5 C.F.R. § 2635.807
Note 1 to paragraph (a)(2)(i):
Paragraph (a)(2)(i)(E) of this section does not preclude an employee, other than a covered noncareer employee, from receiving compensation for teaching, speaking, or writing on a subject within the employee's discipline or inherent area of expertise based on the employee's educational background or experience even though the teaching, speaking, or writing deals generally with a subject within the agency's areas of responsibility.
Example 1 to paragraph (a)(2)(i): The Director of the Division of Enforcement at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has a keen interest in stamp collecting and has spent years developing a personal collection as well as studying the field generally. The Director is asked by an international society of philatelists to give a series of four lectures on how to assess the value of American stamps. Because the subject does not relate to the Director's official duties, it is permissible for the Director to accept compensation for the lecture series. The Director could not, however, accept a similar invitation from a commodities broker.
Example 2 to paragraph (a)(2)(i): A scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), whose principal area of Government research is the molecular basis of the development of cancer, could not be compensated for writing a book which focuses specifically on the research conducted in this position at NIH, which thus relates to the scientist's official duties. However, the scientist could receive compensation for writing or editing a textbook on the treatment of all cancers, provided that the book does not focus on recent research at NIH, but rather conveys scientific knowledge gleaned from the scientific community as a whole. The book might include a chapter, among many other chapters, which discusses the molecular basis of cancer development. Additionally, the book could contain brief discussions of recent developments in cancer treatment, even though some of those developments are derived from NIH research, as long as it is available to the public.
Example 3 to paragraph (a)(2)(i): On personal time, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) employee prepared a consumer's guide to purchasing a safe automobile that focuses on automobile crash worthiness statistics gathered and made public by NHTSA. The employee may not receive royalties or any other form of compensation for the guide. The guide deals in significant part with the programs or operations of NHTSA and, therefore, relates to the employee's official duties. On the other hand, the employee could receive royalties from the sale of a consumer's guide to values in used automobiles even though it contains a brief, incidental discussion of automobile safety standards developed by NHTSA.
Example 4 to paragraph (a)(2)(i): An employee of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may not receive compensation for a book which focuses specifically on the regulation of the securities industry in the United States, because that subject concerns the regulatory programs or operations of the SEC. The employee may, however, write a book about the advantages of investing in various types of securities as long as the book contains only an incidental discussion of any program or operation of the SEC.
Example 5 to paragraph (a)(2)(i): An employee of the Department of Commerce who works in the Department's employee relations office is an acknowledged expert in the field of Federal employee labor relations, and participates in Department negotiations with employee unions. The employee may receive compensation from a private training institute for a series of lectures which describe the decisions of the Federal Labor Relations Authority concerning unfair labor practices, provided that the lectures do not contain any significant discussion of labor relations cases handled at the Department of Commerce, or the Department's labor relations policies. Federal Labor Relations Authority decisions concerning Federal employee unfair labor practices are not a specific program or operation of the Department of Commerce and thus do not relate to the employee's official duties. However, an employee of the FLRA could not give the same presentations for compensation.
Example 6 to paragraph (a)(2)(i): A program analyst employed at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may receive royalties and other compensation for a book about the history of the environmental movement in the United States even though it contains brief references to the creation and responsibilities of the EPA. A covered noncareer employee of the EPA, however, could not receive compensation for writing the same book because it deals with the general subject matter area affected by EPA programs and operations. Neither employee could receive compensation for writing a book that focuses on specific EPA regulations or otherwise on its programs and operations.
Example 7 to paragraph (a)(2)(i): An attorney in private practice has been given a one-year appointment as a special Government employee to serve on an advisory committee convened for the purpose of surveying and recommending modification of procurement regulations that deter small businesses from competing for Government contracts. Because service under this appointment is not expected to exceed 60 days, the attorney may accept compensation for an article about the anticompetitive effects of certain regulatory certification requirements even though those regulations are being reviewed by the advisory committee. The regulations which are the focus of the advisory committee deliberations are not a particular matter involving specific parties. Because the information is nonpublic, the attorney could not, however, accept compensation for an article which recounts advisory committee deliberations that took place in a meeting closed to the public in order to discuss proprietary information provided by a small business.
