Conflicts of Interest and Other Legal and Ethical Prohibitions

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OVERVIEW

3.1 What is the purpose of this chapter?

A. This chapter describes the legal and ethical prohibitions for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) employees involved with acquisitions. 

B. For information on upholding the Service’s scientific integrity standards in relation to acquisitions, see 212 FW 7.

3.2 What is the scope of this chapter? This chapter applies to all Service employees who are involved in the procurement process.

3.3 What are the authorities and responsibilities for this chapter? See 301 FW 1 for information on the authorities and responsibilities for all of the chapters in Part 301. The following authorities are specific to the ethical standards for procurement: 

A. Improper Business Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Part 3 and Department of the Interior Acquisition Regulation (DIAR), Part 1403. 

B. Restrictions on Obtaining and Disclosing Certain Information (41 U.S.C. Chapter 21). 

C. Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (5 CFR Part 2635). 

PROHIBITIONS

3.4 Of which prohibitions do employees involved in procurement need to be aware?  

A. Contracting with Government employees. 

(1) Service employees must not award contracts to:

     (a) Employees of the Federal Government (Government employees),

     (b) Business organizations substantially owned or controlled by Government employees,

     (c) Immediate family members of Service employees, or

     (d) Firms substantially owned or controlled by immediate family members of Service employees. 

(2) With approval from the Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA), you may obtain an exception to this policy if there is no reasonable alternative. Offering the lowest price is not a sufficient reason to invoke an exception. To get approval from the HCA, you must:

     (a) Write a memorandum to the HCA explaining the exceptional circumstances and other alternatives that were considered; and 

     (b) Send the document to the Chief of the Contracting Office (CCO), the Senior Chief of the Contracting Office (SCCO), and the Office of the Solicitor (SOL) for review and approval prior to sending to the HCA for review.

B. Post-employment restrictions. Former employees must not represent a contractor before the Government in relation to any contract with which the former employee was associated while employed by the Service. This restriction applies for 2 years from the date the former employee separated from the Service. 

C. Procurement integrity. Service employees must not contact contractors about their offers unless the Contracting Officer has approved it in advance. This communication restriction is to preserve the integrity of the competitive procurement process. 

D. Organizational conflict of interest. Unless approved in advance by the cognizant CCO, an organization is not eligible to receive a contract or subcontract if that organization had a role in the design plans for the contract or the statement of work. See FAR Subpart 9.5 for details about contractors preparing specifications and statements of work. 

E. Service employees with questions should contact their ethics counselor.

REPORTING ETHICAL ISSUES

3.5 What should employees to do if they discover evidence of irregularities or possible fraud, waste, or abuse related to procurement?  

A. Employees must report evidence of irregularities or possible fraud, waste, or abuse related to procurement to one or more of the following:

(1) The HCA,

(2) The SCCO,

(3)  The CCO, or

(4) The Department of the Interior’s Office of the Inspector General. 

B. These officials will accept your report in writing (email or memorandum), over the telephone, or in person. To ensure the officials can follow up on the issue, anonymous reports must include complete and specific information. For example, the reports must include the contract number, circumstances of the alleged fraud, or any other available documentation.