Federal Reports

This investigation addressed an allegation that an employee violated federal ethics laws by obtaining outside employment with a TVA contractor while still employed with TVA. The investigation revealed that the employee obtained outside employment only after TVA eliminated his position and he began a 90-severance period during which TVA told him he could pursue employment with any outside company. Furthermore, there was no evidence the employee attempted to influence any official action at TVA during this period. The employee did not comply with several legal and regulatory requirements such as filing a statement notifying the Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) of his negotiation for outside employment. Additionally, the employee did not file a recusal statement, obtain a written waiver for outside employment or qualify for a regulatory exemption from these requirements. The evidence shows the employee worked solely with TVA Human Resources (HR) during the termination process and did not receive advice from the DAEO regarding these requirements.The OIG recommends that TVA HR consult with TVA’s DAEO to ensure TVA employees receive detailed guidance regarding outside employment and post-employment issues.

We inspected the U.S. Government Publishing Office’s (GPO) Acquisition Services with the intent of answering the following question: Are GPO’s procedures for procuring supplies and services contracts effective in preventing late penalty fees? Our report contains six recommendations designed to improve GPO’s contracting processes. The recommendations focus on statute compliance by providing the OIG with requested documentation; updating policies; improving timeliness by training Acquisition Services personnel the (cradle-to-grave) payment process; ensuring that Acquisition Services personnel are current in their contracting certifications; implementing a tracking system to document certifications and required continuous learning points (CLPs); and improving penalty tracking and reporting.