§ 0.203 Reporting suspected misconduct.

(a) An employee shall immediately report to his or her supervisor, to any management official, or to the applicable Office of Inspector General:

(1) Any information that the employee reasonably believes indicates a possible offense against the United States by an employee of the Department or any other individual working on behalf of the Department, including, but not limited to, bribery; fraud; perjury; conflict of interest; misuse of funds, government purchase or employee travel credit cards, equipment, or facilities; and other conduct which is prohibited by title 18 of the United States Code;

(2) Any suspected violation of a statute, rule, or regulation, including this part and the regulations referenced in section 0.103 of this part;

(3) Any instance in which another person inside or outside the federal government uses or attempts to use undue influence to induce an employee to do or omit to do any official act in derogation of his official duty; and,

(4) Any information that the employee reasonably believes indicates the existence of an activity constituting:

(i) Mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, or abuse of authority;

(ii) A substantial and specific danger to the public health and safety;

(iii) A threat to the integrity of programs and operations relating to the Department; or

(iv) A violation of merit systems principles or a prohibited personnel practice as described in 5 U.S.C. 2301 and 2302.

(b) Bureau counsel who, during the course of providing advice to or representation of a bureau, acquire information of the type described in paragraph (a) of this section, shall report the information to the reporting employee's supervisor, the Chief or Legal Counsel, or the Deputy General Counsel, who shall report such information to the relevant Inspector General.

(c) This section does not cover matters addressed through employee grievances, equal employment opportunity complaints, Merit Systems Protection Board appeals, classification appeals, or other matters for which separate, formal systems have been established.