Canon 6: A Federal Public Defender Employee Should Regularly File Reports of Compensation Received for All Extra-official Activities

A defender employee may receive compensation and reimbursement of expenses for outside activities provided that receipt of such compensation or reimbursement is not prohibited or restricted by this code, the Ethics Reform Act, and other applicable law, and provided that the source or amount of such payments does not influence or give the appearance of influencing the defender employee in the performance of official duties or otherwise give the appearance of impropriety. Expense reimbursement should be limited to the actual cost of travel, food, and lodging reasonably incurred by a defender employee and, where appropriate to the occasion, by the defender employee’s spouse or relative. Any payment in excess of such an amount is compensation. A defender employee should make and file reports of compensation and reimbursement for outside activities to the extent prescribed by the Ethics Reform Act, other applicable law, or the Judicial Conference of the United States. Notwithstanding the above, a defender employee (other than a defender employee serving without compensation) should not receive any salary, or any supplementation of salary, as compensation for official government services from any source other than the United States.

Note: See 5 U.S.C. §§ 13101–13111 (financial disclosure provisions). See also 5 U.S.C. §§ 13141–13146 (outside earned income and employment).