2023

02/16/2023

LA-23-04: Summary of Ethics Legislation (117th Congress)
This Legal Advisory provides a high-level summary of notable legislation in the 117th Congress.

01/30/2023

LA-23-03: The Standards of Conduct and 18 U.S.C. § 208 as Applied to Official Social Media Use
This Legal Advisory provides guidance on how the Federal ethics rules and conflict of interest statute at 18 U.S.C. § 208 apply to use of official social media accounts by executive branch employees.

01/23/2023

LA-23-02: Application of the Outside Earned Income Limitations to Mining, Staking, and Delegated Staking of Cryptocurrency
This Legal Advisory discusses the application of the outside earned income limitations to mining, staking, and delegated staking of cryptocurrency.

01/05/2023

LA-23-01: Effect of Pay Adjustments on Ethics Provisions for Calendar Year 2023
This Legal Advisory identifies the 2023 thresholds for: (1) determining which senior employees are subject to the post-employment restrictions; (2) identifying which officers and employees must file public financial disclosure reports; and (3) implementing the outside employment and outside earned income restrictions for certain covered noncareer employees.


2022

11/14/2022

LA-22-07: Post-Government Employment Guidance on Executive Order 13989 (The Ethics Pledge)
This Legal Advisory provides guidance on the application of the post-employment restrictions in the ethics pledge in Executive Order 13989 to appointees who signed the ethics pledge.

07/22/2022

LA-22-06: 2021 Conflict of Interest Prosecution Survey
OGE has completed its annual survey of prosecutions involving the conflict of interest criminal statutes and other related statutes for calendar year 2021.

07/15/2022

LA-22-05: Financial Disclosure Reporting Considerations for Collectible Non-Fungible Tokens and Fractionalized Non-Fungible Tokens
This Legal Advisory discusses financial disclosure reporting considerations for collectible Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Fractionalized Non-Fungible Tokens (F-NFTs).

07/05/2022

LA-22-04: Application of the Securities and Mutual Fund Exemptions to Cryptocurrency, Stablecoins, and Related Investments
This Legal Advisory discusses the application of the 18 U.S.C. § 208 securities and mutual fund exemptions to cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and related investments.

05/19/2022

LA-22-03: Thrift Savings Plan Mutual Fund Window; Financial Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest Considerations
This Legal Advisory discusses the application of the financial disclosure and conflict of interest rules to mutual funds purchased through the Thrift Savings Plan mutual fund window.

04/25/2022

LA-22-02: Sector Fund Exemption Applies to Non-Sector Lines of Business or Subsidiaries of a Company in the Sector
This Legal Advisory clarifies that pursuant to the sector fund exemption, an employee may participate in a particular matter that affects a non-sector line of business or subsidiary of a company that operates within the sector that is the focus of the fund.

01/13/2022

LA-22-01: Effect of Pay Adjustments on Ethics Provisions for Calendar Year 2022
This Legal Advisory identifies the 2022 thresholds for: (1) determining which senior employees are subject to the post-employment restrictions; (2) identifying which officers and employees must file public financial disclosure reports; and (3) implementing the outside employment and outside earned income restrictions for certain covered noncareer employees.


2021

10/22/2021

LA-21-10: Updated Conflicts of Interest Guidance on OGE’s Website
This Legal Advisory announces the issuance of updated guidance to assist ethics officials in identifying and analyzing potential conflicts of interest that can arise from various financial interests. This series of documents covers various types of financial interests, as well as interests arising from employment and employment-related assets, and is available on OGE’s website.

09/28/2021

LA-21-09: Letter to a Designated Agency Ethics Official regarding an agency program to have employees use their personal social media accounts to promote agency programs
In this Legal Advisory, OGE publishes a letter to an agency DAEO that discusses the risks that may arise when agency employees mix official agency content with personal posts from their personal social media accounts.

08/02/2021

LA-21-08: 2020 Conflict of Interest Prosecution Survey
OGE has completed its annual survey of prosecutions involving the conflict of interest criminal statutes and other related statutes for calendar year 2020.

