Selected Employee Categories

Several criminal and civil statutes, executive orders, and an administrative code of conduct are central to the executive branch ethics program. Notably:

  • Executive branch ethics provisions generally apply only to Government “employees.”
  • Some executive branch ethics provisions apply only to certain categories of employees or apply differently to certain categories of employees or not at all.
  • Executive branch ethics provision generally do not apply to “representatives” serving on an advisory committee or to independent contractors.

Political Appointees

Political appointees are subject to more ethics restrictions than regular executive branch employees.

Learn More ›

Advisory Committee Members

Executive branch ethics provisions apply to “employees” who serve on advisory committees, including employees who qualify as special Government employees, but do not apply to committee members who serve as “representatives” or who are independent contractors.

Learn More ›

Detailees

If an employee is temporarily assigned (“detailed”) to another position, there may or may not be an effect on the applicability of various ethics provisions.

Learn More ›

Special Government Employees

Some ethics provisions that apply to executive branch employees apply differently to an employee who qualifies as a “special Government employee” (SGE), or do not apply at all. Congress created the SGE category in 1962 in connection with a major revision of the criminal conflict of interest statutes.

Learn More ›