Example 1 to paragraph (a): An employee of the Merit Systems Protection Board who is a public filer was in private practice prior to Government service. The employee receives a telephone call from a partner in a law firm who inquires as to whether they would be interested in returning to private practice. During this initial telephone call with the law firm partner, the employee indicates that they are interested in resuming private practice. The partner and employee discuss generally the types of issues that would need to be agreed upon if the employee were to consider a possible offer to serve as "of counsel" with the firm, such as salary, benefits, and type of work the employee would perform. The employee has begun negotiating for future employment with the law firm. Within three business days after this initial telephone call, the employee must file written notification of the negotiations with the agency ethics official.
Example 2 to paragraph (a): The employee in the example 1 to this paragraph (a) also negotiates a possible contract with a publisher to begin writing a textbook after leaving Government service. Within three business days after commencing negotiations, the employee must file written notification with the agency ethics official documenting this engagement in negotiations for future compensation with the book publisher.
Example 1 to paragraph (c): An employee of the Federal Labor Relations Authority who is a public filer began negotiating for future employment with a law firm. At the time the employee began negotiating for future employment with the law firm, they were not participating personally and substantially in a particular matter that, to their knowledge, had a direct and predictable effect on the financial interest of the law firm. Although the employee was not required to file a recusal statement because they did not have a conflict of interest or appearance of a conflict of interest with the law firm identified in the notification statement, the Office of Government Ethics encourages the employee to submit a notification of recusal at the same time that they file the notification statement regarding the negotiations for future employment in order to ensure that the requirement of paragraph (b) of this section is satisfied if a conflict of interest or an appearance of a conflict of interest later arises. The agency ethics official should counsel the employee on applicable requirements but is under no obligation to notify the employee's supervisor that the employee is negotiating for employment.
Example 2 to paragraph (c): An employee of the General Services Administration is contacted by a prospective employer regarding scheduling an interview for the following week to begin discussing the possibility of future employment. The employee discusses the matter with the ethics official and chooses to file a notification and recusal statement prior to the interview. The notification and recusal statement contain the identity of the prospective employer and an estimated date of when the interview will occur. The employee has complied with the notification requirement of section 17 of the STOCK Act.
5 C.F.R. §2635.607