Will you be mine? The Ethics Rules for Spousal Interests

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, you may be thinking of all things love and marriage!  If so, now is a great time to discuss how the ethics rules apply to your spouse.

As a Federal employee, the criminal conflict of interest statute at 18 U.S.C. § 208 prohibits you from working on Government matters affecting your own personal financial interests as well as the financial interests of your spouse.  That means your spouse’s financial interests are your financial interests for purposes of the criminal conflict of interest law, and as a result, you must recuse yourself from working on any Government matter having a direct and predictable effect on your spouse’s financial interests.  Furthermore, the criminal conflict of interest statute also prohibits you from working on any Government matter that has a direct and predictable effect on your spouse's compensation or continued employment with their employer (if your spouse is employed outside the Federal Government).  If you file a financial disclosure report, you will also be required to disclose certain information about your spouse's employment and financial interests.

Additionally, the impartiality regulation at 5 C.F.R. § 2635.502 also limits you from working on certain Government matters where your spouse's employer or client is a party or represents a party to the matter.  This restriction also applies to any person or organization for whom your spouse is serving or seeking to serve as an officer, director, trustee, general partner, agent, consultant, or contractor.

For those of you who are not married, the rules apply a bit differently.  You may be limited in your ability to work on certain Government matters affecting the financial interests of a member of your household, which would include live-in romantic partners.  Under the impartiality regulation, you may be required to recuse yourself from working on certain Government matters affecting the financial interests of a member of your household or other Government work where your live-in romantic partner is, or represents, a party to the matter.

If you have any questions about how the ethics rules apply to your spouse's employment or interests, or any other ethics topic, please contact an ethics official - we would LOVE to help you!  Contact information for the Department of the Interior's Departmental Ethics Office and bureau ethics officials is available at https://www.doi.gov/ethics/bureau-office-contacts.