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Examples Of Conflict Of Interest

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It is the responsibility of every federal employee and contractor to avoid even the appearance of wrong doing with relation to our positions within the federal government. One of the easiest issues to avoid is that of a personal conflict of interest. Addressing a personal conflict of interest is not something you want to delay, avoid, or circumvent as you could be risking your reputation, your job, and, potentially, your freedom.
In order to be seen as good stewards of the American taxpayer’s money, and to ensure that the public trusts the government’s decisions and how it spends money, conflicts of interest must be carefully avoided, disclosed when found, and immediately addressed.
As Contracting Officers we must be cognizant not only …show more content…
A conflict of interest exists until the asset is sold or valued under $1,000. All new assets are purchased by the trustee without knowledge of the employee thus rendering a conflict of interest impossible. o Diversified Trust – Assets such as diversified securities are placed into a trust and administered by the trustee. Assets must meet a minimum threshold for diversification in order to ensure that the employee’s actions would have little to no predictable impact on their portfolio.
It is imperative that you contact your agency’s ethics department to determine if a conflict of interest exists and to determine the most appropriate method to address the conflict. Failure to do so leaves both you and the agency vulnerable and places the employee in a precarious legal position.
Every year the federal government investigates a multitude of complaints from contractors, employees, citizens, and journalists alleging suspected conflicts of interest of government employees. These complaints are taken seriously, investigated, and if substantiated, referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution. The Department of Justice has the discretion to either prosecute the employee or to refer the matter back to the HR department of the employee’s agency for

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