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How to Obtain Ethics Guidance and Frequently Asked Ethics Questions regarding Shutdown/Furlough- NTK Announcement- February 11, 2019

By Office of Science Quality and Integrity

On February 11, 2019, the Ethics Office posted the following announcement on the USGS internal website, @theCore.  The announcement was included in a Need To Know e-mail to all USGS employees the same day. 

Questions or concerns regarding this announcement should be directed to ethicsoffice@usgs.gov. 

At our January 31st Town Hall, Acting Secretary David Bernhardt emphasized how critical it is that all DOI employees follow ethics rules, laws and regulations, and contact an ethics counselor when they have questions or need guidance. The USGS Ethics Office is staffed with four ethics counselors and a part-time ethics specialist detailee who are available to provide ethics guidance and answer your ethics questions. Our contact information is on the Ethics Office website. Additionally, Director Jim Reilly serves as the Bureau Ethics Counselor, providing support to the Ethics Office and our mission.

Employees who have ethics questions or need ethics guidance should contact the Ethics Office via EthicsOffice@usgs.gov or review the information and resources on the USGS Ethics Office website. Our website is public and is accessible from any computer or device. It contains information on a wide-range of ethics topics, including shutdown/furlough FAQs and links to ethics laws and regulations. We encourage employees to review our website and bookmark it for future reference.

Stay tuned—annual ethics refresher training is required for all USGS employees. We anticipate launching this calendar year’s training in DOI Talent in May 2019.

Thank you for all you do to maintain the stellar reputation of the USGS and the integrity of all of our programs.

Nancy Baumgartner
Deputy Ethics Counselor
Office of Science Quality and Integrity