5 C.F.R. § 2634.904 Confidential filer defined.
Title 5 - Administrative Personnel
Link to an amendment published at 71 FR 28234, May 16, 2006. The term confidential filer includes: (a) Each officer or employee in the executive branch whose position is classified at GS–15 or below of the General Schedule prescribed by 5 U.S.C. 5332, or the rate of basic pay for which is fixed, other than under the General Schedule, at a rate which is less than 120% of the minimum rate of basic pay for GS–15 of the General Schedule; each officer or employee of the United States Postal Service or Postal Rate Commission whose basic rate of pay is less than 120% of the minimum rate of basic pay for GS–15 of the General Schedule; each member of a uniformed service whose pay grade is less than O–7 under 37 U.S.C. 201; and each officer or employee in any other position determined by the designated agency ethics official to be of equal classification; if: (1) The agency concludes that the duties and responsibilities of the employee's position require that employee to participate personally and substantially (as defined in §2635.402(b)(4) of this chapter) through decision or the exercise of significant judgment, in taking a Government action regarding: (i) Contracting or procurement; (ii) Administering or monitoring grants, subsidies, licenses, or other federally conferred financial or operational benefits; (iii) Regulating or auditing any non-Federal entity; or (iv) Other activities in which the final decision or action will have a direct and substantial economic effect on the interests of any non-Federal entity; or (2) The agency concludes that the duties and responsibilities of the employee's position require the employee to file such a report to avoid involvement in a real or apparent conflict of interest, and to carry out the purposes behind any statute, Executive order, rule, or regulation applicable to or administered by that employee. Positions which might be subject to a reporting requirement under this subparagraph include those with duties which involve investigating or prosecuting violations of criminal or civil law. Example 1. A contracting officer drafts the requests for proposals for data processing equipment of significant value which is to be purchased by his agency. He works with substantial independence of action. The contracting officer should be required to file a confidential financial disclosure report. Example 2. An agency environmental engineer inspects a manufacturing plant to ascertain whether the plant complies with a permit to release a certain effluent into a nearby stream. Any violation of the permit standards may result in civil penalties for the plant, and in criminal penalties for the plant's management based upon any action which they took to create the violation. If the agency engineer determines that the plant does not meet the permit requirements, he can require the plant to terminate release of the effluent until the plant satisfies the permit standards. Because the engineer exercises substantial discretion in regulating the plant's activities, and because his final decisions will have a substantial economic effect on the plant's interests, the engineer should be required to file a confidential financial disclosure report. (b) Unless required to file public financial disclosure reports by subpart B of this part, all executive branch special Government employees as defined in 18 U.S.C 202(a) and §2634.105(s), including those who serve on advisory committees. The term special Government employees does not include an advisory committee member who serves only as a representative of an industry or other outside entity or who is already a Federal employee. Example 1. A consultant to an agency periodically advises the agency regarding important foreign policy matters. The consultant must file a confidential report if he is retained as a special Government employee and not an independent contractor. Example 2. An advisory committee member (who is not a private group representative) attends four committee meetings every year to provide advice to an agency about pharmaceutical matters. No compensation is received by the committee member, other than travel expenses. The advisory committee member must file a confidential disclosure report, since she is a special Government employee. (c) Each public filer referred to in §2634.202 on public disclosure who is required by agency regulations issued in accordance with §2634.907(b) of this subpart to file a supplemental confidential financial disclosure report which contains information that is more extensive than the information required in the reporting individual's public financial disclosure report under this part. (d) Any employee who, notwithstanding his exclusion from the public financial reporting requirements of this part by virtue of a determination under §2634.203, is covered by the criteria of paragraph (a) of this section. [57 FR 11826, Apr. 7, 1992, as amended at 63 FR 69992, Dec. 18, 1998; 64 FR 2422, Jan. 14, 1999]
Title 5: Administrative Personnel
PART 2634—EXECUTIVE BRANCH FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE, QUALIFIED TRUSTS, AND CERTIFICATES OF DIVESTITURE
Subpart I—Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports
§ 2634.904 Confidential filer defined.
