In 1997, a supplemental ethics regulation was enacted that restricts investments in private mining activities in the United States by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) employees, their spouses or minor children. In accordance with the Ethics in Government Act, the regulation was required to have (and did receive) the concurrence of the Office of Government Ethics.
The restriction contained an exception that permitted employees (and their spouses and minor children) of the Office of the Director and the Geologic Division to hold a “limited” amount of stock ($5,000 or less) in companies engaged private mining activities in the United States and permitted employees (and their spouses and minor children) of all other USGS organizational units to hold “limited” amount of stock in a single company engaged in private mining activities in the United States in the amount of $5,000 or less and an aggregate of stock in several such companies in the amount of $15,000 or less.
In 2001, an All-Employee memo from the USGS Deputy Director announced a policy change that increased the permitted “limited” stock amounts to $10,000 in a single company and an aggregate of $20,000 in “limited” stocks. The policy change removed the distinction between employees in the Office of the Director and the Geologic Division and the employees of all other USGS organizational units.
On August 15, 2018, the USGS Ethics Office was informed by the Office of Government Ethics that the USGS was not permitted to amend the supplemental ethics regulation by policy and that USGS employees (and their spouses and minor children) are only permitted to hold “limited” stock (as defined in Section 3 of the Financial Guide for USGS Employees #40, January 3, 2018) in the amount of $5,000 or less for a single company and an aggregate of “limited” stock in the amount of $15,000 or less. Employees assigned to the Directors Office may only hold $5,000 or less of “limited” stock (not an aggregate of $15,000 of “limited” stocks).
This new restriction will be explained in the next version of the Financial Guide for USGS Employees. It does not apply to investments in mutual funds, 529 college savings plans authorized by the Internal Revenue Service or the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
Consequently, you must review your current stock holdings (as well as those of your spouse and minor children) to ensure that you are in compliance with the DOI supplemental standards of conduct at 5 Code of Federal Regulations 3501.104(b).
Your review must include retirement accounts other than the TSP.
If you, your spouse or minor children hold stock in companies listed in Section 3 of the Financial Guide for USGS Employees #40 (i.e., “limited” stock) valued at more than $5,000, you must contact the USGS Ethics Office (EthicsOffice@usgs.gov) within 2 weeks of this memorandum (by Tuesday, September 25, 2018) so that we can provide you information regarding “next steps.”
All USGS employees continue to be prohibited from owning stock in companies that have substantial oil, gas, or mining leases on Federal land or that hold leases on Federal land for the production of wind or geothermal energy. For a list of “prohibited” stocks, refer to Section 2 of the Financial Guide for USGS Employees #40.
If you, your spouse or minor children hold stock in companies listed in Section 2 of the Financial Guide for USGS Employees #40, you must contact the USGS Ethics Office (EthicsOffice@usgs.gov) within 2 weeks of this memorandum (by Tuesday, September 25, 2018) so that we can provide you information regarding “next steps.”
Questions regarding this memorandum should be sent to EthicsOffice@usgs.gov.