Example 8 to paragraph (a)(2)(i): A biologist who is an expert in marine life is employed for more than 60 days in a year as a special Government employee by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to assist in developing a program of grants by the NSF for the study of coral reefs. The biologist may continue to receive compensation for speaking, teaching, and writing about marine life generally and coral reefs specifically. However, during the term of the appointment as a special Government employee, the biologist may not receive compensation for an article about the NSF program being developed. Only the latter would concern a matter to which the special Government employee is assigned.
Example 9 to paragraph (a)(2)(i): An expert on international banking transactions has been given a one-year appointment as a special Government employee to assist in analyzing evidence in the Government's fraud prosecution of owners of a failed savings and loan association. It is anticipated that the expert will serve fewer than 60 days under that appointment. Nevertheless, during this appointment, the expert may not accept compensation for an article about the fraud prosecution, even though the article does not reveal nonpublic information. The prosecution is a particular matter that involves specific parties.
Note 2 to paragraph (a)(2)(iii)(C):
Independent of paragraph (a) of this section, other authorities, including but not limited to 18 U.S.C. 209 , in some circumstances may limit or entirely preclude an employee's acceptance of travel expenses. In addition, employees who file financial disclosure reports should be aware that, subject to applicable thresholds and exclusions, travel and travel reimbursements accepted from sources other than the United States Government must be reported on their financial disclosure reports.
Example 1 to paragraph (a)(2)(iii): A GS-15 employee of the Forest Service has developed and marketed, in a private capacity, a speed-reading technique for which popular demand is growing. The employee is invited to speak about the technique by a representative of an organization that will be substantially affected by a regulation on land management which the employee is in the process of drafting for the Forest Service. The representative offers to pay the employee a $200 speaker's fee and to reimburse all travel expenses. The employee may accept the travel reimbursements, but not the speaker's fee. The speaking activity is related to official duties under paragraph (a)(2)(i)(C) of this section and the fee is prohibited compensation for such speech; travel expenses incurred in connection with the speaking engagement, on the other hand, are not prohibited compensation for a GS-15 employee.
Example 2 to paragraph (a)(2)(iii): Solely because of their recent appointment to a Cabinet-level position, a Government official is invited by the Chief Executive Officer of a major international corporation to attend, in their personal capacity, firm meetings to be held in Aspen for the purpose of addressing senior corporate managers on the importance of recreational activities to a balanced lifestyle. The firm offers to reimburse the official's travel expenses. The official may not accept the offer. The speaking activity is related to official duties under paragraph (a)(2)(i)(B) of this section and, because the official is a covered noncareer employee as defined in § 2636.303(a) of this chapter, the travel expenses are prohibited compensation.
Example 3 to paragraph (a)(2)(iii): A GS-14 attorney at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) who played a lead role in a recently concluded merger case is invited to speak about the case, in a private capacity, at a conference in New York. The attorney has no public speaking responsibilities on behalf of the FTC apart from the judicial and administrative proceedings to which they are assigned. The sponsors of the conference offer to reimburse the attorney for expenses incurred in connection with the travel to New York. They also offer the attorney, as compensation for time and effort, a free trip to San Francisco. The attorney may accept the travel expenses to New York, but not the expenses to San Francisco. The lecture relates to official duties under paragraphs (a)(2)(i)(E)(1) and (2) of this section, but because the attorney is not a covered noncareer employee as defined in § 2636.303(a) of this chapter, the expenses associated with the travel to New York are not a prohibited form of compensation. The travel expenses to San Francisco, on the other hand, not incurred in connection with the speaking activity, are a prohibited form of compensation. If the attorney were a covered noncareer employee, the travel expenses to New York as well as the travel expenses to San Francisco would be barred.
