HHS Ethics Policy

1 HHS Ethics Policy Adopted December 31, 2007 Revised May 11, 2020 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Texas Health and Human Services System .. 1 A. Related Statutes .. 2 B. Disciplinary Action .. 3 C. Ethics Training and Advice .. 3 D. Social Media and Ethics ..4 II. Acceptance of Benefits .. 4 A. Bribery .. 5 B. Honoraria .. 5 C. Exceptions to the Prohibition on Benefits to Public Servants .. 6 D. Proper Disposition of Prohibited Benefits .. 10 III. Restrictions on HHS Agency Purchase of Food .. 10 IV. Group Solicitation of Persons or Organizations Who Do Business with the Agency .. 11 V. Travel .. 11 A. Combining State and Personal Business .. 11 B. Employee Travel Credit Cards .. 12 C. Non-Reimbursable Travel 12 D.

2 Conferences and Training Seminars .. 133 E. Frequent Flier Miles, Bonus Points, and Other Travel Benefits .. 14 VI. Conflicts of 14 A. Pecuniary 14 B. Personal Investments .. 14 C. Nepotism .. 14 D. 15 VII. Vendor References and Endorsements .. 15 VIII. Release of Agency Information .. 16 A. Purpose .. 16 B. Scope .. 16 C. Policy .. 16 D. Exceptions .. 16 E. Enforcement .. 17 F. Definitions .. 17 IX. Contracting .. 18 A. HHS Ethics Requirements for Contracting Staff .. 18 B. Contracting Personnel Code of Ethics .. 18 C. Conflict of Interest in Contracting .. 19 D. 20 E. Vendor Interaction .. 20 X. Restrictions on Employment .. 21 A. Dual State Employment .. 21 B. Outside Employment and Volunteer Activity.

3 21 C. The Revolving Door .. 22 Permanent Restrictions .. 22 iii Time Limited Restrictions .. 23 Representation of Nonprofit Organizaions or Governmental Bodies .. 24 Agency Specific Restrictions .. 24 Contractual Restrictions .. 26 XI. Civic Engagement and Political Activity .. 26 A. Elections .. 26 B. Permissible Political Activities .. 27 XII. Reporting Fraud, Waste and Abuse .. 27 XIII. Unauthorized Use of Government Time, Property, and Facilities .. 30 A. Email .. 331 B. Disposition of Government Property .. 31 C. Official Records and Property .. 331 D. Copyrighted Material/Computer Software .. 331 E. Accounting for Money and Property .. 332 F. Checks Submitted with Legal Documents .. 332 1 I. Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Texas Health and Human Services System The following standards of conduct apply to every employee and form the basis for this Policy .

4 Where a situation is not specifically covered in this Ethics Policy , employees shall apply the principles set forth below in determining whether their conduct is (1) Employees shall protect and conserve state property and shall not use it for other than authorized activities. (2) Employees shall act impartially and not give inappropriate preferential treatment to any private organization or individual. (3) Employees shall adhere to all laws and regulations that provide equal opportunity for all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. (4) Employees shall disclose waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, and ethical concerns to appropriate authorities. (5) Employees shall not accept or solicit any gift, favor, or service that might reasonably tend to influence or appear to influence the employee in the discharge of official duties or that the employee knows, or should know, is being offered with the intent to influence the official actions of the employee or the agency.

5 (6) Employees shall not accept other employment or engage in a business or professional activity that the employee might reasonably expect would require or induce the employee to disclose confidential information acquired because of his or her official position. (7) Employees shall not accept other employment or compensation that could reasonably be expected to impair the employee s independent judgment in the performance of the employee s official duties. (8) Employees shall not make personal investments that could reasonably be expected to create a substantial conflict between the employee s private interests and the public interest. 1 The Texas Legislature enacted minimum standards of acceptable conduct for all state employees.

6 Those standards are located in Chapter 572 of the Government Code and serve as a basis for disciplinary action, if necessary. In addition to those minimum standards, all HHS employees must adhere to the HHS Standards of Ethical Conduct and agency work rules located in the HHS HR Policy manual . The HHS Ethics Policy incorporates standards of ethical conduct, guidance from statutory law, and provisions of the HHS HR Policy manual , Contract Management Handbook, Travel Policy , Computer Usage Policy and other relevant sources. Throughout this Policy , relevant sources are cited to and hyperlinks are provided for ease of reference. 2 (9) Employees shall not intentionally or knowingly solicit, accept, or agree to accept any benefit for having exercised the employee s official powers or performed the employee s official duties in favor of another.

7 (10) Employees shall endeavor to avoid any conduct creating the appearance that they are violating law or the ethical standards set forth in this Policy . Whether particular circumstances create an appearance that the law or these standards have been violated shall be determined from the perspective of a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts. A. Related Statutes In addition to the HHS standards of ethical conduct, there are federal and state conflict of interest statutes that prohibit certain conduct. Criminal conflict of interest statutes of general applicability to all employees are summarized in the appropriate sections of this Policy and must be taken into consideration in determining whether conduct is proper. Citations to other generally applicable statutes relating to employee conduct are discussed throughout and employees are further cautioned that there may be additional statutory and regulatory restrictions applicable to them generally or as employees of their specific agencies or operational areas.

8 Because HHS employees are considered to be on notice of the requirements of any statute, an employee should not rely upon any description or synopsis of a statutory restriction but should refer to the statute itself and obtain the advice of their supervisor or an HHS Ethics Officer. The second HHS Standard of Ethical Conduct specifically requires that all employees shall adhere to all laws and regulations that provide equal employment opportunities for employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination based on: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or genetic information. See HHS employees are entitled to specific rights to equal opportunity in the workplace and freedom from harassment. It is also the responsibility of HHS employees and our contractors to not discriminate against clients, consumers or applicants for services.

9 Clients, consumers and applicants are protected from discrimination by federal and state laws. These laws and policies define nine groups, called, protected classes, which are protected from discrimination. These are defined by: race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, political belief and sexual orientation (of these protected classes, political belief and sexual orientation do not apply to all programs and services; HHS contractors may not require clients to participate in inherently religious activities as part of their program). See Additional information concerning employee rights and responsibilities in the workplace can be obtained by contacting the HHS Office of Civil Rights or visiting their website at 3 B. Disciplinary Action Violations or suspected violations of these provisions must be reported promptly, verbally or in writing, to your supervisor.

10 A violation of this Policy , related statutes or internal operating manuals addressing Ethics may be cause for appropriate corrective or disciplinary action, up to and including termination. For example, employees working on the federal Social Security program are expected to follow all federal Social Security Administration policies and procedures related to Ethics , including the reporting of fraud, waste, and abuse. In some cases, failure to follow these standards and the HHS Work Rules located in the HHS HR Policy manual , Chapter 1, Employment Practices. D. Standards of Conduct. will violate one of the criminal statutes referred to in this Policy . Disciplinary action will be based on the expectation that HHS employees are familiar with the Standards of Ethical Conduct and are aware of required duties and responsibilities.