AGC(E)02108

                                      August 30, 2002

 

MEMORANDUM FOR DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY ETHICS COUNSELORS

 

Subj:  FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE AND ANNUAL ETHICS TRAINING

 

The purpose of this memorandum is to remind you about the requirements for filing the Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) and conducting annual ethics training. 

 

     Financial Disclosure.

 

The OGE Form 450 filing period is once again upon us.  You should be working closely with supervisors to determine which employees need to file the OGE Form 450.  The Department of the Navy (DON) has approximately 35,000 OGE Form 450 filers.  You are encouraged to work with supervisors to determine whether personnel currently identified as filers are actually performing duties qualifying them as mandatory filers.  The filing criteria are set forth in Joint Ethics Regulation, Section 7-300.  The General Counsel has excluded micro-purchasers making annual purchases totaling less than the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $100,000) from the OGE Form 450 filing requirement.  A copy of this memorandum can be found on the public DON ethics website, “ethics.navy.mil”, which can be accessed by any computer without the need for a password.

 

The OGE Form 450 must be filed by November 30, 2002.  Extensions of sixty additional days may be granted in writing by an ethics official.  Employees deployed in a combat zone or required to perform services away from their permanent duty stations in support of the Armed Forces or other governmental agency during a national emergency are eligible for additional extensions.  See, 5 C.F.R. 2634.903(d)(2).

 

The form must be reviewed and signed by the employee’s supervisor.  Please ensure that the "Date Received by the Agency" block is completed or the date of receipt is otherwise indicated somewhere on the form, e.g., date stamped.  All reports should be reviewed within 60 days of the date of filing and ethics counselors should annotate the date of initial review on the form.  Information on the OGE Form 450 should include assets held from October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2002.  The OGE Form 450 and the OGE Form 450 Reviewer’s Guide are available on the “ethics.navy.mil” website under “Quick Downloads” and “Forms.” Filers may complete the form on-line, save it, and print a copy for signature and submission.

 

Please note that the OGE Optional Form 450-A, Confidential Certificate of No New Interests, may be used in Calendar Year 2002 provided the employee has an existing OGE Form 450 on file and can certify to each of the statements in the form.  Please ensure that the DOD approved form is used (it includes a supervisor certification).  This form is also available on the “ethics.navy.mil” website. 

 

Annual Ethics Training.

 

     You should also be monitoring the annual ethics training (Calendar Year 2002) for covered employees (SF 278 and OGE Form 450 filers, contracting officers, and other designated employees).  You are, of course, free to decide what training topics are appropriate for your command or organization and the method of conducting that training.  The annual training must, however, meet the minimum requirements in 5 C.F.R. 2638.704(b)-(d) for public filers and 5 C.F.R. 2638.705(b)-(d) for other covered employees.  The “ethics.navy.mil” website has several on-line interactive training programs available for your use, to include the CY 2002 training materials on “Non-Federal Entities” prepared by the DOD Standards of Conduct Office.

 

For SF 278 filers, the annual ethics training (presented or prepared by a qualified individual, i.e., an ethics counselor) shall be verbal, either in person or by telecommunications, computer based methods or recorded means.  Employees must be provided a minimum of one hour of official duty time for this briefing.  A qualified individual must be present (i.e., by phone or e-mail) during and immediately after the presentation to respond to questions but need not be physically present at the training site to meet this requirement.

 

For other covered employees, the annual training must be presented verbally at least once every three years (this was done in CY 2000) by a qualified individual, either in person or by telecommunications, computer based methods or recorded means.  Employees must be provided a minimum of one hour of official duty time for this briefing.  Unlike annual training for SF 278 filers, a qualified individual need not be present during and immediately following the verbal presentation.

Ethics counselors should ensure that this memorandum is disseminated to each of their field activities as soon as possible. Please call me at (703) 604-8211 or Billie Spencer at (703) 604-8264 if you have any questions.

 

 

 

 

                   David W. LaCroix

                   Assistant General Counsel (Ethics)