you leave the USDA: It’s 18 USC
section 207, and it’s a statutory prohibition covering all former employees of USDA.
With me now is my Office of Ethics colleague Caitlin Rogalski, who’s here to explain the basics
for us.
Thanks Danielle; happy to be here.
As you said, the basic prohibition for 18 USC 207 covers everyone, regardless of what
level of management you are.
What is it?
The short version is this: The prohibition states that you may not knowingly
make a communication or appearance with the intent to influence before a USDA employee
about a particular matter involving specific parties that you worked personally and substantially
on as a USDA employee.
That’s it?
Yeah.
That’s the crux of it.
Terrific, We’re done!
We can go home!
Although, I’m just curious…what did any of that legalese even mean, Caitlin?
Let’s break it down into the elements and then
maybe come up with a simpler way of explaining it.
The first element is this idea of making a communication or appearance…
The things we’re NOT supposed to do…
Right!
The definition for communication or appearance can mean almost anything
It includes the obvious, like calling someone on the phone or emailing them.
It also includes signing documents on behalf of an outside entity, especially if you know
that your former colleagues will see your name on a document and be influenced by it.
It also includes just sitting in a room during a meeting even if you don’t say anything.
Surely there’s a need to communicate back to USDA about something?
Because the prohibition requires that there be an intent to influence.
For example, let’s say I’m a former meat inspector and I leave USDA during an inspection
to work for a processor.
What if I then need to know about a new protocol I need to comply with?
Or what if I get elected to a state office and need to speak with USDA about a program
I worked on while I was still at USDA?
Good questions!
You’re correct that intent to influence plays a part in how you can communicate back
to USDA.
Intent to influence means that you’re seeking some kind of action by the government or attempting
to affect the government in certain situations.
So there are exceptions?
There are commonsense exceptions such as calling your friends to talk about personal stuff,
just requesting information, testifying under oath, though not necessarily as an expert
witness, and other examples.
If you’re an elected official for a state or local government, then you can communicate
with intent to influence back to USDA.
There are other exceptions as well, but those are the most common.
So it’s a good idea to call the Office of Ethics first before you do any communication
so we can make sure you don’t violate the law.
OK, so I understand not to communicate or make an appearance with intent to influence.
But what is it that I can’t communicate?
This would be a good time to talk about particular matters involving specific parties.
Think about it as a way of describing kinds of government work.
The kinds of work we’re concerned with here are ones that have discrete, named parties
to them.
Can you give us some examples?
Sure.
Examples would include contracts, procurements, inspections, litigations, investigations,
licensures, charges, or others.
They typically involve an isolatable transaction that affects specifically named persons or
entities.
Take a simple contract: the named parties are USDA and the contractor.
That’s a particular matter involving specific parties.
OK, that makes sense.
So I can’t communicate with USDA about those kinds of things?
Right, but we’re going to take this category and constrain it only to those things you
actually worked on while you were at USDA.
If you were a contracts specialist, you cannot communicate with intent to influence back
to USDA about any of those contracts you worked on.
I also need to bring up another concept here, which is personal and substantial participation.
Any of those matters that you worked on where you were doing merely administrative or ministerial
tasks, such as scheduling conference rooms, making copies, etc. don’t count as personal substantial.
Almost anything else you do may count.
So if I participated personally and substantially on a particular matter involving specific
parties, I cannot communicate back to USDA if I am intending to influence USDA about it.
Bingo.
That’s right.
How long am I not allowed to communicate back?
For as long as the particular matter involving specific parties exists.
That’s why ethics officials often shorthand this prohibition as the lifetime ban.
Wow, that seems a bit stringent.
What harm are we trying to prevent with this?
It all comes down to access and influence.
The statute was passed to prevent people from flipping sides on litigation or using their
old contacts to influence government work.
That’s why, for regular employees, you can still communicate with USDA, but not on anything
you used to touch.
Wouldn’t this make it hard to find a job after leaving the USDA?
No, there is nothing in the ethics law that prohibits you from working at a particular
place, and you can work anywhere you want.
The law simply prohibits the kind of things that you can talk about with the USDA.
One thing you may not know is that you can work “behind the scenes” on the same particular
matter at an outside entity.
You just can’t talk to USDA about it on behalf of your new employer.
Ok that’s pretty clear.
But there is one more thing…
Uh oh.
What’s that?
There are more prohibitions as you go up the food chain.
The one we discussed today applies to everyone, but supervisors have a more stringent standard.
So do so-called senior employees and very senior employees.
I need to caution everyone that with rank comes more restrictions, and we’ve only
covered the most basic one today.
OK.
So how can your office help our colleagues figure this all out?
Easy.
Just remember to call the Office of Ethics if you need assistance.
We’re happy to provide you advice and counsel before you even start looking for a job.
And we will also continue to provide advice and counsel even after you have left.
So you’re the ethics advisors for life…
That’s right!
Ok, thanks Caitlin. Thanks again for being with us, and thank you again for watching.
Stay tuned for more interesting and relevant USDA ethics training in the near future.
In the meantime, have a great and productive day.