06/09/2021

LA-21-07: Additional Guidance on the E.O. 13989 Ethics Pledge Restrictions that Apply to Appointees Entering Government
This Legal Advisory explains new language in the ethics pledge that pertains to incoming appointees and memorializes OGE’s interpretation of language common to this ethics pledge and prior ethics pledges to reflect advice that OGE has provided in the past.

03/11/2021

LA-21-06: Summary of Key Legislation (116th Congress), including H.R. 1, and Update to the Compilation of Federal Ethics Laws
This Legal Advisory summarizes key legislation from the 116th Congress, including legislation that has been reintroduced in the current Congress. This Legal Advisory highlights enacted or proposed legislation that is relevant to the executive branch ethics program and relevant to specific agencies. This Legal Advisory also provides the updated Compilation of Federal Ethics Laws.

02/23/2021

LA-21-05: Comparison of Ethics Pledge Commitments in Executive Order 13989 to Past Ethics Pledges
This Legal Advisory compares Executive Order 13989 to two prior Executive Orders containing ethics pledges – Executive Order 13770 and Executive Order 13490. The attached table identifies past OGE guidance relating to E.O. 13770 or E.O. 13490 that may be relied upon with respect to E.O. 13989.

02/18/2021

LA-21-04: Waiver Authority and Making Waivers Public under Section 3 of Executive Order 13989, “Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel”
This Legal Advisory provides guidance to agency heads and Designated Agency Ethics Officials on the application of section 3 of Executive Order 13989.

01/22/2021

LA-21-03: Executive Orders on Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel
On January 20, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order titled “Executive Order on Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel.” Pursuant to the Executive Order, OGE is providing a copy of the Ethics Pledge and a link to the Executive Order. The Legal Advisory also addresses the revocation of Executive Order 13770.

01/06/2021

LA-21-02: Real Estate Investment Trusts, Master Limited Partnerships, and Business Development Companies: Financial Disclosure Reporting and Conflicts of Interest Considerations
This Legal Advisory briefly describes Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), and Business Development Companies (BDCs), and provides guidance on the financial disclosure reporting requirements and conflicts of interest analysis applicable to each of these assets. Ethics officials should consider REITs and MLPs as operating businesses and BDCs as investment funds, and report and analyze them accordingly. The appendices to this document serve as a quick reference for disclosure guidance and conflicts of interest analysis for these assets.

01/05/2021

LA-21-01: Effect of Pay Adjustments on Ethics Provisions for Calendar Year 2021
This Legal Advisory identifies the 2021 thresholds for: (1) determining which senior employees are subject to the post-employment restrictions; (2) identifying which officers and employees must file public financial disclosure reports; and (3) implementing the outside employment and outside earned income restrictions for certain covered noncareer employees.


2020

12/10/2020

LA-20-11: Application of Gifts and Fundraising Rules to Presidential Inaugural Events
This Legal Advisory reminds executive branch employees of the gifts and fundraising rules relevant to 2021 Presidential Inaugural events.

12/07/2020

LA-20-10: Analyzing Virtual Events under the Gift Rules
This Legal Advisory addresses recurring questions about the gifts analysis for virtual events. The Legal Advisory clarifies that ethics officials should analyze virtual events under the same framework as in-person events.

10/29/2020

LA-20-09: Post-Government Employment Guidance on Executive Order 13770 (The Ethics Pledge)
This Legal Advisory provides guidance on the post-Government employment restrictions applicable to employees who signed the Ethics Pledge under E.O. 13770. The advisory expands on the post-Government employment guidance included in LA-17-03.

10/22/2020

LA-20-08: Employees May Submit Certain Applications and Forms on Behalf of Another Person Without Violating the 18 U.S.C. § 205(a)(2) Prohibition on Representing Others Before the Government
This Legal Advisory provides guidance on certain types of communications, made without an intent to influence, that OGE views as permissible under 18 U.S.C. § 205(a)(2). The Legal Advisory clarifies that submitting certain applications or forms on behalf of another is permissible if employees’ submissions consist of factual information and seek routine action that do not contain an appreciable element of dispute.

10/06/2020

LA-20-07: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for Employees Engaged in Crowdsourced Fundraising
This Legal Advisory provides answers to frequently asked questions for employees engaged in crowdsourced fundraising. The advisory addresses a range of topics, including determining when gifts are based on an employee's official position and accepting donations from fundraising campaigns started by others.