Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Department of Energy and Residual Department Standards Regulation

The Department of Energy (Department or DOE), with the concurrence of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), published an interim final rule on July 5, 1996, to establish standards of ethical conduct, applicable to employees of the Department, that supplement the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch issued by the Office of Government Ethics, and to revise the Department's residual standards regulation. The rule requires Department employees to document notices of disqualification and withdrawals of such notices in writing. It also requires that Department employees obtain the written approval of their immediate supervisor and the Department's designated agency ethics official or such official's designee prior to engaging in certain outside employment. The Department now discusses comments received in response to the interim final rule, and adopts that rule as final with certain changes to the Department's residual standards previously issued.