Ethics Training

Ethics Training Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Ethics Training 1 Ethics in Government Act of 1978 The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 is a US federal law that was designed to promote integrity in government. To achieve its mandate, the act was structured to prevent corruption and eliminate conflicts of interest in government dealings (U.S. Office of Government Ethics). Overall, the act was poised to increase transparency and accountability among government officials through a range of strategies including a mandatory disclosure of financial information. The act also steered restrictions on post-government employment. The application of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 was broad and accompanied multiple federal government officials. Some of the accommodated officials in this act include the president and the vice president, members of Congress, and federal judges. The other officials included in the application of the act include high-ranking employees of the executive branch as well as all presidential appointees. The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 includes a range of prospects. The first inclusion in the act is the need for financial disclosure. All the officials targeted must file reports detailing their income, assets, and liabilities. The other inclusion in the act is the post-employment restrictions whereby there are limits on lobbying activities by former government officials (U.S. Office of Government Ethics). The act also includes the Office of Government Ethics to oversee and enforce ethical standards within the executive. Notably, while assessing the impetus for the act, it was a direct response to the Watergate scandal. Having eroded its reputation, the government needed to restore public trust through the act. Still, the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 has been criticized because it does not balance transparency against the right to privacy. To some, the act could be breaching the privacy of the targeted officials. 2 The Hatch Act of 1939 The Hatch Act of 1939, alongside its subsequent amendments, focused on maintaining a non-partisan federal workforce. The act intends to restrict political engagements among federal employees. To that extent, the primary purpose of the Hatch Act of 1939 is to ensure the objective administration of federal government programs without any political bias (U.S. Office of Special Counsel). By extension, the act intends to protect federal employees from political coercion at their workplace besides also ensuring that employment decisions are delivered on the principle of merit and not an individual’s political inclination. The application of the Hatch Act extends to all civilian employees in the executive branch of the federal government. The act also applies to District of Columbia (DC) government employees or state and local government employees whose roles are linked to federal funding. The specific applications of this cat include the ab...