The Department of Health and Human Services Standards of Conduct (Standards) prescribe employee rules of conduct and procedure and provide for disciplinary action for the violation of the Standards and other rules, regulations, or laws governing Department employees. These Standards are separate from and additional to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (5 CFR part 2635), the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Department of Health and Human Services (5 CFR part 5501), the Supplemental Financial Disclosure Requirements for Employees of the Department of Health and Human Services (5 CFR part 5502), the Employee Responsibilities and Conduct regulations (5 CFR part 735), and the Executive Branch Financial Disclosure regulations (5 CFR part 2634).

Commissioned officer means either a commissioned officer of the Regular Corps or a commissioned officer of the Ready Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service.

Department and HHS mean the Department of Health and Human Services.

Employee means an officer of the Department or an individual who is employed by the Department. Status as an employee is unaffected by pay or leave status. The term includes:

(1) Special Government employees;

(2) Commissioned officers of the Public Health Service on active or inactive duty;

(3) An HHS employee who is assigned to a non-Federal entity under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970, as amended (5 U.S.C. 3371-3376), whether on leave without pay or on detail; and

(4) A non-Federal employee who is appointed to an HHS position or who is serving on detail to HHS under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970, as amended.

(5) An HHS employee who is detailed to another Executive Branch agency or elsewhere within the Federal Government.

Foreign government means:

(1) Any unit of foreign government authority, including any foreign national, State, local, and municipal government, and their foreign equivalents;

(2) Any international or multinational organization whose membership is composed of any unit of foreign government described in paragraph (1) of this definition; or

(3) Any agent or representative of any such unit described in paragraph (1) of this definition or any organization described in paragraph (2) of this definition, while acting as such agent or representative.

Gift means a monetary or non-monetary present (other than a decoration) offered by or received from a foreign government.

Government means the United States Government.

Inspector General means the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Minimal value means a retail value in the United States at the time of acceptance that is at or below the dollar value established by the General Services Administration pursuant to the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, 5 U.S.C. 7342(a)(5). This value is published by the General Services Administration in a Federal Management Regulation Bulletin at www.gsa.gov/personalpropertypolicy.

Severe forms of trafficking in persons has the meaning given at 22 U.S.C. 7102(11):

(1) Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or

(2) The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery.

Sex trafficking has the meaning given at 22 U.S.C. 7102(12): the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.

Special Government employee means an officer or employee who, as specified in 18 U.S.C. 202(a), is retained, designated, appointed, or employed to perform temporary duties either on a full-time or intermittent basis, with or without compensation, on no more than 130 days during any consecutive 365-day period.

Unless otherwise indicated (see subpart D of this part), the Standards of this part apply to all employees as defined in § 73.102.