Example 4 to paragraph (a)(2)(iii): An advocacy group dedicated to improving treatments for severe pain asks the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide a conference speaker who can discuss recent advances in the agency's research on pain. The group also offers to pay the employee's travel expenses to attend the conference. After performing the required conflict of interest analysis, NIH authorizes acceptance of the travel expenses under 31 U.S.C. 1353 and the implementing General Services Administration regulation, as codified under 41 CFR chapter 304, and authorizes an employee to undertake the travel. At the conference the advocacy group, as agreed, pays the employee's hotel bill, and provides several of the employee's meals. Subsequently the group reimburses the agency for the cost of the employee's airfare and some additional meals. All of the payments by the advocacy group are permissible. Because the employee is speaking officially and the expense payments are accepted under 31 U.S.C. 1353 , they are not prohibited compensation under paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this section. The same result would obtain with respect to expense payments made by non-Government sources properly authorized under an agency gift acceptance statute, the Government Employees Training Act, 5 U.S.C. 4111 , or the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, 5 U.S.C. 7342 .
Note 3 to paragraph (a)(3)(i)(A):
When the course is offered as part of the regularly established curriculum of a foreign institution of higher education, the agency may need to make a separate determination as to whether the institution of higher education is a foreign government for purposes of the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution (U.S. Const., art. I, sec. 9, cl. 8), which forbids employees from accepting emoluments, presents, offices, or titles from foreign governments, without the consent of Congress.
Example 1 to paragraph (a)(3): An employee of the Cost Accounting Standards Board who teaches an advanced accounting course as part of the regular business school curriculum of an accredited university may receive compensation for teaching the course even though a substantial portion of the course deals with cost accounting principles applicable to contracts with the Government.
Example 2 to paragraph (a)(3): An attorney employed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may accept compensation for teaching a course at a state college on the subject of EEOC enforcement of Federal employment discrimination law. The attorney could not accept compensation for teaching the same seminar as part of a continuing education program sponsored by a bar association because the subject of the course is focused on the operations or programs of the EEOC, and the sponsor of the course is not an accredited educational institution.
Example 3 to paragraph (a)(3): An employee of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is invited by a private university to teach a course that is a survey of Government policies in support of artists, poets, and writers. As part of official duty activities, the employee administers a grant that the university has received from the NEH. The employee may not accept compensation for teaching the course because the university has interests that may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the employee's duties. Likewise, an employee may not receive compensation for any teaching that is undertaken as part of official duties or that involves the use of nonpublic information.
Note 4 to paragraph (b):
Reference to official title and position other than in a teaching, speaking, or writing capacity may be made only as permitted by § 2635.702(b) . In addition, some agencies may have policies requiring advance agency review, clearance, or approval of certain speeches, books, articles, or similar products to determine whether the product contains an appropriate disclaimer, discloses nonpublic information, or otherwise complies with this section.
Example 1 to paragraph (b): A meteorologist employed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is asked by a local university to teach a graduate course on hurricanes. The university may include the meteorologist's Government title and position together with other information about the meteorologist's education and previous employment in course materials setting forth biographical data on all teachers involved in the graduate program. However, the meteorologist's title or position may not be used to promote the course, for example, by featuring the meteorologist's Government title, Senior Meteorologist, NOAA, in bold type under their name. In contrast, the meteorologist's title may be used in this manner when NOAA authorized speaking in an official capacity.
Example 2 to paragraph (b): A doctor just employed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has written a paper based on earlier independent research into cell structures. Incident to the paper's publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the doctor may be given credit for the paper, as Dr. M. Wellbeing, Associate Director, Centers for Disease Control, provided that the article also contains a disclaimer, concurred in by the CDC, indicating that the paper is the result of the doctor's independent research and does not represent the findings of the CDC.
Example 3 to paragraph (b): An employee of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has been asked to give a speech in a private capacity, without compensation, to the annual meeting of a committee of the American Bankers Association on the need for banking reform. The employee may be described in an introduction at the meeting as an employee of the FDIC provided that other pertinent biographical details are mentioned as well.
5 C.F.R. §2635.807