Federal Agency Standards of Employee Conduct Need Improvement
FPCD-80-8: Published: Oct 18, 1979. Publicly Released: Oct 18, 1979.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
Basic standards of conduct for government officials were prescribed in a recent Executive Order. Standards of employee conduct developed by federal agencies often differ in the ways they are interpreted and applied. Differences in agency application of standards result from statutes applicable to individual agencies and different agency responsibilities.
The basic philosophy underlying the application of standards of employee conduct places the primary burden of responsibility on the employee to know and to abide by standards, while agencies assume a passive role and usually react only to employee initiatives. Agencies generally have not taken sufficient action to evaluate the effectiveness of their standards. Federal agencies were not making use of available information sources to periodically review and evaluate the effectiveness of their standards as guidance for their employees. Negotiating for employment generally is not defined. Restrictions on accepting honoraria were included in the standards of only two of the six agencies reviewed, and only one agency prohibited outside employment with a company having a business relationship with the agency. Former guidance to agencies on developing standards was not adequate to minimize variations in the behavior expected of employees from different agencies. Agency management must better communicate the importance of these standards to employees and establish ways to recognize when problems exist in their implementation.
Mar 2, 2021
-
High-Risk Series:
Dedicated Leadership Needed to Address Limited Progress in Most High-Risk AreasGAO-21-119SP: Published: Mar 2, 2021. Publicly Released: Mar 2, 2021. -
High-Risk Series:
Dedicated Leadership Needed to Address Limited Progress in Most High-Risk AreasGAO-21-383T: Published: Mar 2, 2021. Publicly Released: Mar 2, 2021. -
High-Risk Series:
Dedicated Leadership Needed to Address Limited Progress in Most High-Risk AreasGAO-21-384T: Published: Mar 2, 2021. Publicly Released: Mar 2, 2021.
Feb 3, 2021
-
Fixed-Price-Incentive Contracts:
DOD Has Increased Their Use but Should Assess Contributions to OutcomesGAO-21-181: Published: Feb 3, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 3, 2021.
Jan 29, 2021
-
Federal Real Property:
Additional Documentation of Decision Making Could Improve Transparency of New Disposal ProcessGAO-21-233: Published: Jan 29, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 29, 2021.
Jan 19, 2021
-
Federal Rulemaking:
Selected EPA and HHS Regulatory Analyses Met Several Best Practices, but CMS Should Take Steps to Strengthen Its AnalysesGAO-21-151: Published: Dec 17, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 19, 2021.
Jan 13, 2021
-
Department of Energy Contracting:
Improvements Needed to Ensure DOE Assesses Its Full Range of Contracting Fraud RisksGAO-21-44: Published: Jan 13, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 13, 2021.
Dec 16, 2020
-
Data Governance:
Agencies Made Progress in Establishing Governance, but Need to Address Key MilestonesGAO-21-152: Published: Dec 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2020.
Dec 9, 2020
-
2020 Census:
The Bureau Concluded Field Work but Uncertainty about Data Quality, Accuracy, and Protection RemainsGAO-21-206R: Published: Dec 9, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 9, 2020.
Dec 3, 2020
-
2020 Census:
Census Bureau Needs to Assess Data Quality Concerns Stemming from Recent Design ChangesGAO-21-142: Published: Dec 3, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 3, 2020.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here