Legal Advisories
The Legal Advisories page contains the DAEOgrams on substantive ethics issues published by OGE from 1992 to 2010, the Advisory Opinions published by OGE from 1979 to 2010, and the Legal Advisories, which OGE began publishing in 2011. On occasion, OGE will add notes to past guidance documents when that guidance is updated or superseded by law, regulation, or subsequent OGE guidance.
12/21/2018
LA-18-16: Ethics Laws and Regulations Continue to Apply to Federal Government Employees during Furlough Periods
This Legal Advisory urges ethics officials to remind employees that ethics laws and regulations will continue to apply to them while in a furlough status in the event of a lapse in appropriations.
12/04/2018
LA-18-15: Release of OGE’s Updated Public Financial Disclosure Guide and Confidential Financial Disclosure Guide
This Legal Advisory announces the release of a revised Public Financial Disclosure Guide and Confidential Financial Disclosure Guide and outlines the changes to both guides. A revision of the guides was necessitated by the revision of 5 C.F.R. part 2634, which contains the rules for Executive branch financial disclosure.
12/03/2018
LA-18-14: Farewell Receptions Provided by Former Employers; Partial Revocation of OGE Informal Advisory Opinion 94 x 2
This Legal Advisory discusses gifts of farewell receptions provided to government employees by former employers. The Legal Advisory also updates and modifies advice provided in OGE Informal Advisory Opinion 94x2.
09/27/2018
LA-18-13: Clarification of the Meaning of “Political Entity” for Financial Disclosure Purposes
This Legal Advisory clarifies the meaning of “political entity” for financial disclosure purposes. For purposes of the Ethics in Government Act and 5 CFR part 2634, a political entity is a non-profit organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code.
09/19/2018
LA-18-12: Annual Public Financial Disclosure Filing Requirements for Employees who Change Agencies or Branches of Government
This Legal Advisory provides guidance regarding the annual report filing requirements that apply to public filers who change agencies or branches within the Federal government. The Legal Advisory clarifies which employees must file an annual public financial disclosure report, with what agency or branch the employee must file, what agency or branch certifies the report, and if the report should be sent to OGE for certification.
09/12/2018
LA-18-11: Reminder of Agency Ethics Officials’ Responsibility to Counsel Employees Regarding Gifts to Pay for Legal Expenses
This Legal Advisory reminds agency ethics officials of their responsibility to help ensure that an employee’s acceptance of a gift to provide for legal expenses is done in accordance with the limitations of the gift rules. Agency ethics officials should take special care when counseling employees on whether the gift is from a prohibited source as defined in 5 C.F.R. § 2635.203(d), due to the heightened appearance concerns unique to an employee’s acceptance of this type of gift.
08/23/2018
LA-18-10: Publication of the Final Rule Revising 5 C.F.R. part 2634
This Legal Advisory provides guidance regarding the updates to 5 C.F.R. part 2634, which covers Executive branch financial disclosure, Qualified Trusts, and Certificates of Divestiture. Attached to the Legal Advisory is a table detailing the changes.
07/17/2018
LA-18-09: 2017 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 the period January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017.
06/28/2018
LA-18-08: Waivers Under 18 U.S.C. § 208(b)(1) for an Employee’s Otherwise Disqualifying Financial Interest Arising from Intellectual Property Rights
This Legal Advisory discusses waivers under 18 U.S.C. § 208(b)(1) for an employee’s otherwise disqualifying financial interest arising from intellectual property rights.
06/26/2018
LA-18-07: Updated Conflicts of Interest Guidance on OGE’s Website
This Legal Advisory announces the issuance of guidance to assist ethics officials in identifying and analyzing potential conflicts of interest that can arise from various financial interests. These guidance documents cover various types of financial interests, as well as interests arising from employment and employment-related assets, and are available on OGE’s website.
06/18/2018
LA-18-06: Guidance for Reporting Virtual Currency on Financial Disclosure Reports
This Legal Advisory clarifies that for purposes of financial disclosure reporting, virtual currency is property held for investment or the production of income and must be reported on employees' financial disclosure reports. Ethics officials should review virtual currency holdings for potential conflicts of interest.
06/01/2018
LA-18-05: Annual Update of 18 U.S.C. § 207(c) Post-Employment Component Designations due to OGE by July 1, 2018
In this Legal Advisory, OGE asks each agency to forward to OGE its annual letter stating whether its components that are currently designated should remain designated for purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 207(c). Any request to modify the existing list of components should be submitted in accordance with regulatory procedures.
03/29/2018
LA-18-04: Certificates of Divestiture: The “Reasonably Necessary” Divestiture Standard and the Requirement that Property Covered by a CD be Sold While the Seller is an “Eligible Person”
This Legal Advisory provides guidance on two important aspects of the Certificate of Divestiture (CD) Program: (1) the “reasonably necessary” divestiture standard in the context of current Executive branch employees who know they will be leaving Government service shortly and (2) the requirement that only an “eligible person” may sell property in order to qualify for the benefits of a CD.
02/08/2018
LA-18-03: Divesting Similar or Related Property for Purposes of the Certificate of Divestiture Program
This Legal Advisory discusses what constitutes “similar or related property” for purposes of the Certificate of Divestiture regulations.
01/19/2018
LA-18-02: Ethics Laws and Regulations Continue to Apply to Federal Government Employees during Furlough Periods
This Legal Advisory urges ethics officials to remind employees that ethics laws and regulations will continue to apply to them while in a furlough status in the event of a lapse in appropriations.
01/04/2018
LA-18-01: Effect of Pay Adjustments on Ethics Provisions for Calendar Year 2018
This Legal Advisory clarifies the 2018 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.